Ordered my new bike!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You said your bike will have a 12/34 durace casette. I am not aware of such a casette, I thought durace only went up to 12/27. Perhaps you mean an XTR casette (comparable to durace but a mountain casette).

Yes, it's the XTR....I said "DuraAce level", meaning it was in the same league as DA.

I hear you, I love my 9spd gruppo too but I have found it harder to get replacement parts so just thought I'd throw that out there. I do find it surprising you like your bike geared so low, I don't know how I would do without my 50/11 to go fast on a flat (not a descent mind you, but a flat), and I do find my 34/34 takes me up any climb I want. But we are all different so you know what is best for you. The cool thing about gearing is that its easy to change by swapping casettes.

My DH is pretty adept at finding parts for 9speed.
You might have more and longer "flats" to gain big-ring speed on over there in Texas than here next to the Berkshires and Catskills- our flats don't last more than maybe 1/2 mile or so, then it's on to the next hill. Some of our hills are pretty steep.
Maybe also because I am almost 54 and have only been exercising for 3 years now that is part of the reason I need lower gears on steep hills than a younger rider might need? I use my lowest gear combo several times on any given ride, yet I might typically use my highest gear only once briefly on that same ride.
Maybe a couple years from now I will need to up my gearing if I get stronger. But I sure need those low gears right now!

Enjoy her, I am sure she is going to be beautiful! Perhaps you said earlier, but what steel is she going to be made from. I am sure you said its one of the new light weight alloys. Maybe someday I'll go custom to, but not until my kids finish college and are gainfully employed!

I think the steel tubing will be thinner than the tubing on my current Rivendell (which is a production bike and so necessarily made to withstand a +/- 250 lb male rider). I don't know much about alloys, but she said she would use a lighter weight steel tubing based on my weight and riding conditions, maybe that means thinner or alloy I don't know. I should know I guess! The completed bike with components will probably weigh 17-20 lbs.

And thanks, DebW for the encouragement. I tend to purposely expect less than perfect, that way I'm rarely disappointed!