I've heard of other's upgrading from 7-9 without much problems. My front wheel is new and so the rear is just waiting for it. with an upgrade I am hoping I can keep my deore lx dérailleurs and still be able to go to a 9-10x cassette. Any crank I have should have a triple. I've never ridden a compact and with a 30 pound bike, it wouldn't save much weight.

I might switch out my brakes too. I would like to know what the difference is.
Motochick, for all of those upgrades that is not too bad in my book. Can I shop around for parts and bring them to my LBS, or are they strictly buy from us sort of places (like the rip off plumber)

I rethought about a Surly LHT, a steel frame that I could build up from scratch. It looks like the stand over is still a bit too high, and that is the first thing I look at when looking at new frames. It would probably just put me in the same place that I am now with my 520. I would of course need to ride one someday.