I'm definitely having fun. My brother still has that beautiful blue Bianchi frame so I haven't had the chance to put it back together yet.

But, last week I decided to take my Schwinn apart http://groups.msn.com/BicyclingForum...o&PhotoID=3690

She was my mom's for 8 years and I know mom never loved her like I do LOL I've got her almost completely back together and ohhhh myyyyy.....you know I never noticed anything being less than smooth before, but now that I've overhauled her, everything that spins is LIKE BUTTUH!! Wow...impressive. I decided to replace the rear solid axle with a quick release axle, so I'm just waiting for that part to arrive. And I gotta give props to my beloved LBS, because the guys didn't give me any funny looks for being "just a girl" walking in there ordering parts and buying bearings. I totally was nervous when I walked in but was comfortable with them immediately. Love that. Man I love my shop but I would have walked out and never looked back if I'd gotten the "ovaries make you stupid" treatment.

Anyway, I just gotta say again girls...JUST DO IT!! If you have any mechanical ability at all, you can work on your own bike. It's fun, it's cheap, it's surprisingly easy. I got an old version Bicycling Magazine's maintenance book on half.com for $2. You can download the an old version of Barnett's manual for free here (scroll down about 1/3 of the way) http://rideitbent.net/

Jessie