Bringing it back to the bike....
There are so many different bicycle manufacturers....
How does one choose?
In my garage and basement I have bikes/frames from Kona, Jamis, Rocky Mountain, Trek (yes, trek,) Raleigh, Fisher, Outback, Schwinn, and Surly. All are mine except for Lisa's Fisher and her unbuilt Outback (one of my things to do) and Dean's Schwinn. Not all of these bikes are assembled or rideable, but all those bikes are there to trip over.
Here is another company...a guy around the corner has a Vanilla track bike, so I thought I would scope out the scene with this manufacturer. Vanilla Bikes, and of course....in this world of many options...when you have Vanilla you also have Chocolate! Chocolate Bikes!
My selection process has always been based on THE DEAL, THE HOOKUP, or THE DUMPSTER. Some of those bikes mentioned are relics that I have dragged with me over the last several moves, while others are in a healthy rotation. My cross bike only gets ridden for cross races and my mountainbike only gets ridden on dirt....
with that said...
I want a new bike!

meanwhile PFunk is looking at buying a RETROTEC
follow the saga here.....
will pete go with the used built up bike that has low miles and a XTR mix that he saw on eBay
or spend more money for a fresh new frame without parts
and build up his dream machine
or is he just window shopping?
tune into his Blog for the answers to these questions and more; JETSETPETE