Designs

Well, after doing a little bit of research (I'll be doing tons more!) I'm looking at Calfee's designs. I like their designs for the bike and the scaling, but I believe if I was to use their basic design, I'd lay the seat forward a smidgen more.

Also, I'd like to clear up any future question as to my worthiness. I've never built a bike. Infact, I ride an 70s Schwinn Continental (~30lbs). I'm willing to give up the bike though, for something more practical. Basically look at my inexperience this way: The Wright brothers had never built an airplane and Henry Ford didn't always know exactly what he was doing in the early days of FoMoCo. But they worked hard and smart. They also didn't quit b/c people said they couldn't do it or weren't qualified. They asked questions and gained knowledge to solve their problems.

On a different note, I'm looking for components to put together the first bike. While I'm not explicitly following Brano's instructions here, I know that I shouldn't reinvent the wheel. There are just some parts I can't make out of bamboo. I don't need much, for the frame I'll just need a bottom bracket shell, head tube, seat tube (short),  dropouts, and rear brake bosses.

To build the bike and make it ride-able  I'll need a 700c wheelset, gear shifter, stem and bar, headset (probably threadless), full brake set/kit, bottom bracket, crank, pedals, derailers (I'm with S. Brown on this spelling), chain, seatpost, saddle, and fork.