Hey, ChrisW: Thanks for the helpful response! Somebody at Hood Cycles said 27" wheels & tyres can be had, but at a higher price than here. I think, since I've already got the rear wheel, I'll bring an extra tyre for it and use a 700c in front. Maybe the smaller front wheel will afford me a more aggressive touring position. I may take you up on your offer with the aero levers. I've already got interruptors but I think there may be concern over whether there's enough pull for cantilevers (not v-brakes, as I had written). I'm used to single speed here, so I'm not used to buying anything other than 1/8" chain ... it's the number of sprockets I've got in the rear that corresponds to the "speeds" of the chain, right? 6, in that case. But that was something I already identified as cheaper at Coop (10.50 CHF) than I can find here.