I rode this quite a bit last summer, and while I was torn over whether or not to keep the original (if faded) paint, I finally decided I needed to head off continued chips and surface rust. I had it blasted and powdered over the winter and just rebuilt it—mostly the same parts (7 speed xc pro) though I changed out the bars, saddle and tires. Love the way it looks but need to get the play out of the hubs before I take it on a longer ride to see if the new color makes it faster/slower.