First- Thank you very much for taking the time to read and reply!
Upon looking at the documentation I was provided with on purchasing this bicycle, it is stated that the frame size is 54.61CM. Damn good ballpark guess of yours, I must say. Is that still too small, would you say?
I had the seat post so high due to the fact that I felt as if I was not getting the full extension of my right leg. One is longer than the other. Is this something that is problematic? The seat being so high, that is. I can only imagine the consequence being a more hunched over posture while riding, but this is something I never really noticed nor was made uncomfortable by. (Not to say that I was indeed super hunched while riding... I mean, I'm sure I was slightly hunched - like I am on a day-to-day basis - but there was nothing causing any sort of pain, discomfort, or requirement for my body to be in an abnormal position.)
Thank you for your opinion on that weight matter. I wish I had the tools and total know-how to 100% disassemble bicycles, but, alas I do not.
Bar ends, AFAIK, prevent a core sample from being taken from your leg or other body part in the unfortunate event of an accident. Say there's a head-on collision. Your handlebar violently jerks 90 degrees to the left or right. A 1/16th of an inch of plastic isn't going to stop that hollow handlebar from going right into your soft and fleshy body. Correct me if I am wrong.
Thank you very much for the reminder to note that the fork can accept a front brake. It is definitely spec list worthy. I've desired to add a front break for a minute and a half now, but never got around to it. It'd improve the quality of the ride in the event of having to go down anything over like a 4 degree decline. :P
To be honest, I don't know if there's an "easy" way of counting teeth, like counting a quarter and then multiplying by 4 or whatnot, but I can just never get the same freaking number every time I count the teeth to the point that I gave up.
I really appreciate you taking the time to write everything you did. A very solid post. Thank you for writing!