Mongoose Selous Comp Gravel Bike $690 shipped Hydraulic Brakes!

This made front page a few weeks ago. Nashbar has 25% off today and is including the Mongoose Selous Comp Gravel Bike. This is the better model with the TRP Hy-Rd hydraulic brakes (you will like them!). Lots of frame sizes available.
http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs…1___206963
Here’s the thread from the previous Slickdeals post:
The only new thing I noticed is that this bike is delivered with a crankset typical for road bikes, using a 50/34T chainwheel, but it does have a monster 32 sprocket in the back to help with hill climbing. It also has very fat 700x40c tires, which is pretty big for most use, but probably good for hacking around in the city, mud, or loose gravel.
If you need to buy pedals, I strongly recommend the Crank Brothers pedals for off-road work, some of which are included in todays 25% off sale: http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs…earchTerm= I personally use the original Eggbeaters on my CX bikes and Mallet on my mountain bikes. That Double Shot mountain pedal is on sale for $38. That looks like you could use sneakers for riding around town. These pedals stand out because they are easy to clip in and out of making them perfect for people new to "clipless" pedals. Also, they don’t foul with mud and the cleats wear extremely well (I have yet to replace a cleat).
The Camelback Race Podium water bottles are also on sale coming to $6 with the 25% discount. http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs…1___204653 These are the only water bottles I use anymore. They just work great.
Finally, I see the Blue Competition CX bike I posted earlier is still available in 52 and 53 from Bikewagon. This is clearly a better CX bike with the SRAM full hydraulic brakes (I’ve ridden both), SRAM Rival vs Shimano Tiagra, etc.. This one is set up like a real CX bike (gearing, tires). It has a more prestigious brand too. But the Mongoose is probably a bigger bang for your buck.