Most people prefer hydro brakes, and they definitely do have a better feel than mech. But I gotta say, good call on the bb7. I've had a set of those for a couple years now, and never regretted it. Sweet brakes for the money, and practically zero maintenance. Anyways, the bike looks rad
So far the rims are still straight and true. I've even cased a few stair sets and hops pretty hard and there's no dings at all. Remember though I don't do much other than decent size hops/drops and not any spin tricks.