I've had a pre-order down on one a new 853 Pipedream Sirius for a while now. They come with sliding dropouts (which wasn't really a selling point for me as I'll only be running them geared). I'm a keen rider but not particularly skilled or into high speed techy stuff, I just like riding along enjoying myself really. I don't really have any idea of what tweaking the wheelbase will do, should I just try and match this up to my current frame or is there something to be gained from experimenting?

I guess that torque settings for the bolts should come from the manufacturers but are there any tricks to aligning sliding dropouts or is it just a case of getting out my digital calipers?

Is there anything else I should be aware of?

just stick 'em somewhere in the middle, make sure the wheel is straight in the frame, and ride it. take some comfort in teh fact that if knock the mech off it'll be easy to single speed it. easy.

If you're running it geared I'd set the axle as far into the dropouts as it will go then you don't have to worry about alignment or slippage (you probably won't notice any great difference in stability [longer wheelbase] / climbing ability [shorter chainstay] within the length of a sliding dropout).

psling is spot on.