I was worried about the duty on the imported items too. The Ribble package was 280 or so dollars, zoomed right through and no fees. the Melrin's one is still saying processed through ISC (customs), but the value on it is less than 200 which is the threshold for duties as i understand. and the frame was released to the airline in china three days ago and if i had to guess is state side and in customs now. Its stated value is 150 dollars as per the vendor. So we will see. I'll let everyone know how the fees work out.
L.T.

The fork i have is a reba rl so its alloy. Already this frame has  about 2" higher head tube height over the mongoose i ride now. I also ordered low rise bars and 6 deg x 70 mm stem. It wasn't my intention to raise it up too much, but i always felt like i was bent over too much on my current bike. As i mentioned early on in this thread I have several back/ spine issues. I know its not cool to have a tall stem and riser bars, but i would like to be able to ride more than an hour without the feeling of an ice pick between my shoulder blades. Ouch!
L.T.   

Well i hope i ordered what i need this is the front one http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/mtb-bmx-bike/derailleurs-front-mtb-shimano-xt-m786-10-speed-double-front-derailleur/shimgmfr140
and
this is the rear http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/mtb-bmx-bike/derailleurs-rear-mtb-shimano-xt-m786-10-speed-shadow-rear-derailleur/shimgmrr125
Please Advise. If not i will have these for sale cheap

I managed to get the stan's arch wheels and BHS hubs together I used Sapim race spokes. they look good. I have them true within less than 1/2 mm side to side and less than that the other way (well the weld joint may be a little more) Is this an acceptable amount for a mountain bike?

Now just waiting on the frame and other goodies. I'm hopping everything will be in the week before Christmas so i can assemble and ride. I am taking the week before Christmas Off from work. Yea!
L.T.

Ive been watching merlins and ribble for hot deals on shimano i would like to pull the trigger on these items, but im not sure if these are the front an rear derailurs i need. Ribble list the RD with direct mount and one with hanger. Which one is the right one.
Also the gear shifters say they can be used for 2 x or  3 x . Other vendors you have to chose one or the other. The prices cant be beat but if i cant use some parts they or worthless at any price. Please advise.
L.T.

Shimano 10Spd HG95 XT HGX Chain
   
   US$21.16     US$21.16          US$21.16

Shimano SLX M675 Brake Levers and Post Mount Calipers (set)
   
   US$115.48     US$115.48          US$115.48
   
Shimano 10 Spd XT M771 Cassette 11-34
   
   US$43.62     US$43.62          US$43.62
   

Shimano XT M785 10 Spd Double Cset Inc BB 175 26/38
   
   US$138.58     US$138.58          US$138.58
   

Shimano XT M781 10 Spd Triple Front Gear Conventional DP
   
   US$24.37     US$24.37          US$24.37
   

Shimano XT M780 10 Spd Rapidfire Pods (pair) Black
   
   US$69.28     US$69.28          US$69.28
   

Shimano XT M786 10 Spd Shadow + Rear Gear Bk SGS
   
   US$51.32     US$51.32          US$51.32
   

Shimano RT66 (SLX/Deore) 6 Bolt Disc Brake Rotor 160mm
   
   US$17.65     US$35.30          US$35.30
**    Money Off Coupon    1    US$59.89       US$59.89    -US$59.89
   Totals:    US$499.11    US$59.89    US$439.22
Delivery Charge     US$0.00
Grand Total     US$439.22

Squishee
 I received an email from peter that frames may be available in as soon as 5 days. A day late for me, but it might be worth double checking with peter/bert.
L.T.

  Well it looks like I'll be pulling the trigger on the HongFu 057. I have been speaking with Cherry at HongFu. Easy enough to deal with so far. And from what i can interpret on the monster thread at MTB HongFu seems to be at the top of the pile with iplay. Hongfu has a pretty decent inventory, may be low volume but a decent variety.  Pricing is only slightly higher than iplay.
 
 brmeyer135- I did also talk to deng fu, resonponse was fast as well, but being new to this forum and MTB forum I haven't read enough about dengfu to be comfortable with using them. I didn't contact  Miracle bike as  i know even less about them.

 Squishee- I have only had communications with peter at iplay. He was prompt with replies, though i did get that lost in translation felling a little. Peter did mention that it could be less than 45 maybe 30 days, so bert and peter are on the same page. Even with the 45 day wait i still gave them serious consideration, because their frames seem to have the least negative feedback. Its just 45 days waiting, maybe and then 10 or 15 shipping , that puts you 60 day out. I live in the deeeep south. Winter only last till about the middle of January, and most of you in the north wouldn't hesitate to ride on what i call an inside day. I do feel that if your package arrives and there are no problems you will forget about the wait.
 On a side note. I ordered a cargo trailer about 10 years ago from a well know brand. I wanted a silver one, and all they had was white. The salesman said 30 days. I paid and 35 days later i called. Still 30-45 more days. I waited patiently. On the 45th day i showed up. I got the runaround, blaa, blaa. Two weeks later out of the blue it shows up. The moral of the story weather you are dealing with a salesman, contractor or what ever- once they have your money you have little or no control.
  I also wanted to correct myself. I mentioned in an earlier post about ipaly being connected to a ebay store cbf. I went back and read a little closer. Peter referred to cbf store only to compare his pricing to theirs. It looks as though a_baygoods and fly-xii and cbf are all the same vendor or sale the same identical products. It looks like the stock photos taken on the same sidewalks along with an unusual mix of the same items (bike parks and motorcycle covers).

After exchanging emails with Peter at XMI-Play for a bout a week i found it could be as much as 45 day before shipping. While i don't mind waiting, as he seems to be one of  the preferred vendors for the 057. Would anyone care to comment on other vendors frames or customer service such as Hong-Fu bikes, Deng-Fu or Lite bikes.  I have read through the 3oo+ page thread on MTB forums. It was hard to keep up with what were the better frames or vendors with so much of topic discussion. I know that ordering a frame from an out of country vendor is like rolling the dice. I just don't want to order a frame that has a high or above average failure rate.
Thanks Again,
L.T.

 I think the thing that i most disliked about the 256 was the poor position of the bottom pull derailer tube. I have seen some pics with some crazy cable routing. May be in real life they may work fine. Not being familiar with the different style  of derailers I feared I would have do deal with a set up that  was troublesome.
 As far as the full suspension. When i first started looking at a new bike the only thing that i was considering was a FS because that is what i was ridding. The suspension is so limited on what I am currently riding,  it just as well be full ridged. I was also considering FS because I am 41yrs old and have AS(this is rheumatoid arthritis of the spine). But after considering quality front suspension and the compliance of carbon and 29" vrs 26" that i currently ride  I thought that it would be a vast improvement of what i have now. I have never been on a carbon bike, but the riders on the trails i ride seem to think that the hard tails are fine. I don't mind getting out of the saddle to pedal over the roots, but i prefer to sit.
 The hard tail was appealing for the simplicity, weight and pedaling efficiency. Any input on what my expectations of the HT or FS should be would be helpful.
By the way i have the reba 100mm fork /tapered on delivery for this afternoon(i found a good deal and couldn't pass it up).