No. That wasn't the factory that was a lack of communication and professionalism. I'm not sure Peter quite realizes how quickly the tides can turn for a business's reputation, especially one that just started. I would've taken the refund and bought from somewhere else. Yes, they are at the mercy of the factory but they are in full control of communication.

This thread needs pics:

Are there riders with painted chinese carbon rims?

Not that I know of, really. I got the idea from this thread: http://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,253.0.html

And I totally forgot about this pic in that thread that shows the exact rim color I was thinking of for your bike, except maybe a little darker red tone:

Great discussion.

This forum is great for answering both these questions from customers that pioneered and tried it. But the negative is that your sales will improve with delay after a new frame is community-tested. Because we don't know anything about the new frame and how it compares to the tested ones (manufacturing process, testing,..).

Interesting. I've never thought about it that way, but you're totally correct.. Sales of a new frame are on a sort of time delay due to potential buyer's hesitations.

^^ It's the 057, I believe.

So, 29+ is a 29er with 50mm width rims and 3 inch tires, correct?

How much heavier are the wheels compared to an average 29er wheel? How much lighter compared to average fat bike wheels?

I'm talking gram per dollar. If you are buying crank bros cause of weight which was mentioned i assumed that was something you were interested in.

Good point.

Hmm, never looked into Ritchey pedals until now. Those WCS Paradigm look like the way to go for SPD style cleats. They get rave reviews, weigh 232 grams (whereas XT weighs 343 and XTR weigh 310, and Eggbeater 3 weighs 290),  and they are quite a bit cheaper than XTR as well. The super light weight initially made me worried about durability but from reading reviews they seem good in that department as well.

I've rocking a plain old set of Shimano spd pedals for a few years now and decided it was time to upgrade. Have been considering something from Crank Brothers but if I stay spd I think I'll definitely try out these Ritcheys.

The shops know that I will still need some parts and accessories, so while I'm not a big dollar customer, I'm still a customer.

This is the part that gets me. I don't feel guilty at all. My lbs is always in "pushy sales mode" and any attempt at casual conversation about mtb riding or mtb gear is pointless. Which is fine, run your business however you like, but it blows my mind how so many people in business fail to see the power in building relationships. Whenever I've brought up building my own bike via parts ordered online they pretty much acted like they literally didn't even hear me and kept talking about whatever it was they were trying to sell me. just an overall bad vibe that didn't win me over a s a customer at all. I don't get it. Even if I don't purchase my bike from them, I will most likely spend a few hundred on bike related gear every year after the initial bike purchase. I swear this guy, who was the owner, honestly didn't care either way.

I realize this likely isn't the norm, it just baffles me that there are people like this run and own businesses.