MRwillP

@chriskneeland: It kind of reminds me of Colnago's C64 road bike, which is their super exclusive, flagship model. I know the two bikes couldn't be more different but they do both use lug-style frames. That being said, I'm betting the Atherton's finished product will be lug-less. Colnago on the other hand... I wouldn't be surprised if they were still using lugs 20 years from now.

I had a 2018 Capra Pro race and while the bike was nice to ride, I gotta say that the customer service was extremely frustrating. These direct to consumer brands do make a lot of sense and when it comes to bike/$, look no further. HOWEVER, customer support is vital with these business models and I can say from experience that YT needs to ensure the market that they have made significant improvements in that department. Every email or phone number you find on the YT website goes to one guy's phone and while he's a nice guy and can be helpful, he's completely overwhelmed. YT needs to double or triple down on their customer support staff, badly. I think the product quality is acceptable but with no brick and mortar to stand behind their products, customer support MUST be there. Just a word of caution to potential buyers...

I 100% agree with you on that. For that kind of $ they shouldn't be skimping on spec. If they need to make the bike $50 more to get you the proper components, while still protecting their margins, fine. But they shouldn't be leaving it up to the customer to make the swap after the purchase. I noticed they also spec the regular fox seatpost and not the factory one, which is only $60 more! That being said, at least Yeti specs a Kashima fork and shock at their 2nd highest spec. Not a lot of other premium brands do that... they make you go full XX1 or XTR. Santa Cruz for example... you can spend $11,000 CAD and still have 3rd world, non-kashima components.

I've ridden this bike and it's incredible... I have a HTLT myself and I do wish it had the new, lower linkage driven suspension. I guess I'll have to shell out another fortune next year. IMHO, the biggest "negative" with any SC bike is the cost... but that doesn't seem to stop people from buying them. I swear that 1/3 bikes I see in Albertan/Eastern BC regions are SCs.

Wheelie-Gate 2018 Tom should apply to Volkswagen... I'm sure they could find a use for him.

For anyone curious about their pricing, this is how it stacks up, in CAD... X01 Builds: Devinci: $10,700 with carbon wheels Santa Cruz: $10,600 with reserve wheels but no kashima :( Yeti: $11,000 with carbon wheels Norco: $8,500 no carbon wheels Trek: $9,700 with carbon wheels Rocky Mountain: $8,000-$9,500 Specialized: $9,500 with carbon wheels Transition: $7,800 (not sure if the Stans wheels are carbon or not... cheap either way) YT Top End Builds: $7,000 with carbon wheels and XTR I have never ridden a Devinci so I can't comment on the ride quality or ownership experience. However, I am skeptical that they can hang with the likes of Santa Cruz and Yeti. For that kind of $ you should expect lifetime warranties, unreal customer service, top notch build quality, etc, etc. I'd like to ride one to see what's what.

@ethirteen-components: Thanks for reaching out and for the record, I have never had an issue dealing with E13 directly. Disconnects and ball drops on the warranty end of things only occur once YT gets involved. Thanks again!

@gramboh: My apologies... my math is a bit off. 10-20% is not realistic. The value proposition with YT is nearly impossible to beat. I have had a bad experience but it's good to hear others have not. The customer-direct business models have changed the industry but I'm still not convinced it is the way to go. Up here in Canada our riding season is short and issues like the ones I have detailed really are annoying. Every day you can't get out and ride because your new bike is broken, is a frustrating day.