TalusRider

Ridiculously overpriced for what they cost to make. Plus the added weight and the fact that I ride in a very rocky area (CO, UT) and rarely get a flat running tubeless and Orange Seal. My riding buddy had them in for a couple years but his Specialized Enduro was SO heavy with them and I kept reminding him that I wasn't dead on the trail, that he removed them. That was a great investment, eh? I can see how DH'ers and anyone else who is harder on tires than I am, would need and want them. Just because they're not worthwhile for me, doesn't mean others don't need them. I also don't need a Bugatti, but some folks do.

"The warranty will be in effect for the lifetime of the rim or valve and is available only to the original owner." From the Reserve/Santa Cruz website. I'm really really sick of this marketing game. It's BS. They know almost no one will keep the wheels (or bikes in the case of Yeti and others) more than about 5 years so they will likely NEVER have to back this claim up. It's a marketing ploy and it's typical of a used car salesman. This warranty means absolutely ZERO to me because I know I won't own the product for a "lifetime". Nobody I know would benefit from it either as all my riding buddies sell their bikes in about 5 years. And I'd be willing to bet that if I did keep these wheels for 15 years and break one, they'd pro-rate a percentage off on a new set rather than a completely free replacement.

When you run out of ideas that actually improve the riding experience, develop proprietary designs that drive up basic maintenance costs and attempt to lock customers into a small dark room so they don't see you stealing their wallet. I never buy proprietary designs. That benefits the seller and screws the buyer. Glad I love my bike so much because I could never love one of these.

@SickEdit: Exactly! Just thinking about tossing away $300 on a jacket that will be destroyed in a season makes my wallet squeal. Ain't gonna happen. But if any of these companies would like to sponsor a fat, slow old fart and supply me with a few jackets, I'll gladly accept.

@barp: Thanks for the suggestion. I found that I could print to a PDF without the comments section so I was able to save the article on my HD.

Wish I had a way to save this article for next spring! It's about ski season for me now, but next spring I'll be thinking "where was that article on suspension set up that was explained so well?" Too long to print.

I've seen that some mfr's are intentionally designing products to nearly force me to a shop or ship the product back to THEM for service. Fox stands out in my mind on this one. And they provide vague information on their website until they receive the product, then they have me over a barrel and clearly know they can charge whatever the dart hits on the board. MTB service has entered the realm of car service, once they have you in the shop, they have you where they want you. I do almost all my own service and usually in far less time than any shop or Mfr expects me to wait, and for a lot less since I'm only paying for parts in that case. However, I upgraded my suspension this year and didn't think to look into service costs. It doubled from what my previous suspension parts cost to service AND they now require special tools. This is how Mfr's raise their GP (gross profit - and it IS gross!) or force many of us to their authorized service shops. I've read many comments here from guys bitching about eBikes. One guy told me it was because they don't want MTB to turn into what the ski business has turned into. Yeah, because turning it into the car repair business is so much better. Insert eye roll here.

When you get tires at no charge, money means nada.