Originally Posted by
58Kogswell
I suggest you call REI. Not the local store but the main office in WA. They will be happy to talk about something like that, and, unlike the folks here, they actually know the answer to your question rather than just speculating.
With all due respect this is poor advice. Not because the OP might not get a correct answer, but because it encourages wasting the time of people who probably have better things to do. It would be akin to calling the head research virologist at John's Hopkins every time you got the sniffles.
It also assumes that you'll be able to track down the right person at headquarters, which may not be as easy as it seems. IMO, the OP is being obsessive and letting something that he just noticed bother him needlessly, and it should be obvious by the symmetry and condition that it's normal. But he could comfort himself without bothering anyone, by simply visiting any REI and looking at other similar bikes on the floor and seeing if they all have the same "defect".
Or he can speak to a local person, who's job it is to deal with a retail inquiry, and can get him the right answer. If everyone with a question about anything insisted on going to the top, those at the top wouldn't get anything done. That's why organizations have pyramid structures and a chain of command.