Originally Posted by
Nessism
I strongly disagree with this. Everyone should be educated when talking to a builder and if they shy away from questions about tube selection, or suggest options different than what your research shows is appropriate, you should question them and expect answers until all the pieces come together. Don't be a sheep bowing down to the framebuilder god. Knowledge is power.
Reasonable people can disagree on this and I do wholeheartedly agree with you that customer knowledge is important. My concern is what happens if you the customer's opinion on optimal tubing selection differs from the builder. There are no cut and dry 100% correct answers to these situations.
Builder: "I am going to use XYZ tube for your DT."
Customer: "I have been doing some research on Internet message boards and I think you should use tube ABC instead."
My opinion is that the correct response from the builder is, "Appreciate your due diligence but in your case I believe tube XYZ is a better solution. If you really want to dig your heels in on the tube choice feel free to contact one of the many builders out there that would happily accept your deposit."
Now, if the builder doesn't have an opinion on tubing selection or, even worse, asks the customer for their suggestions on tubing selection, seek another builder.