I've resisted responding to your posts in this and other threads for several days...I can resist no longer...

Every one of your posts is laced with hubris...'Simplistic' is how I would describe the narrative you're spinning with respect to 'bean counters' and 'greed' at Specialized...They are no more greedy than someone having any kind of publicly-listed stocks or funds in a 401k.

I, like you, have a background in design. I lead programs in the design and production of rugged products for military apps, many of which of have shock/vibration isolation systems to enable electronics to withstand gunfire and the shock and vibration of miitary-vehicle environments. I have a bachelor of aerospace engineering degree, master of mechanical engineering degree, and an MBA. My career as a PE was spent designing isolation systems for ground and airborne military systems. I have a strong appreciation for the technical nuances on which you speak. What I find deafening about your pitch is not the merit of your technical points, but the air of superiority you project.

Your narrative suggests that a) Specialized designers/engineers are incompetent or at least less competent than you, and b) that the so called 'bean counters' over-rule the better judgement of the technical staff. I think this is a very naive and arrogant posture. If you've moved through the ranks in any engineering or product-design-based company, you would have a more balanced, less cynical view than this. Especially if you were to rise to Director of Engineering - a critical executive function within such an organization - not merely a technical puritan without a grounded sense of business reality.

The idea that Specialized would knowingly release a faulty design is not the most likely explanation. It is reasonable to assume that they might 'learn something' upon transitioning to production, revealing tolerance-based defects as the ones being discussed in this thread. When I go to low-rate initial production and transition into full-rate production, I routinely expect to observe synergistic effects (often based on poor supplier Cpk) that haven't presented themselves previously. The measure of any good company is how much of this learning they can complete prior to release, and how prepared it is to respond to such defects that land in the hands of the early-adopter customer. It is totally reasonable to assume that this issue may never have presented itself on highly toleranced pre-production protos that may have been produced in local machine-shops in a highly repeatable fashion. It's possible that specialized never tested all combinations of worst-case tolerance stack-ups and that all pre-production assemblies may have landed deceptively in a sweet spot. This happens a lot in pre-production. Part drawings show a tolerance but that tolerance-range and the stack of ranges is rarely exercised until the drawing is sent to a different supplier for example, or until enough copies are produced for the effects to emerge - only then do such effects present.

You seem to think you're the most technically competent poster in this thread. I chuckle when I see someone like yourself splashing credentials around...you come off as being very needy for recognition of how exceptionally insightful you are rather than letting your arguments stand on their merit, and the evidence would show that you love to hear yourself type.

Finally, you haven't really answered previous queries as to why you are so militant on this issue...my own hypothesis is that you believe your unique experience in design provides you a platform to self-aggrandize, rather than coming from an altruistic concern for others.

While I may not buy a FS equipped bike, I do own two domanes, one being the SLR model with adjustable 'first-mode'. I, for one, applaud industry-leaders for their attempt to build a better mousetrap. It keeps the designer and engineer in me lusting for newer and infinitesimally better performing gear.

I empathize with any FS owners experiencing issues with their new bikes. I applaud FS owners for their willingness to try something new and hope that Specialized works to ensure that they have a satisfactory outcome.