Everryone, I appreciate the comments, just a few notes/clarifications. So I'm still shopping, will see.

When I said I was an avid cyclist, I meant it I know my way around bikes and cycle a lot. In the last 14 plus years I've cycled over 100,000 miles on normal bicycles.

All my bikes are drop bar, which I greatly prefer.

Anyone that says LBS and major brands stand behind their products...well that's just not true in my experience. I spent significant money (over 12K total) on two specialized road bikes to have specialized deny major warranty claims. I MADE a big mistake buying a second bike from Specialized after they denied my claims on the first bike... (wheels) Shame on me. An expensive bike should not have the wheel issues I had just because I ride too much. The LBS just shrugged this off.

Another local LBS (different shop) that I purchased my salsa from was no better when I had some issues with wheel truing, spokes and shifters on a brand new Journeyman. I reached out directly to Salsa and they did send me some parts and were very helpful but I had to get it fixed a local mechanic I trust. The LBS was just not worth dealing with and no longer sell Salsa.