With regard to the original post, I must laugh when I hear an online retailer complain about pricing. True, he's just trying to make a living, just like the rest of us, but I'm all for a level playing field.
Here's something that might be of note:
http://www.bicycleretailer.com/bicyc...ent_id=2054788
It's truly not Shimano's fault-there's been some rather moronic actions on the part of many companies in the industry that have created a ridiculously high sense of demand-I doubt any company is capable of handling such a significant increase in production demand.
As for the Felt, last I spoke with them they were having no issues with that model. If I remember, I'll give 'em a call Wednesday (next day at the shop) and see what they're saying now.
For those of you that would like another alternative, we may be lucky enough to have such a choice in the coming years: http://www.bicycleretailer.com/bicyc..._id=1000461510
The problem, as stated in the article, is the wealth of patents already in place for road shifting systems. Shimano has a long history of going after SRAM in this area...