So... as i posted in another thread, i just had a BrassKnuckle built up by Trackstar here in NYC. This was my first experience with shop and i chose them for the build for a few reasons:

1. They had the frame in stock so they were actually able to size me on it (pretty important IMO). There are a few other shops (BikeWorks, Habitat) that deal EAI, but only custom order.

2. They offered the best value for cost of build of the three (little things like an EAI cog, color matched FSA headset were included without me even asking) and kept the cost under the price i asked them to by almost 50 bucks (build came to $760 and i told them i didn't want to go over 800)

3. They were really nice when i told them i was interested in the build, actually pretty decent costomer service the whole way through.

BUT, i've been riding the bike for a week and began to notice a bunch of things that seem to be half-***ed. such as: the stem wasn't aligned exactly with the front wheel, the front hub wasn't properly adjusted (minor play in the axel), the saddle wasn't straight, the frame wasn't clean (dirt/grease scuff marks on the seat tube).

Obviously, none of these things are major, and i've since taken care of all of them myself, but this should not happen when buying any stock bike, let alone dropping 8 bills on a build (or potentially much more). I guess this is less of a query and more of a warning.

an aside: the bike rides beautifully. anyone accusing these bikes of being too stiff needs to try one out, really smooth, Retem speaks the truth.