I know everyone automatically thinks "hey the m tax" I did also, but I received this bicycle as a gift from my wife, and I felt horrible she spent the money when I had already eyeballed it on eBay and that other dealer site that had the crazy 50% off Black Friday special.
When I received the bicycle the first thing I did was rush over to the bicycle shop, get the quick release on the wheels switched to Unguard ones which require you to put the bike at a 80 degree angle to unlock it and a lock for the seat, all the guys at the shop surrounded the bike and said pricing was pretty comparable to other bicycles. Went to another shop to purchase a much larger seat as I use my bicycle every day, the gentlemen said the same, priced reasonably. I mentioned retail to these guys 1375. The bicycle gets a lot of looks, and questions, it is very nice in person.
I have rode it a good amount now, this bicycle is very nice, very smooth, the hydraulic brakes are amazing, gear switching is so smooth. You can lock the front shocks on the fly, I lock the shocks all the time when going up hill and I need to stand to push with more force.
Handle bars are a little short to my taste, and the tires do not grip as good, I really want to switch the tires but I like the reflective strip that goes around the tires.
Might paint it mineral white.
I love it and think it is worth the price tag. Here is a picture from day one before the mods...