May 15, 2016, 5:35 a.m. -  David

#!markdown Yes, it is absolutely worthy of a black mark. So many bikes are great nowadays, earning excellent to outstanding ratings, that some of the most significant differentiators are the finer details regarding the finishing. Ungreased and seized components, parts not properly fastened, and properly installed cabling are aside from the manufacture of a frame the only other thing that a turnkey bike company brings to the table. All other parts that are strapped to a frame are supplied by someone else and as a consumer we rely upon the bike company to have the proper quality mechanisms in place to asure a safe and reliable build. More so, the bearing failure you experienced could be indicative of a problem more significant such as eccentricity or angular misalignment of the bearing seats within the frame and could be indicative of a problem wiLe a bike manufacturers core competencies….the actual manufacture of the frame. Given your empirical evidence of said headset it isn't a leap of logic to consider the afformentioned. So should you rebuild a bike completely for a bike review? In my mind, heck no. A complete bike that is dialed and ready to rock should be the target deliverable for all highend bikes. It isn't a matter of should you rebuild but a matter of should you need to. As a reader and consumer I want to know every flaw that can be expected that exists at the design, quality, part selection, and supply chain level and I appreciate reviews that acknowledge all problems and provide more thoughtful analysis than how the suspension feels or the new improved super long reach geometry of a bike….