jt profile

Absolutely all of this. I had the same experience with Apple with my Power Book and later my wife's Macbook. Conspicuous consumption and planned obsolescence go hand in hand. They can't sell if they don't make the old unusable while simultaneously feeding the 'want' urge we all have in us. I have a limit to how much I'll fork out to build a new bike of $3k which requires a bit of hunting,  a lot of min/maxing, and little to no carbon fiber. I know how I ride, and I'd simply rather not feel the sting of watching a year's worth of tuition go up in flames simply because I ended up a poorly thrown jart in a MTB version of lawn darts.

Some maybe, but not all. The amount of 'spinging' is referenced in The Art of Wheel Building, but I oughta stop now before I fully geek out. Even more than admitting I'm going to re-read Jobst! :D

Interesting response from the engineers. Given that tensile strengths of straight gauge, double butted, and bladed spokes differ wildly, I'd expect to see an effect. Guess I need to read Jobst Brandt's book again to better form my thinking.

More for curiosity as these don't open my wallet, but do you know what spoke tension the wheels are running? In my experience, low spoke count wheels always need to run higher tension as there are fewer spokes sharing the load and importantly fewer crossing spokes (2x as opposed to 3x). This translates to a harsher ride, since the spokes aren't able to stretch/behave like a spring as well as they do at lower tensions. I've built a few carbon wheels for customers, and the rim stiffness is evident right from when you lace them up. Basically, I'm wondering what would happen to the ride quality if the tension was dropped a couple kg's.

I had a set of Prime Comps which were problem free as well.

They patented it back 5 years ago if I remember right. No one really saw it since they haven't released a noteworthy brake until now. I think the last brake they released was the Radar and that was hardly noteworthy.

Hydro's generally can have 3 functional issues  (i.e. not related to pad or fluid contamination) and if no leaks are present: Bad bleed, ruptured brake line, or blown master cylinder piston. 

It's easy to test for all 3 in one go. Hook up an overflow bottle (syringe without a plunger will suffice) to the master cylinder with the MC in the bleed position. Insert a pad spacer/bleed block at the caliper, slowly pull the lever. Watch the fluid rise up into the overflow as how it behaves tells you what you need to know. If the level spikes up consistently with no engagement, likely a MC piston. If the height that it rises decreases with each lever pull, likely a brake line issue. In both of those instances, the lever will travel to the bar as long as it's pulled slowly. It may begin to engage if you pump it fast. For the final scenario, if minimal to no fluid rises up but the brake engages then it's likely a bad bleed. If you want more info, PM me and I'll be happy to break down the why's of it.

Depends on your definition of worth. I find it worth it as I enjoy tinkering, enjoy learning how an item functions, and arguably I'm a bit frugal. I find worth in the learning experience, and if I can help someone out later on all the better. Kinda surprising how a bit of knowledge can get someone back to the trail head.

I'd bet one of the higher end versions would fit perfectly since they have (relatively speaking) the same geo due to their job duties. Not speaking from experience on SRAM, but it's helped me out on Shimano more than a couple times.

Word. There are so many examples of this on bikes. Bent derailleur cages can be replaced. Crappy working shifters can be overhauled. Some brakes have ALL their parts available for repair. It's even easier to dive into these repairs and tweaks with the advent of video platforms. 

We can bemoan planned obsolescence, but it doesn't mean we have to be active participants in it.