Yep, my FP7 has been built up. The picture I have doesn't really do it justice and I'm going to have to take some better ones. But I posted it here on this thread: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=37748.

I love the FP7 - but I'll still be very jealous of your Prince or Dogma, and I'll want to see some pics posted here once you get it built up. I'm surprised your local shop won't offer you a discount. I'm all for supporting LBS whenever practical - and having friendly local service is worth a premium to an extent. But Slane's prices on the Prince/Dogma run between $1000-$1400 off of US retail. Doesn't seem smart that they'd rather lose the sale than split part of that difference with you. In my case, the LBS said sure, they'd order the FP7 complete bike, strip the parts and put mine on - but wanted to charge me labor both for the strip and for the build and was I sure I didn't just want to buy a Prince frame instead since it would cost about the same? Not cool.

Anyway - yeah, Ryan was the guy that answered most of my emails. Most of my questions were pretty straightforward - whether they had the bike in a particular size/color, confirm that shipping would be free, confirm that the smaller frame would still take a 700 wheel, etc. Since you're inquiring about partial build, maybe you'd need more info. I do remember seeing another review online saying it was easier to talk to them on the phone, so you might try that if you're not getting the info you need via email. I didn't call so no experience with them there.

Regarding shipping - the package was shipped via Parcel Force and I didn't like their website; tracking info was not very informative. After the tracking event that it left the origin country, no update for a few days and I was getting worried. Then one evening I saw it update that it had arrived in the US (New York). I was next expecting to see it go through customs, etc. but instead the very next morning it showed up at my door (Seattle area) via USPS with signature required. Overall shipping time for me was 6 days (once packaged - they took a couple extra days to ship it after I placed the order). I'd guess that will vary based on your location and the customs process.

As for import duties, if you haven't already found this, you can see the tarriff schedule here: http://www.usitc.gov/publications/do...er/1000c87.pdf. Pages 20-22 deal with bike-related items. You'll see 3 columns for charges. The first column is the one that I *thought* should apply for Slane, being based in the UK. The 2nd column lists fees from some countries where we have special trade agreements, but I didn't see the UK in the "free" list for the frame so I was expecting the 3.9% charge from the first column. (The 3rd column with very high fees is only if you import from countries with whom the US is not on good terms - Cuba, North Korea, Iran, etc.) Anyway, I am not sure why I did not have to pay any customs charge. Not that I'm complaining, of course - but since I don't know why/how it worked out that way, I couldn't guarantee that you'd not be charged either. One other area you may be charged extra is if your credit card has a foreign transaction fee. Some don't, but some charge an extra 1-3%, so you should look at that also.

Good luck with your shopping, and remember - post pics here when you're done!!