Interested to hear peoples thoughts, we are also in the process of having a flash logo done to sponsor the forum....
Now that the formalities seem to be out of the way...I'll start by letting you know that I assemble all my bikes myself. While I'm an incompetent mechanic and wouldn't trust my build skills on anything extreme, I find it to be a fun past time.
I think a lot of people are intimidated by assembling their own bike, especially noobs. The pic you posted looks as though this isn't a bike for noobs and you'll be pitching at the higher end of the market. In doing so I think that you still want the bike as close to done as possible. When a box full of bike rolls into the lbs there is usually fuck all left to be done, especially on bikes with less complicated parts (droppers can be a bit of a different case). You really don't want to be sending your bikes out with much more work than this. Brands like polygon, canyon, commencal and YT all do very well in keeping it simple for the end user. Include some really good instructions, the more interactive and intuitive the better.
Also consider the costs you're cutting from the bottom line in this product delivery method. This should be reflected in your value proposition. How does the cost, assembly time, after sales servicing and impact on warranty compare to buying something off the floor of the lbs? Also remember I probably had the chance to test ride the lbs bike.
And give a gift! Let the people know you are grateful to them for taking a risk on your products. A nice set of Allen keys to assemble the bike (they don't need to be snap on or park, but not the cheap as fuck junk Ikea gives) or a multi tool...a t-shirt or hat, a box of fresh and safe Kelly brothers condoms...a kind gesture goes a long way. I'm sure many of us have fond memories of the bright green mentos and the hand written letters!
Good luck. The rig looks rad. When is the 100-140mm ss/4x/fr version being released? Cash waiting...
