That is indeed a shame; even with his undoubted quality, it’s hard for many enthusiasts to find 11k to 16k for a bicycle. I often wondered whether an affordable, cycle to work scheme budget “designed and finished by Ricky” ( but built somewhere else) could have filled a gap, but as he says, no one else can build a feather.
'I'm not ready to give up building bikes, I've been forced into a corner really. I've got 100's more bikes in me really, I just don't have 100 more months not knowing I've got money for the mortgage'
Basically he needs to get people to pay upfront, not at the end of the build.