Yes, and I am a Brit living in the EU buying an American bike... Thankfully the LBS (and there are quite a few LBS's here that are twats) are pretty damn decent. They actually called a Rockshox warranty for me on a bike purchased from a different LBS and 1 year out of warranty. Replacement fork...
I think a LBS is better from a relationship, convenience and service point of view. I do know of bike shops that refuse to service
direct to consumer brands. Is that the right attitude? I don't know, but that is their decision.
Weird, but for me the performance of an Emtb is really based on does it have range? Does it have torque for long climbs, can it perform reasonable manouvres, can it manage a reasonable downhill performance and brake exceptionally well...(not balls out WC performance). Otherwise, these things...