Out of spec custom frame: advice sought

[callmeishmael]

Originally Posted by Alistair

Definitely this too.

If those 28s are measuring out to 30mm or more, I'd be tempted to call it close enough, unless you had intended this to be an all-road bike and not just a road bike with clearance for "fatties".

See above: ~29.0mm (28.7-29.2)

[fa63]

Sorry to hear about your troubles; it is never fun when something that is supposed bring you joy gives you a headache instead I would just have them redo the rear triangle. I imagine you have another bike to get you through your events in the next 2 months.

[clyde the point]

This situation is all too familiar with me. Personally I would give the frame back and since it's not what you had wanted, take the chances on refund. If the builder wants to promote it no harm no foul you should be refunded. Then order up a Ti frame/fork from XACD and call it good. And, sorry, you get what you pay for.

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by clyde the point

This situation is all too familiar with me. Personally I would give the frame back and since it's not what you had wanted, take the chances on refund. If the builder wants to promote it no harm no foul you should be refunded. Then order up a Ti frame/fork from XACD and call it good. And, sorry, you get what you pay for.

I'm not sure this is fully accurate. A number of threads on this forum discuss receiving frames from storied high end costly builders that aren't right. If this was a frame that I intended to be my main bike for an extended time I would get it fixed properly. It matters also how you feel about the frame when all is said and done. I passed on the frame made for me by a builder who gets loads of kudos on PL because I couldn't get around the one error that wasn't fixable, it just bothered me. (mis-located rear brake hose exit point from DT conflicting with FD cable path). The buyer was going to either run it eTap or 1X so the issue disappeared for him.

So I don't think that paying a high price guarantees not having issues. Reputation for both quality and delivery time matter, not just that the builder has a lot of experience. When I posted that I was getting a frame from the builder I mentioned above, I did receive PMs from people who had also had issues. So, yes, going to Kirk, Bingham, Firefly, etc. is going to guarantee that you'll be thrilled with the bike. But paying the same amount in some circumstances is not a guarantee. And then of course there are folks like Rock Lobster who deliver a consistently appreciated result for less than some of the peer builders.

[Nomadmax]

Option 4

Full refund and find another builder.

When someone shows you what they're capable of, or not; believe them the first time.

[Hilltopperny]

I would keep the bike as is and accept that it only clears a 28ish tire. Take the discount or negotiate a little more if need be and ride the bike for a while. If it doesn't work out and you don't like the ride you can always sell it! That is likely the simplest of solutions IMHO.

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I would keep the bike as is and accept that it only clears a 28ish tire. Take the discount or negotiate a little more if need be and ride the bike for a while. If it doesn't work out and you don't like the ride you can always sell it! That is likely the simplest of solutions IMHO.

This is what I would do.

The OP said he would rarely run a 32 and wanted to run a 30 tire. His current 28's measure 29 and fit. This is a lot of stress over a couple mms. I'd just accept it and ride it.

This isnt a knock on the OP, as I understand where he is coming from but a realistic question: Do people really think there is a significant ride difference in literally a mm or two of tire width?

[callmeishmael]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

This is what I would do.

The OP said he would rarely run a 32 and wanted to run a 30 tire. His current 28's measure 29 and fit. This is a lot of stress over a couple mms. I'd just accept it and ride it.

This isnt a knock on the OP, as I understand where he is coming from but a realistic question: Do people really think there is a significant ride difference in literally a mm or two of tire width?

In honesty this is likely where I'm at. My current plan is to take it on a long ride down some less than ideal roads at the weekend and see if there's any issues with stones/road debris with the 28 in the back. Assuming not, I might be inclined to make the best of a bad situation and move on.

If I do find stuff catching with a 28, then something will have to change.

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

This is what I would do.



The OP said he would rarely run a 32 and wanted to run a 30 tire. His current 28's measure 29 and fit. This is a lot of stress over a couple mms. I'd just accept it and ride it.



This isnt a knock on the OP, as I understand where he is coming from but a realistic question: Do people really think there is a significant ride difference in literally a mm or two of tire width?

A good road bike is going to ride well with any tire 25mm and up most of the time. I don't mind throwing fatter rubber than a 28mm if the bike will see some mixed terrain, but a 28mm will do fine on just about any surface that isn't chunky or loose. Having said that if I ordered a bike and it wasn't right it might induce an irrationally bad taste in my mouth while riding it. 25-30% off may take the taste away though!?!

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by callmeishmael

In honesty this is likely where I'm at. My current plan is to take it on a long ride down some less than ideal roads at the weekend and see if there's any issues with stones/road debris with the 28 in the back. Assuming not, I might be inclined to make the best of a bad situation and move on.

If I do find stuff catching with a 28, then something will have to change.

Good call.

Where are you at in the UK? How are the roads over there, in general? I'm really interested in doing more european riding in the next few years. Are your events planned in the UK, or farther out?

[GParkes]

Size of frame? Just thinking ahead.......

[ERK55]

I don’t want to derail this thread… but boy is it a timely issue for me. In late 2022 I placed an order with a small European builder for medium-reach rim brake road bike frameset, to accommodate up to a 35mm tire. I received the frame in January. I wanted to check clearance so I placed a wheel with a 32mm tire in the rear dropouts- the tire was almost touching the seat tube (maybe~2mm clearance. So I measured the chainstay. It was 10mm shorter than indicated on the CAD drawing, 415 instead of 425! I emailed the builder who initially seemed skeptical but eventually said to ship it back and that he’d correct it (I did wonder how though).
While shipping the frame to me took only 8 days, returning the frame to Europe took 6 weeks, partly due to the frame being routed through LAX (I’m in New York) and then due to customs on his end who wanted to charge him 450 Euros duty on the frame! Somehow after a lot of finagling he got out of that.
Long story short (and not surprisingly) he contacted me to say he can’t fix it and has to build me a whole new frame. He’s just collected the materials and will be starting soon.

[deluz]

I would some hard thought to how often you might want to run 30 or 32mm tires.
If it is not often I would keep as is, otherwise option #2.
Do you have other bikes that can use 32mm tire?

[callmeishmael]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Good call.

Where are you at in the UK? How are the roads over there, in general? I'm really interested in doing more european riding in the next few years. Are your events planned in the UK, or farther out?

I'm in the Chiltern Hills, about 40 miles NW of London: https://www.chilterns.org.uk/

Road quality is, ahem, mixed. Generally the roads in the UK are pretty poor, especially rural ones, and they have noticeably declined in the last decade.

I'm doing the Fred Whitton (in the Lake District) in May, and I'm targeting sub 7 hours, which will be...interesting. I've done it a couple of times, and I'd still say it's the best (and hardest) sportive I've ever done, and that includes the Etape.

The Italian alps remain my favourite place to ride a bike in Europe, though if you want quiet, good quality roads, nice weather and challenging terrain, Spain is hard to beat IME.

[duff_duffy]

I’d go option 2, get it done the way you wanted. Not sure what you paid, but 20% off frame price that was not built as you wanted seems silly to take. Option 3 might be ok but again with option 1 being available I’d do that