Conversely, I bought a Hope low seat post clamp chain guide a couple of weeks ago. I spoke to Hope before Xmas about it and was told it would fit my bike. When it arrived, it didn’t – the two shims which are shown on the PDF instructions aren’t included with it. Every shop selling it just listed the the low clamp guide as one option, clearly implying it fits the three seat tube sizes listed on their site.
Hope’s response was that if your seat tube isn’t the largest of the three sizes, you have to buy the shim for it for £5. Now I realise £5 is only £5 but when I’ve bought a product I don’t expect to be told I need to spend more on an ‘upgrade’ so I can actually use it, especially when no-one actually sells that extra part. Credit to Rutland Cycling for sending it to me free of charge, despite Hope’s response, and updating their website to separate out the sizes.
Considering that I’ve read many threads about Hope’s legendary customer service and that my bike has about as much Hope kit on it as is possible (brakes, wheels, bearings), I’m a bit disappointed. I wonder if you get better service if you don’t sound like a slightly posh Southerner when you phone them?