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If you want an overall cheap frame then go 4130, 44mm straight head tube, is mount brake etc
This is what I did and it's a really nice frame.
I think the problem is that I'm torn between having a winter hack finished off as a parts bin build (27.5 wheels set & 4 year old reba) or a nice long term keeper with some choice components.
Either way because of my out of proportioned body, have a longish torso and short legs (according to my wife) I struggle with fit with off the shelf frames (until the new BFe came along, but I don't need something so burly). I have to choose between a comfortable reach with a short dropper or go for a shorter reach if I want a drop of anything greater than 100mm.
I always have to compromise between fit and cost (Two teenage girls cost more than I ever thought they would).
Don’t the Pipedream Moxie and Ribble HT725 both have a pretty long reach for the seat tube height? The Ribble didn’t have the reach I wanted (somewhere between the small and medium) and the Moxie I hadn’t seen before I ordered, but really even on 2.6” tyres the bb drop is too much for 650b wheels in my opinion.
Apologies for the hijack.
@joe
Yeah I have looked at both of those, the moxie is a lovely looking bike. I wondered about the sliding dropouts whether it would be enough to compensate for the smaller wheels and lift the bb a bit when pulled right in. But not enough. The bb on the moxie is low already. Running 130 travel forks will lower the bb even lower.
There's something about the ribble I don't like. I can't quite put my finger on it. Plus I'd prefer another 10mm on the reach. Although running the forks at 130 may put it close to where I want it.
I'm going to mull it over, over the Xmas period. It's probably too late for a winter hack now anyway judging by how long it's taking to get yours. Coming to the realisation that I can't have my cake and eat it.
@kayla, Did you have to pay duty and VAT + shipping? What did that come to?
I would try emailing Luke from Marino Uk with a rough idea of what you want. When I emailed him they had a couple of frames that were cancelled orders sat as stock. Could be something that will work for you
@kayla, Did you have to pay duty and VAT + shipping? What did that come to?
You now order through Marino U.K. and they give you a set price upfront and take a deposit. They handle duty / Vat etc and you just pay the flat price they give you.
Might be worth speaking to Luke to see if they have anything suitable in stock - either cancelled orders or stock items. A lot of it tends to be really long and slack - Hello Dave sort of figures.
@kayla, Did you have to pay duty and VAT + shipping? What did that come to?
No, it was £349 all in, ordered through Luke at Marino UK as Joe said. It took around 6-7 weeks from first email to having the frame here. I obviously got very lucky regarding shipping times and covid lockdowns though! One of the best frames I've had was bum basic 4130 so I didn't see an issue with going with that at all, plus it's got a sort of roots/BITD feels thing for me coming from an assortment of BMXs 😎
Ooh, thanks for the information. That makes it a whole lot more interesting.
The flip side of that is I paid my deposit in April and have no frame
now both Luke the uk dealer and Marino Peru have ceased communication, not heard a thing in months.
The flip side of that is I paid my deposit in April and have no frame
now both Luke the uk dealer and Marino Peru have ceased communication, not heard a thing in months.
How are you contacting Luke? I’ve been using Facebook messenger - normally he replies within 3-4 days I’d say. I think when he doesn’t have good news or any meaningful news he deliberately doesn’t go in and read the messages as they don’t show as delivered / read pretty much until he replies.
Is yours a full suss frame or hardtail?
I'm using email, initially he was very responsive but now just blanked.
given up on threatening to cancel as I realise they likely wouldn't care and I want a cheap frame.
Too much time and money invested now to call it off.
It's a hardtail, I'll just wait but wouldn't want people to think 6/7 weeks is common or likely as I'm not in the minority.
I was in the same boat as Kayla1, must have got lucky with timing when I ordered. Think it will be longer than 6 weeks but that’s not a problem for me, depends how much you care! Luke replies to emails at random times, for me no contact sort of means it isn’t built yet, I don’t want messages saying still wait!
To be fair to Marino and Luke I reckon they've seen a bit more interest and custom over the last year than they maybe first thought they would. If they'd (Marino) been planning on using Luke as an agent over here (or Luke asked them if he could set something up, whichever) late last year when frames from other manufacturers were more easiliy available and supply lines weren't affected by covid then perhaps things would just be pottering on as they were. As if turns out the world's gone to shit and Everyone now wants a Marino because they can't get A.N. Other frame.
Now, sometimes when stuff's not going exactly to plan and customers want to place orders/are in the process of ordering/want updates on their (one-off!) orders, the barrage of emails and messages can be completely overwhelming to the point that you just mentally block and switch everything off. I'm speaking from experience of running a small business that does a few one-offs here. I'm not defending any perceived lack of communication but sometimes it's difficult to know what to tell someone in this situation. Like, we're still waiting for your particular flavour of steel to arrive from our supplier who is waiting for it from their supplier because it's stuck in customs. We can't get gas or filler for the welders. We can't get abrasive wheels for the grinder because our supplier is dry because of covid. We have a few fabricators off because they're self-isolating. There are loads of (non-suspicious) reasons why Shit Goes Wrong is all and if Marino aren't telling Luke anything then Luke can't tell anyone else anything.
edit-
It’s a hardtail, I’ll just wait but wouldn’t want people to think 6/7 weeks is common or likely as I’m not in the minority.
The thing is here @boxwithawindow is that 6/7 weeks [i]was[/i] common around the time me and marksnook ordered our frames, global circumstances changed which then changed not only how long it was taking them to make and send a frame but also how long stuff was taking to get to wherever it was going and pass through customs. I'm not saying that radio silence isn't frustrating or worrying sometimes but generally when there's no news there's just no news.
I ordered my frame in April, happy being patient but 5 or 6 weeks and 8 months is a big difference.
Just want anyone reading to be prepared to wait in the dark for a while if they're ordering.
Ultimately you're not getting a custom frame for that sort of money anywhere else.
Ultimately you’re not getting a custom frame for that sort of money anywhere else.
you're not getting it from there either too at the moment 😀
Haha you make a good point sir!
I ordered my frame in April, happy being patient but 5 or 6 weeks and 8 months is a big difference.
Just want anyone reading to be prepared to wait in the dark for a while if they’re ordering.
Ultimately you’re not getting a custom frame for that sort of money anywhere else.
8 months with minimal communication is ludicrous - surely they’ve forgotten your order? They’ve definitely shipped frames to the U.K. since then, and a hardtail frame should be relatively simple for them.
Well quite mate, I've seen an engraved headtube so it's not forgotten but I've heard nothing from anyone for about two months now.
We just took delivery of some boots which we ordered last November from a boot factory in Derbyshire. That’s boots. Made of U.K. leather. Made here. The delays on stuff are insane right now let alone the delays in post within the U.K.
Frames from Peru. 😭
Very true Brant, I have no trouble waiting patiently but
I was told months ago "your frame was being built last week so should be anytime now" but I have heard nothing and been ignored since.
Perhaps you can you give them a nudge for me please brand my old mucker?
Well I've taken the plunge and sent Luke an email with my requirements. Also asked if Marino are still taking orders considering the backlog.
Lets see if I get a reply.
Be interesting to see what you get back....
Just had an email from Luke...
Hi Alex,
Our frames are being shipped, still waiting for the inventory to see what’s in there.
In daily talks with Marino, as soon as he confirms I’ll let you know.
Thanks.
Luke.
Happy with that, at least I'm not being ignored.
Did he say they’re in transit now or still waiting to be shipped?
That's a copy and paste of the email so read into it what you will.
Sorry I can't be more help.
I guess it’s a bit ambiguous - probably means he’s in the dark about what Peru are doing. Guess no change there then - must be frustrating being a Distributor for a company that just do what they like and don’t communicate properly with you.
In the meantime I’m sitting tight and not paying the final invoice on my frame until I have confirmation the frame is in the U.K.
At the moment I’m only out £100 so keeping my options open.
I (foolishly?) paid the invoice after being assured I will have it before Christmas.
I was about to - transferred money from savings account to current but then stopped before I made the payment. Sitting tight until I know what’s happening - if this all gets caught up in Brexit customs carnage and doesn’t make its way here I don’t want to be out the full amount of money.
There are a couple of other frames that could potentially be fun and do what I want - albeit with not quite the same reach / seat tube figures I was after
I find it totally bizarre that people are happy to send a decent chunk of cash out for something before checking that they can even communicate with the vendor. I'd want to make sure I had a phone number and that they'd at least answer it if I called them. I think things taking a long time to be built and arrive is fine (I've been there as a struggling supplier) as long as the communication is good.
The idea that there is a box with some frames in it somewhere and one might be yours, but it's ok because some bloke called Luke that you chat to on Facebook every couple of weeks says it'll probably be fine...
I had a reply from Luke this morning confirming that the backlogs are big but frames are still getting through. He has advised me to hold off ordering until January, saying that delivery should be back to 8-10 weeks.
Given the current situation I wouldn’t be ordering a Marino right now tbh. If I’d known it would be like this with the communication I possibly wouldn’t have ordered it. I may have stumped up for a Curtis instead as at least you can ring them and they’re not a million miles away. But that would probably have meant lower spec wheels and fork so if this does come through I should have a better handling bike.
I’m turning into a right skeptic.
Got a reply to say they’re on way - will be here this week or next week. Then waiting to see if they fly from Heathrow to Newcastle or go by road.
They’re meant to be going from Peru to Heathrow by plane and I wasn’t aware that flight was a week long 🤷♂️
They have said to me that delivery can take 5 weeks
I ordered mine last Monday and it was in stock in the uk, I was told on Saturday that it was sorted Thursday and would be with me today, just received my tracking from Luke to see the courier was organised Saturday, booked yesterday and the frame was picked up today.
I’m not super fussed because it’ll still be here this week but if you can’t get a delivery within a week and a half from a uk based frame I wouldn’t be holding out hope for a 2020 frame that might either be in Peru, or an airport, or an aeroplane...
I only ever communicated directly with Marino, I paid a deposit for him to start building having already agreed on the build spec. Once it was built (during which I got a lot of photos showing the process) I paid the balance and it was shipped.
Worth noting that I paid around $100 shipping and it came on its own, not in a larger shipment. I paid around £450 in total with no extras so if people are paying less than that now then it's down to reduced shipping costs but will likely slow the shipping down as well.
I originally ordered direct from Marino too and there was a $110 shipping charge. It then got taken over by Luke and to be fair nothing had happened for a few months by then. They’ve now changed it so they aren’t individually shipping frames anymore to make it more efficient in batches and cheaper on shipping costs.
Mine arrived at lunch time, headset, bars, stem, forks & wheels already fitted.
If you lot have anywhere near the sort of quality of this one I think you’ll be really pleased, very clean welds, good powdercoating/paint, I’ve got sliding dropouts that went in first time and the axle went straight through with no fiddly alignment.
Well worth the cash. It feels heavy when bare, and yet when it’s got the components on that it does (inc 170mm Yari’s) it doesn’t feel heavy at all.
Only waiting on my brakes to arrive and I need to order a a saddle but it looks like I might get an Xmas ride in!
Yours was a U.K. stock one rather than custom order from Marino - is it a hardtail or fs you’ve got a 170mm Yari on? Sounds quite hardcore either way - you should stick some photos up!
I clutching at straws I may see the frame in the next few weeks - but it does sound like it’s going to at least hit the U.K. prior to Brexit which can only be a good thing.
Yup, UK stock and it still took 12 days to arrive - so good luck with yours (everyone on here)
It’s a hardtail and it’s incredible, forks will be dropped to 150 or 160 when I get around to it but I’ll give it a bash at 170 to see how stupid it is first.
Photos will follow as I had 20 mins spare earlier so fitted forks and wheels but I should pick most other components up from the office in the morning.
I've been staying away from posting on this thread for a couple of different reasons until now.
But Luke has assured me the frames are on their way.
Copy and past from an email yesterday evening.
the frames left Marino Peru last week and I’m waiting for forward tracking. Being flown Air Canada from Peru. The batch was passed to the freight broker and a schedule of shipping built by them as per all batches that leave Peru
Hope everyone gets their frames soon.
That’s more information than I got - sounds more positive then I thought!
Itching to get building it up now - I’ve rebuilt / serviced my Oneup dropper, changed the code r lever my mate bent crashing my bike and have even filled the new tyres with Stan’s so they’re literally all ready to go.
Copy and paste from latest email.
Looks promising for everyone.
Evening Stu
I’ve just received the forward tracking for the batch.
Arriving in Newcastle at 9am Monday 21st - I am calling the customs agent we use tomorrow as a priority, need to action a same day release so I can repack and send ASAP.
Best regards
Luke
That’s exactly the message I got too - word for word. Will still be amazed if it finds it’s way from Newcastle to Bristol before Christmas!