I don’t think he’s complaining about the colour, but simply that the colour advertised is not the colour received by an enormous margin.

I returned mine ages ago for black, which was the right call, but nice to see I’m far from alone in my disappointment – https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Y2ConZm7eC2Fa3sX/?mibextid=WC7FNe

It’s amazing just how different they are from the early production – https://www.instagram.com/p/C5BaEiOoKXj/?igsh=em80aDVqY2FtNDRk

Looks like Hope are starting to update their stock images now. Promo on the left and the current website version on the right.

You’re probably right, it has rambled a bit, sorry – They are going back to be replaced with black hubs as suggested in the first response.

I think the wider discussion is valid, ie it’s odd that the product Hope are shipping isn’t the one they originally advertised and it’s very similar to orange, which people might want to know before buying it.

This can be closed now if the admins agree.

Hmmm, if I google image search hope hub bronze, I mainly only see brown promo shots from hope and a few orange hubs because the algorithm is confused.

There is this video which gives an even better idea of how they look in the flesh than my photos do. Sort of yellow gold with a dash of orange.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Tt-uYxX7R/?igsh=bDNzeTU1c29icWky

To be clear, I’m OP and I’m not escalating to any poor bugger at all – see above comments, but actually I am standing by the wheel builder. He has small margins and I completely agree it’s not his remit to identify a colour variation that made it through Hope QC.

I intend to find an amicable way through this that doesn’t impact him and is fair and reasonable with Hope as well.

Re aesthetics, I absolutely love building bikes and making them beautiful and it’s part of the joy for me and completely equal to riding. I’m making no apology for this.

It was a light hearted thread until you turned up!

I’ve been in touch with hope and they were very minimal in their response but are encouraging me to to send it back to the wheel builder and they’ll come up with a solution for him. I hope the solution includes credit, as he will have to rebuild the wheels.

I just remembered I had an orange headset top cap in my parts bin, so just for fun, here it is next to my “bronze” hub 😂

And as a reminder, this is the advertised colour:

It’s so bizarre that they’ve made a new colour that can’t be distinguished from an existing colour unless it’s next to it.

In the photo above, I don’t actually know if I’m looking at an orange or bronze headset part (except that it’s written on the box)

Screen calibration isn’t really a factor as the difference will be clear between the two colours regardless.

As it goes, I have pro calibrated displays and the problem is very present

Is that a bronze TR stem on the left?

Interestingly, the wheel builder (who is very helpful and honest which is why I don’t want to drop this on him) says the first set that came in were as advertised and very nice, but all subsequent sets are like mine.

I think this may indeed indicate they had an issue in production.

Definitely bronze supplied.

The wheel builder can’t help as he can’t cover the cost of the rebuild and Hope wouldn’t cover it either.

I’ll have to learn to live with it but Hope really need to address it before more customers make the same mistake.

Unfortunately that would penalise the wheel builder and not Hope, which would feel a bit unfair

I would absolutely return them if they weren’t custom wheels 🙃

They have removed the picture of the 2.6 Mezcal from the design notes – that comes up at exactly 2.6 inches so they definitely know.

That’s true, I imagine you’re right. The real problem isn’t so much that they’ve reduced the tyre clearance, but that it’s random and you don’t know what you’re getting. Fairlight were really nice to deal with on the whole and helped me out in the end, but with an out of tolerance seatbtube and chain stays I couldn’t possibly recommend the Holt to anybody, unless perhaps they are more open about what’s happened and move their fabrication elsewhere.

Anyway, I’ve moaned enough! My next post will be a photo of my build (with limited edition 2.6 tyre clearance)

Indeed. It’s a bit baffling that Fairlight are taking the hit entirely instead of holding their supplier to account. Even if it meant a delay on existing orders, I’m sure that would be better than changing their design spec to accommodate problems in manufacturing. I don’t get why they would do that.

Third frame has arrived and the tyre clearance is good. Plenty of it with the 66mm 29×2.6 Mezcal – it is drastically different to the previous frame.

It’s a shame Fairlight have changed their advertised tyre clearance as they can’t rely on the fabricator to hit their numbers. It would surely be better to get on top of that as they are clearly capable of making frames that fit a true 2.6 tyre.

Seat tube is fine on this one too.

No worries @onecheshirecat 

Fairlight have changed the advertised clearance now.  

Without going into too much detail, their tolerances are so tight that combined with some minor variations in manufacturing, some frames will barely accept a 66mm tyre and some will not. My third frame will arrive tomorrow and fits into the former category.

I’ll see how it goes and sell it for a Mason Raw or a Singular Swift if it doesn’t work out.

If you’re worried about the clearance issue at all, give them a call. 

Mocked up this comparison as best I could. Something definitely not right.

Yeah, I think it does need to go back but that will be another 2 months without a bike whilst I wait for the next shipment. Not riding a bike has tanked my mental health and I need to get back on!

Oh well, needs must I suppose

Thanks for the photo. I have nothing close to that sort of clearance on either side. What the hell!!

Thanks for the responses.

I can’t remember if it was the same on frame 1 – I didn’t check at the time or didn’t notice it. 

I’ve checked a couple of things with my digital caliper just now. The distance between the stays measured at the point where Fairlight measure it is 78mm, which matches their spec. The tyre is 66mm wide, which matches Fairlight’s max recommended.

I’ve also flipped the wheel and the problem stays on the drive side. I can only conclude that the stays aren’t exactly centred in line with the wheel. I think the next step is to confirm with Fairlight if the wheel should be 100% centred or if it’s expected to be further outboard on the drive side. I’ve emailed them. The photo makes it look worse than it is, so I’ll take a video later. 

With the seat tube issue, tyre clearance, and this (translate in your browser), I am beginning to worry that there are manufacturing issues they need to get on top of.

If that’s just the amount of clearance on all frames, then fine, but I don’t think it can be advertised as 29×2.6 compatible. The Mezcal would be the most popular tyre by far on a bike like this.

Hi all.

My first Holt frame needed to be returned because the seat tube wasn’t formed correctly – It was loose at the top and too tight at the bottom. Fairlight inspected it and agreed it was a QC issue and I waited over 2 months for a replacement. I can’t complain about the customer service, but it was frustrating to be without a bike.

I received the replacement frame (Large) last week and the seat tube is good on this one. However, I am seeing an issue with tyre clearance. It’s significant enough that I’m worried the frame is out of sorts again.

I’m seeing almost no clearance on the drive-side chain stay. The tyre bristles are touching the stay.

This is with Vittoria Mezcal 29×2.6 at 25 PSI on Hope Pro 5 hubs. The Thru-Axel is torqued to spec.

This does seem odd as the frame is specced for 29×2.6 and the Mezcal has relatively small knobs. It’s also a tyre I have seen Fairlight use for publicity shoots.

I’m hoping onecheshirecat sees this as I think he is using the same tyres. If so, I’d love to see a photo of your clearance on the drive side chain stay. My photo below.