Email addresses / contact for Hope?

Getting seriously annoyed with Hope, legendary customer service is quite frankly diabolical and I'm wondering if [email='info@hopetech.com]'info@hopetech.com[/email]' is the wrong address. No help at all with blunt responses.

I've asked for several older parts or help with over the last few weeks and its always no, despite me finding people on here and other forums having luck.

For example I need a longer rear skewer, I can find multiple people who have had one made but they keep telling me to go away. I could make the bloody thing myself, its just a case of making the threaded rod 10-15mm longer and sticking a normal QR lever on it.

I know they cannot stock everything but even simple things like hub ratchet rings and O2 caliper seals are not available, I'm not buying anymore Hope :twisted:

So, is there a contact for someone at Hope who takes things more seriously?

I had similar when I was after a long skewer to match the one I had on the front and they wouldn't do it. Was for a Trek Fuel EX to go through the ABP back end. Gave up as I went bolt through on the front and wasn't arsed about matching any more.

sent you PM

Magsy":2bojzgwu said:

Getting seriously annoyed with Hope, legendary customer service is quite frankly diabolical

Click to expand...

Diabolical? Over-reaction to say the least.

Tried getting hold of 10+year old parts from anyone else lately? Shimano? Campagnolo? Sram? Even Pace have "gaps" in their spares list.

Don't think you are being terribly reasonable to be frank.

Their pre-year 2000 spares archive is immense, all things considered. Most companies provide after-sales spares for 5 years after a part has been discontinued (unless they ran out before, which often happens)

No matter how many stops any manufacturer pulls out, there will always be someone who can't get some obscure part or other that is no longer made - and then posts stuff like this on the internet.

My experience with Hope has always been A1.

I've just phoned Hope - for a couple of bits that I needed replacing.
They are in the post to me tonight.
Spoke to a very nice guy who was very helpful.

i tend to agree with dbmtb, we are all looking around for stuff that isn't made anymore and at somepoint that stuff runs out.

also you'll probably find that there is one person answering all the email enquiries that come in and i bet there are loads, hence the short replies!

my suggestion would be to try and find a hope dealer who may have something tucked away somewhere.

for example, hope do spares boxes for all their brakes, these have been available for quite some time to dealers who do alot of servicing but they might not have used up all the older spares contained in those boxes so you might get lucky. the shop i used to work at had some xc4 spares in it's box when i left the trade nearly 4 years ago and i bet they're still there now! so it wouldn't surprise me if another shop has other parts. also don't forget that O2 brakes weren't out for that long by comparison with the mini brakes for example.

as far as ratchet rings go, the last i heard was that when the hub ratchet dies they have been doing part exes/discounts on (new) hubs, not ideal for a retro bike but way better than a slap in the face!

personally i think hope are great and not because of being a british company, i was trying to think of parts other than Hope to use on a custom build i am thinking of sorting out as most of my bikes are smothered in hope stuff so i wanted a change, but i just felt i couldn't find any components as good a quality for the price. i have only just replaced the bearings in my rear hub on my ST4 and it's 4 years old! that's value for money! the only hub i think is (arguably) better is a chris king but it's more than twice almost 3 times the price!

please don't think i am having a go at you but i find it strange that you're frustrated with them for something that can't be helped. if someone came to you and asked you for something you had thrown away 15 years ago you would tell them not to be so daft!

I can still get pads for my cable discs from them but they wouldn't make a new mounting bracket when the stock ran out - They said that some things were lost/left behind/scrapped when they moved factory, and with the new cnc machines items would need reprogrammed for them and that wasn't cost effective for old part few people wanted. Totally understandable in my eyes.

They did suggest taking the broken one to a local machine shop to be made up as that would be most cost effective.

It wasn't a result of poor customer service it was the result of a modern company trying to stay ahead in a competitive market.

I am amazed I can still get pads to be honest.

Phew

Please don't think the tone of my 'rant' is how I communicate with Hope.
I'm just annoyed and frustrated. I work in a partial customer service role, I know what good customer service is and I've been nothing but polite, courteous and even resorted to begging on several occasions.

The person who replies to emails at Hope is neither polite nor rude, direct would be a good way of describing them and certainly not someone I would have fronting my company. Any converstation you have with them is dead ended straight away and you are invited to buy something newer in a roundabout way.....I have new Hope stuff but this is Retrobike after all :roll: I have not been offered any discounts. I have used three distinct different email addresses and names over five different requests/converstations, all with the same result.

This is 2011, a time where communication via the web is vital to your company, the old school talk about picking up the phone but that is not todays world...Hope are definately not fully web smart. It does appear I need to restort to old tech to solve this problem, something I did not realise (honestly)

As stated at the begining, I would not expect them to be able to provide me with a hub shell or a piston from an old caliper; anything large or costly to stock / produce. I fully understand you cannot have hundreds of thousands of pounds tied up in old stock.

They are supposed to be a centre of engineering excellence, an English company that make everything in house. I understand when something runs out its gone but that is not the case for Hope, they can knock out something simple like a skewer in ten mins because 95% of it is already on the shelf in current model form and there are plenty of us out there with their older equipment.

I have not asked for obscure parts, that is my problem, I am asking for simple service parts and they don't have them. If you need a ratchet for your Bulb hub, they won't have one and those hubs are not that old. Please consider the last date these items were sold, not their introduction date. How can you not get a seal for an O2 caliper? Baffling, its a 5p bit of rubber.

When you pay a higher price for equipment you expect the back up. I have not have problems getting parts for any car or motorbike I have owned, 15 years old + including Japanese only imports. My gas boiler at home has broken twice in a year and both times original parts have been fine, that is 12 years old. Perhaps this is my problem, I have a lot of experience with cars, I've only ever owned BMW's and I've never failed to get an original part direct from BMW. In my eyes, Hope is the BMW of the bike world, a high end, high class manufacturer. Yes BMW is huge but so are the price and size of the items, its relative. You can get a new engine for a 10 year old car...

Please don't think I'm knocking Hopes quality, I know the stuff is first rate on every level which is why I have a lot of it. I love it, really I do and have always recomended it. I don't object to the price premium because it is very very nice gear. However, I do expect a little more assistance via email, even if it is to raise points like jonnyboy666 mentions about the 'spares kits' LBS might have. (Thanks, good idea and one I'll persue)

Carge: What parts did you order?

I only asked for some longer rear skewers and some O2 seals.
Apparently they're in the post already.






Only joshing - some other seals and a steerer cap bolt.

Although some of your points may be valid in other situations I am going to have to reply WTF get a clue. I'll expand on this when home and off the iPhone.