Farr - Endurance Inspired Bike Solutions

[tinmug]

Thanks for reporting that matthieup.

[lechatnoir]

correcto --- some more great coverage of our #1 selling item - the Aero Bolt-On. 

 

Woweee!! Is that Campy EPS?

[Ashchest]

 

So I thought I would support you guys. Bought 2 farr dot tyres to run on my converted hardtail, running on Sunringle TR25 (so the good width).

 

I have only used on road, and after a combined 130km, on the 3rd ride i got stranded 0kms from home with a rear puncture that wouldn't seal. After getting home I noticed a bump near the rim where air would escape (tubeless) and thought it was  manufacturing default. (white is sealant)

 

 

After engaging with Evo bike where I bought them from (great service from them) they agreed it should be warrantied. Unfortunately the replacement didn't arrive on time for the 99er and I decided (no choice) to run a tube. After 80km the tube exploded. I didn't spot any apparent issue not was there anything sharp in the tyre, I change the tube and it exploded as I pumped it up... That was it for a very disappointed me, 20km from the finish...

Upon removing the tyre at home to send it back I noticed the issue, just below the rim line

 

 

When I received the replacement tyre I noticed a lot of imperfections along the bead line and queried with Evo who agreed it was not normal (also compared to other tires) and invited me to pop in and check the other in stock. The other I checked had similar imperfections and even could see the bead material fraying in one spot. 

I am going to be refunded for the rear tyre, BUT, now, I cannot trust the front tyre, but as it hasn't failed yet I cannot have this one refunded... I'm therefore out of pocket but will definitely not be using this tyre, especially at the front. Imagine what would happen if it failed like that going down at 70kph.... I went for a gravel tyre thinking it would be stronger....

 

Oh well, I just want people to be aware and check before they have an accident

 

Oh dear!!   Seems I was not the only one then??   I went through 4 x Farr Dots within 2 & 1/2  months and ended up tossing them because they were the most unreliable and lowest quality tyres I ever used !  Yes they ride great and feel solid, but I ended up not feeling safe out on the road with them.  Around 1200 km's on 4 x tyres and a total waste of my money. Farr did send me 2 replacements after the first failures, but those replacements also failed      Bubbles in the tires, endless punctures that wouldn't seal with sealant and more bubbles. I also had the imperfections.   At the end the only way to get rid of the bubbles were to puncture them and they would escape gas and go away and then new bubbles formed somewhere else.    I thought that if I puncture the bubbles and they leaked sealant then it must have been failure or from the inside, but no sealant and only gas escaped and gone was the bubble -  yes one has to make a plan when you want to ride and have no other tyres, so I punctured the bubbles 

 

I ended up buying a set of Specialized Pathfinder Pro's and they are excellent and so durable + from the start the quality that one would expect from a proper bicycle tyre.  For only R110 more than the Dot's per tyre.  Have done about 750 km's with the Pathfinder's and they are great - not one puncture and they are still as good as new.

 

I run my tyre pressures on the higher side at about 65 - 70 psi because 90% of my riding is on the road.    Farr told me that my pressures are very high although they were within the specification printed on the tyres.   So I felt that maybe the fault was with me and the way I utilised them, but after seeing your post I now realise that these Dot's are just plain crappy and inferior and that I made a mistake to spend money with Farr.

 

 

The question now is, was this just a bad batch and were we unlucky to have wasted out money on the bad ones, or is this the general quality of the Farr Dot tyres?   And .....    what about the other Farr products, because I really like the look of their Carbon forks, but now not sure if they and the other products might also fail me?

[matthieup]

Oh dear!!   Seems I was not the only one then??   I went through 4 x Farr Dots within 2 & 1/2  months and ended up tossing them because they were the most unreliable and lowest quality tyres I ever used !  Yes they ride great and feel solid, but I ended up not feeling safe out on the road with them.  Around 1200 km's on 4 x tyres and a total waste of my money. Farr did send me 2 replacements after the first failures, but those replacements also failed      Bubbles in the tires, endless punctures that wouldn't seal with sealant and more bubbles. I also had the imperfections.   At the end the only way to get rid of the bubbles were to puncture them and they would escape gas and go away and then new bubbles formed somewhere else.    I thought that if I puncture the bubbles and they leaked sealant then it must have been failure or from the inside, but no sealant and only gas escaped and gone was the bubble -  yes one has to make a plan when you want to ride and have no other tyres, so I punctured the bubbles 

 

I ended up buying a set of Specialized Pathfinder Pro's and they are excellent and so durable + from the start the quality that one would expect from a proper bicycle tyre.  For only R110 more than the Dot's per tyre.  Have done about 750 km's with the Pathfinder's and they are great - not one puncture and they are still as good as new.

 

I run my tyre pressures on the higher side at about 65 - 70 psi because 90% of my riding is on the road.    Farr told me that my pressures are very high although they were within the specification printed on the tyres.   So I felt that maybe the fault was with me and the way I utilised them, but after seeing your post I now realise that these Dot's are just plain crappy and inferior and that I made a mistake to spend money with Farr.

 

 

The question now is, was this just a bad batch and were we unlucky to have wasted out money on the bad ones, or is this the general quality of the Farr Dot tyres?   And .....    what about the other Farr products, because I really like the look of their Carbon forks, but now not sure if they and the other products might also fail me?

 

Oh WOW. I definitely will not be trying the fork as I'm now worried about the quality control...

 

And funny enough I have been looking at the Specialized Pathfinder Pro online today and was planning on going to get a set tomorrow. I'm glad to see your better experience with these. 

[Ashchest]

And funny enough I have been looking at the Specialized Pathfinder Pro online today and was planning on going to get a set tomorrow. I'm glad to see your better experience with these. 

 

Yes they are great if you are looking for a gravel tyre but want to do a-lot of road riding with it.  Not as wide as the Dot's with much less volume and you will at first feel a bit less grip on the rear than what you are used to with the Dot's, but they will not fail you and they are faaast and tuff and have a very nice ride feel!!  So go get them!    

The Dot's are 'n great idea and would be excellent if the quality and durability were better.  But to struggle with small cuts after and during nearly every ride along with the bubbles / bulges became an absolute pain.

 

Here where I live and love to cycle 100km + loops in Centurion & Voortrekker Hoogte area are a-lot of small pieces of glass in the roads and on the sides.   The Pathfinder Pro's simply crushes the glass, but the Dot's would swallow them and the glass will sit in the tyre and slowly cut through.  At least once per week I had to remove a Dot and patch it from the inside - even the smallest of punctures would become big problems - even after trying tubeless repair plugs it would not seal and seemed as if the holes just got ripped wider.  Too soft a rubber?  Perhaps.  They are not worth R550 - even my much cheaper R250 Chaoyang semi-slick tyres are more robust and gave much less problems than these Dot's

 

I then started talking to some shops and riders about this and the guys at the Specialized store in Centurion said yes, there are lots of glass on the roads, but they have never seen or experienced failure feedback from clients like what I had with the Dot's and advised me to try the Pathfinder's.   So happy I did and I guess my money wasted with Farr on their tyres became school fees and taught me to rather stick with reliable brand names.

[Ashchest]

Forgot to mention.  I did contact the guys at Farr after the failures on the replacements they sent me and told them what happened and that I decided to try the Pathfinder's and see how they perform compared to the Dot's - but they never replied to my mail - not sure if you guys never read my mail or just didn't bother to reply?   

[MTB Kid]

 

So I thought I would support you guys. Bought 2 farr dot tyres to run on my converted hardtail, running on Sunringle TR25 (so the good width).

 

I have only used on road, and after a combined 130km, on the 3rd ride i got stranded 0kms from home with a rear puncture that wouldn't seal. After getting home I noticed a bump near the rim where air would escape (tubeless) and thought it was manufacturing default. (white is sealant)

 

 

After engaging with Evo bike where I bought them from (great service from them) they agreed it should be warrantied. Unfortunately the replacement didn't arrive on time for the 99er and I decided (no choice) to run a tube. After 80km the tube exploded. I didn't spot any apparent issue not was there anything sharp in the tyre, I change the tube and it exploded as I pumped it up... That was it for a very disappointed me, 20km from the finish...

Upon removing the tyre at home to send it back I noticed the issue, just below the rim line

 

 

When I received the replacement tyre I noticed a lot of imperfections along the bead line and queried with Evo who agreed it was not normal (also compared to other tires) and invited me to pop in and check the other in stock. The other I checked had similar imperfections and even could see the bead material fraying in one spot.

I am going to be refunded for the rear tyre, BUT, now, I cannot trust the front tyre, but as it hasn't failed yet I cannot have this one refunded... I'm therefore out of pocket but will definitely not be using this tyre, especially at the front. Imagine what would happen if it failed like that going down at 70kph.... I went for a gravel tyre thinking it would be stronger....

 

Oh well, I just want people to be aware and check before they have an accident

looks like a batch issue.

Edited February 15, 2020 by MTB Kid

[Farrnus]

Oh dear!!   Seems I was not the only one then??   I went through 4 x Farr Dots within 2 & 1/2  months and ended up tossing them because they were the most unreliable and lowest quality tyres I ever used !  Yes they ride great and feel solid, but I ended up not feeling safe out on the road with them.  Around 1200 km's on 4 x tyres and a total waste of my money. Farr did send me 2 replacements after the first failures, but those replacements also failed      Bubbles in the tires, endless punctures that wouldn't seal with sealant and more bubbles. I also had the imperfections.   At the end the only way to get rid of the bubbles were to puncture them and they would escape gas and go away and then new bubbles formed somewhere else.    I thought that if I puncture the bubbles and they leaked sealant then it must have been failure or from the inside, but no sealant and only gas escaped and gone was the bubble -  yes one has to make a plan when you want to ride and have no other tyres, so I punctured the bubbles 

 

I ended up buying a set of Specialized Pathfinder Pro's and they are excellent and so durable + from the start the quality that one would expect from a proper bicycle tyre.  For only R110 more than the Dot's per tyre.  Have done about 750 km's with the Pathfinder's and they are great - not one puncture and they are still as good as new.

 

I run my tyre pressures on the higher side at about 65 - 70 psi because 90% of my riding is on the road.    Farr told me that my pressures are very high although they were within the specification printed on the tyres.   So I felt that maybe the fault was with me and the way I utilised them, but after seeing your post I now realise that these Dot's are just plain crappy and inferior and that I made a mistake to spend money with Farr.

 

 

The question now is, was this just a bad batch and were we unlucky to have wasted out money on the bad ones, or is this the general quality of the Farr Dot tyres?   And .....    what about the other Farr products, because I really like the look of their Carbon forks, but now not sure if they and the other products might also fail me?

 

Sorry - have been moving house and not behind the computer much the past 2 days.

 

Firstly, apologies for this quality issue - that tyre is not up to standard and we need to take it up with our manufacturer - Vee Rubber in Thailand.

 

I have escalated this with them and am awaiting response - we still have alot of these tyres in stock.

 

Having seen this issue I checked our sales and out of just over 100 units being sold we have had 3 issues like this.

 

Let me get back to you on Monday once they have had a chance to respond to my e-mail.

 

We will of course refund you for these and sort out anyone who has similar issues.

 

Working with multiple vendors and suppliers means we sometimes have to wait for them to clarify issues like this. Personally I have had a set for over 18 months and have not had similar issue/s.

 

Wishing you a great weekend - will report back on Monday once the factory has responded.

[Farrnus]

 

So I thought I would support you guys. Bought 2 farr dot tyres to run on my converted hardtail, running on Sunringle TR25 (so the good width).

 

I have only used on road, and after a combined 130km, on the 3rd ride i got stranded 0kms from home with a rear puncture that wouldn't seal. After getting home I noticed a bump near the rim where air would escape (tubeless) and thought it was  manufacturing default. (white is sealant)

 

 

After engaging with Evo bike where I bought them from (great service from them) they agreed it should be warrantied. Unfortunately the replacement didn't arrive on time for the 99er and I decided (no choice) to run a tube. After 80km the tube exploded. I didn't spot any apparent issue not was there anything sharp in the tyre, I change the tube and it exploded as I pumped it up... That was it for a very disappointed me, 20km from the finish...

Upon removing the tyre at home to send it back I noticed the issue, just below the rim line

 

 

When I received the replacement tyre I noticed a lot of imperfections along the bead line and queried with Evo who agreed it was not normal (also compared to other tires) and invited me to pop in and check the other in stock. The other I checked had similar imperfections and even could see the bead material fraying in one spot. 

I am going to be refunded for the rear tyre, BUT, now, I cannot trust the front tyre, but as it hasn't failed yet I cannot have this one refunded... I'm therefore out of pocket but will definitely not be using this tyre, especially at the front. Imagine what would happen if it failed like that going down at 70kph.... I went for a gravel tyre thinking it would be stronger....

 

Oh well, I just want people to be aware and check before they have an accident

 

sorry about this. not good and definately not something we like seeing!

 

have been moving house the last few days so have not been behind the computer much.

 

these are 72tpi ( an average thread count ) which should be plenty durable. The issue in the above photos is a concern and we have reached out to Vee Rubber ( our manufacturer in Thailand ) to urgently comment further about this.

 

we have sold +100 of these, seen 3 like this. So whilst not a high ratio , it is still a concern for us. We will refund you for these of course, and anyone else who experiences similar issues.

 

hope to have a response during Monday morning ( they are 6 hours ahead of SA ) .

[Wayne pudding Mol]

I don't work for Farr (just in case)  My Farr Dots have been great, lucky I suppose looking a these pics, but mine do 50/50 tar-gravel and in a rural area so not much glass

 

I haven't had a puncture in 2000km

[Farrnus]

I don't work for Farr (just in case)  My Farr Dots have been great, lucky I suppose looking a these pics, but mine do 50/50 tar-gravel and in a rural area so not much glass

 

I haven't had a puncture in 2000km

 

tks Wayne - mine are around 18 months old ( granted I don't do high mileage ) and have not had any bulges or issues. I am however running the pressure lower than most would on the road.

[matthieup]

If that helps I was running 4 bars. Look you're presence here was one of my deciding factor and I liked the profile of these tire. Unfortunately tire failures can have a dramatic consequence. Also seeing the issues on all the tires offered as replacement does not inspire confidence which is why I have decided not to keep the front tire on. So I'll be reimbursed for the failed one but still out of pocket for the almost new other one....

[Farrnus]

If that helps I was running 4 bars. Look you're presence here was one of my deciding factor and I liked the profile of these tire. Unfortunately tire failures can have a dramatic consequence. Also seeing the issues on all the tires offered as replacement does not inspire confidence which is why I have decided not to keep the front tire on. So I'll be reimbursed for the failed one but still out of pocket for the almost new other one....

 

4 bars sounds extremely high - but regardless - we don't want to see these issues. Farr will reimburse you for both tyres - don't expect you to ride the front tyre if you are uncomfortable to do so. Have just re-sent the mail to Vee Rubber for them to urgently reply on Monday. will chase them up on Monday morning too - they don't work weekends. 

[matthieup]

Well says 3 to 5 bars on the tire....

[Ashchest]

I don't work for Farr (just in case)  My Farr Dots have been great, lucky I suppose looking a these pics, but mine do 50/50 tar-gravel and in a rural area so not much glass

 

I haven't had a puncture in 2000km

 

Yes lucky you, but for me it was strange to encounter such issues after they were recommended on this forum  -and I thought there was something really wrong with the way I applied them since no one else reported issues - on the contrary people raved about them.  

So when matthieup reported very similar quality issues my sanity was restored.

 

I went out this morning for a 40km ride on my normal routes with lots of small glass pieces and every now and then I would hear that dreaded pssst pssst pssst pssst sound of sealant spraying out, but when I look down I saw no signs of any sealant on my frame -  just to learn that it was the sound of early morning garden sprayers or the sound of cicades singing       and not the sound of Dot's failing 

[Patchelicious]

Yes lucky you, but for me it was strange to encounter such issues after they were recommended on this forum -and I thought there was something really wrong with the way I applied them since no one else reported issues - on the contrary people raved about them.

So when matthieup reported very similar quality issues my sanity was restored.

 

I went out this morning for a 40km ride on my normal routes with lots of small glass pieces and every now and then I would hear that dreaded pssst pssst pssst pssst sound of sealant spraying out, but when I look down I saw no signs of any sealant on my frame - just to learn that it was the sound of early morning garden sprayers or the sound of cicades singing and not the sound of Dot's failing

97/100 tyres working does not sound like “luck”.

 

3/100 not working sounds like bad luck.

Edited February 15, 2020 by Patchelicious