Bowman Palace 3 has landed

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Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

tourniquet wrote:
Mon Mar 29, 2021 2:47 pm
Singular wrote:
Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:04 am
To be frank, I'm not VERY concerned with the weight (as an 1800g frameset is the wrong place to start) but more on divebombing corners, crushing dreams and racing for shits and giggles. That said, 202s is not the usual arnament and I guess that curb weight would be around 8kg.
Mh.... I remember Bowman to specify the Palace 3C frame weight to be around 1620 grams (that info is no more accessable on the updated webshop), now you say it's around 1800 grams... :?
...but that's a 56 in a light colour (which oxymoronically is heavy). Frame and fork were 1770g for me (uncut), the hacksaw took 30g off the fork.

by Weenie


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HJWS
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2020 2:55 pm

by HJWS

Anyone else waiting for a Palace 3 from this batch on frames? Ordered a fully built bike and was charged on Friday (having been told previously I'd be charged when the bike was dispatched) but can't get in contact with them via email or phone for an update.

robikka
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:55 pm

by robikka

does anybody know where to buy spare rear derailleur hanger for new generation Bowman Palace 3C? I received my frameset yesterday but it came with cracked and bent derailleur hanger. Bowman is not no answering my emails and calls I think they are busy. So my new frameset is here but I can not ride it so quite a bad situation...

flying
Posts: 2861
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:16 am

by flying

robikka wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:29 pm
does anybody know where to buy spare rear derailleur hanger for new generation Bowman Palace 3C? I received my frameset yesterday but it came with cracked and bent derailleur hanger. Bowman is not no answering my emails and calls I think they are busy. So my new frameset is here but I can not ride it so quite a bad situation...
Just post the question on their Facebook or Instagram page & they will answer very quickly as everyone will see it :thumbup:

robikka
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:55 pm

by robikka

Thanks, will see if they will help me 👍

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MayhemSWE
Posts: 867
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:44 pm
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

by MayhemSWE

robikka wrote:
Tue Apr 20, 2021 7:29 pm
does anybody know where to buy spare rear derailleur hanger for new generation Bowman Palace 3C?
I doubt Bowman developed their dropout/hanger, more than likely they use something off-the-shelf their Taiwanese manufacturer could source. Have you checked the usual suspects like derailleurhanger.com and search by number of bolts and fastening type? As far as I can tell there are no images showing the hanger on Bowman's site so can't help further…

For anyone looking for a spare hanger for the disc brake Palace 3 or Weald however, I am 99% sure these models use the same hanger as the latest (2021 model only) aluminium version of the Rondo Ruut and Mutt. If you want to buy it from a Rondo dealer their part number is RSP-163.

Broady
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:02 pm

by Broady

I had to replace my Palace hanger (my fault...) and the supplied item was manufactured by BETD. If it arrived broken I'm sure they'll sort you out, their customer service has been great for the couple of little questions I've asked.

robikka
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:55 pm

by robikka

Yes I called them yesterday and was informed that my new hanger is already on its way to me, they were very sorry. Will see but so far they were very helpful and kind .

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MayhemSWE
Posts: 867
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:44 pm
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

by MayhemSWE

Broady wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 9:18 am
I had to replace my Palace hanger (my fault...) and the supplied item was manufactured by BETD.
Yes BETD are Bowman's local manufacturer of replacement hangers. Weirdly enough though despite the BETD having a category for Bowman hangers it contains no products and Bowman seems to seldom have much of anything in stock.

BETD definitely do not make the original hangers used by Bowman's Taiwanese frame manufacturer however. Those are either made by the frame manufacturer themselves or sourced elsewhere.

bloke
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed May 12, 2021 12:40 pm

by bloke

Hi there everyone :). I stumbled across this thread on a Bowman google. First time post for me. I've been a wannabe Palace owner for years but it's been a difficult birth. I purchased an original Palace R in celeste/black which had a manufacturing fault and had to be returned. Unfortunately that return in March last year coincided with the pandemic and stock shortages etc so I instead opted for the new Palace 3C in yellow as a replacement. This did mean suffering a delay along with everyone else, but eventually in January this year I got my frame and got it built up.

Image

It's sram red ten speed and exalith slr's. All good stuff and all very complimentary to the frame's stiff, light and racey nature. I've had my share of nice bikes and I currently have a Cervelo R5 as well as a canyon Aeroad slx. The R5 I bought new back in 2013 and has been really babied. The Aeroad I bought second hand. But since getting the Palace built up I've ridden nothing else but it. An absolutely fabulous bike to ride. Love it. I've racked up about 4k on it.

Would that that were the end of my story however. During the week while wiping the bike down I discovered a terminal crack in the drive-side chainstay :( :( :( :( :(. So I'm waiting to hear back now from Bowman HQ to see what happens from here.

Image

I'd be interested to hear how others are getting on with their frames? It's early days for the new 3C and perhaps there aren't too many of them out in the wild yet with enough mileage up to testify to their resilience. Perhaps I've just been unlucky twice in a row. Hopefully that's the case because having tasted what the frame has to offer on the road, I don't know what I would get it's stead that offer the same bang per buck

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MayhemSWE
Posts: 867
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 12:44 pm
Location: Stockholm, Sweden

by MayhemSWE

bloke wrote:
Thu May 13, 2021 11:01 am
Would that that were the end of my story however. During the week while wiping the bike down I discovered a terminal crack in the drive-side chainstay :( :( :( :( :(. So I'm waiting to hear back now from Bowman HQ to see what happens from here.
Ouch! At least there is no question about whether it is just a crack in the paint. Most likely you should have no problem getting a replacement frame from Bowman, assuming they still have your size frame in stock of course.

I used to have one of their older Foots Cray 'cross frames and found a crack in the chainstay last year. As those were no longer made or in stock, I opted for a Palace 3 frameset instead. That frame was recently custom painted and now due to be built up, have most part on hand but still waiting for Ratio Technology to release their upcoming 2x12 shifter mod kit…

bloke
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed May 12, 2021 12:40 pm

by bloke

MayhemSWE wrote:
Thu May 13, 2021 3:11 pm

Ouch! At least there is no question about whether it is just a crack in the paint. Most likely you should have no problem getting a replacement frame from Bowman, assuming they still have your size frame in stock of course.
I'd be surprised if they did have it in stock going by their website, but I suppose the bigger question for me, having gone "oh" for two now on Palace Frames, is do I want to roll the dice on a third at all? :(. I don't know if I can chalk up two warranty replacements to just sheer, dumb, bad luck and trust that a third time's a charm. For one thing, paying my LBS for three builds and two strip downs borders on matching the original cost of the frame.

I was planning on shelving the Bowman for the summer anyway and riding my other bikes for our Irish summer-approximation so I have time to be deciding, but.... I really don't know what the right move is now. :noidea:

cjm
Posts: 79
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2019 12:56 pm

by cjm

That doesn't look great! What have Bowman said?

rwoofer
Posts: 97
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2019 9:24 pm

by rwoofer

Wait to see what Bowman says and take it from there. Would be surprised if they didn't want to take care of you.

My Palace 3C is arriving in August/Sept. A 60cm frame with 90kg rider so I'll certainly be stressing it more than most.

by Weenie


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bloke
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed May 12, 2021 12:40 pm

by bloke

So, in fairness to Bowman they have reacted in both cases in exactly the manner in which you would hope a company would react. They arranged and paid for collection and shipping of the frameset back to Bowman HQ (from Irekand in my case). The first time they accepted immediately that there was a manufacturing fault with the frame and they offered me either a full refund or a replacement frame. The problem then however was that they had none left of the original black/celeste Palace R in a 56, so I had my choice of basically any frame in their catalogue. My build and finishing kit was all rim brake obviously so none of the disc braked frames were of any use, so I had the option of getting their brand new, soon to be launched Palace 3C. - I was happy to wait for that, but then of course Covid stuck a massive spanner into the works so, through no fault of Bowman, I had a lonnnnggg wait for my replacement frame- almost a year to the day in fact.
Now however, here I am again with a second failed frame, my bike dismantled once more. I'm sure the response will be the same - refund or replace. But I think to be honest the sheen has gone off the Bowman ownership experience for me now. I've little appetite for another roll of the dice, cycling around suspicious of every click, wary of the structural integrity of the frame on descents, inspecting the undercarriage of the frame after every ride. I'd say even my LBS would look at me askance if I were to come back with my box of bits and a 3rd Bowman frame for building.

So, that's where it's at. I'm shopping around for other frame options at the moment but there isn't a whole lot out there really. I don't want to put anyone off an imminent purchase or delivery of a Palace frame. Up until it broke it was an exceedingly pleasurable bike to both ride and admire and perhaps I was just unlucky. Anyway, I'd expect to hear back from Bowman later in the week and sure we'll see what the craic is then. :)

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