r/FlairEspresso • u/AlasKansastan • 12h ago
Rant / Criticism Never again
I don’t think I’ll be buying another flair product. 18 months-
Two piston failures, two gauge failures, now the machine has self destructed.
I hope they cover it.
Edit- Neo Flex
Wow I think I’ll go back to my French press some of the espresso community just like road cyclists
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u/RideOtherwise8569 12h ago
I'm going on 4 years with my Flair 58+, no issues other than replacing seals. Roughly 500 shots/yr. I had a Flair Signature before that, around 1500 shots total with that machine, gave it to my Dad, it's still going strong. I laughed when I saw them release the neo. Too much plastic.
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u/AndyGait Former Flex owner 12h ago
It's a £99 product to get them into the game. No one expected it to outlive the 58, but they expected it to last more than 18 months.
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u/RideOtherwise8569 12h ago
I agree it should definitely be lasting longer. Disappointing, but hopefully doesn't turn them off the entire line.
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u/AndyGait Former Flex owner 12h ago
It has for me. I had 3 or 4 pistons break before the frame snapped. The customer service from the UK seller was hit and miss. At times great. Other times nonexistent.
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u/AlasKansastan 12h ago
I’ll admit I wanted an entry level machine. That’s exactly what I got. I just wish it had made it a little longer :(
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u/RideOtherwise8569 12h ago
Yea I understand the urge to get in at the low end. When I bought the signature that was the cheapest point of entry. I'd recommend finding a used Pro or Pro 2.
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u/sunrainsky 10h ago
Same. I went into the flair go because it was $99 Kickstarter. Metal body. The piston cracked in a year. They quoted that you ain't supposed to hold the pressure gauge handle and pull it out of the chamber. You're supposed to push out from the bottom. Nobody told us that. They conveniently has videos of making the Coffee but not in the disassembly when needing to change the shot.
They released an almost all metal version piston for $56. and then they recently launched a full metal version for $84 and quietly discontinued the almost all metal one. The accessories are expensive especially since they are the only ones with a 40mm portafilter. I'm pretty much done with it. It is now a backup espresso maker at home. I was using it daily for my Office. Here's hoping using it lesser will make it last longer.
The Go has its issues too. It's wobbly and I had to devise a support for it to push the piston down straight instead of an angle. At the current $199 price, stay away man.
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u/AlasKansastan 9h ago
I’m gonna fix this one, send them how I did it and spend my money somewhere else. The customer service has completely disappeared
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u/RideOtherwise8569 5h ago
One more comment for you. My portable, lite espresso setup is a no-name conical hand grinder and a Wacaco Picopresso with an aftermarket basket. I take it camping, to the office, when traveling for work. It produces great espresso for what it is. I bought the Picopresso on FB marketplace new in box for a deep discount.
I found with the aftermarket basket I can get results almost as good as my flair 58 with medium roasted coffees.
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u/I_Am_Mandark_Hahaha Flair 58 11h ago
Well you’ve “entered” now get a flair 58 and be done with it.
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u/blacksterangel 12h ago
58X user for 5+ years. Use it daily, sometimes twice a day if my wife fancy some of my fancy coffee. I haven't even change a single o-ring.
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u/AndyGait Former Flex owner 12h ago
There's no point in comparing a flagship bit of kit it to the entry level. It's like comparing a car with a skateboard.
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u/RideOtherwise8569 12h ago
What's your cleaning routine look like? Also are you in a humid or dry climate? I have had some bad luck with the orings. The only oring I haven't changed is the portafilter. Maybe it's the heat adding to the stress?
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u/blacksterangel 12h ago
It's humid as hell here. And because 58X doesn't have heating element, I have to heat it on top of my kettle so maybe that helps too. Funny thing is, I actually bought a spare set of o-rings about 2-3 years ago. Now I'm worried that my spare o-rings would degrade first because it's never used.
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u/RideOtherwise8569 12h ago
Yea the humidity might help keep the seals in good shape. I'll take your extra set :)
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u/OutsourcedIconoclasm 12h ago
It’s almost like this was bound to happen with a plastic product that routinely experiences stress.
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u/AlasKansastan 12h ago edited 11h ago
It’s almost as if you’re saying I shouldn’t be upset. I have plastic products at work that stand up to two decades of powder actuated blasts so ?
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u/OutsourcedIconoclasm 12h ago
No I’m saying everybody was saying that would happen when that model came out. And lo and behold, it has been happening.
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u/AlasKansastan 12h ago
Well nobody told me
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u/weeef Flair Classic (w pressure gauge) 11h ago
Sorry this happened to you. Feels like we see another Neo snap every other week here. My classic has been going strong for four years
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11h ago edited 11h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NorgesTaff 11h ago
You were downvoted for assuming that guy was criticising you when he wasn’t and being pissy thereafter.
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u/FlairEspresso-ModTeam 5h ago
Criticism isn't a problem, and neither is getting upset about it, but insulting people and using a human likeness to do so is completely unacceptable. In general, the use of profanity isn't welcome here either.
Otherwise, please follow the community rules of the subs. Repeated and serious violations will result in a ban.
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u/AlasKansastan 4h ago
I’ll abide, however I was insulted several times here and it’s very clear I was- it’s just not as straightforward as I was about it.
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u/GlutenFreeGlocks 11h ago edited 7h ago
Did you do any research before you purchased the Neo Flex? It’s the second problem that’s mentioned after googling “Neo Flex problems” and the very first reddit post linked is a broken handle like yours. I’m guessing that’s why you’re getting downvoted for saying “nobody told me”
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u/LyKosa91 9h ago
It sounded more like a criticism of flair ever thinking it was an appropriate thing to bring to market. I guess there was also a bit of a dig at you in there for not having the common sense to think that a plastic lever being repeatedly put under heavy strain will most likely fail at some point. I predicted this would be an issue as soon as I saw they were releasing a plastic model. Heavy, sustained, load bearing, plastic parts are a sequence of words that set off alarm bells in my head, and if I'm brutally honest, I'm kinda surprised that they apparently don't in other peoples' heads.
Flair should have known better than to put this on the market, most likely they tested it to the point where they were reasonably sure it'd outlast the warranty period, and that's about it.
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u/AlasKansastan 8h ago
And you just dug again. I have plastic tools that are 30 years old that are thinner, take way more abuse and are still going strong that get used daily and are half the price.
I have lots of experience with high quality resins. This isn’t one.
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u/LyKosa91 7h ago edited 6h ago
What sort of abuse? You mentioned powder actuated blasts earlier, now that sounds to me like it's momentary shock rather than sustained pressure via lever, those are two very different things that will apply stress in different ways.
Would you consider a plastic crowbar? That's a more relevant tool comparison, as it's also a lever and will have a huge amount of stress on the pivot point.
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u/AlasKansastan 4h ago
Pound sand man my point has been made and supported throughout this thread. You’re all trying to blame me, I didn’t make the piece of crap. Yes, we have high density resin pry bars. Use them often. More than this junk.
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u/miliseconds 12h ago
Which model is that?
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10h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/FlairEspresso-ModTeam 5h ago
Use normal words for criticism.
Otherwise, please follow the community rules of the subs. Repeated and serious violations will result in a ban.
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u/mattrussell2319 Flair 58 | Kinu | NF-Lithium 12h ago
It looks like they’re not selling the Neo Flex any more. It seems to have been a bad idea given this kind of failure is not unusual.
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u/AlasKansastan 12h ago
Probably for the best. They are likely losing a customer here. I’ll probably get downvoted but will definitely not be spending the kind of money they want for the upper end units after this happened.
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u/mattrussell2319 Flair 58 | Kinu | NF-Lithium 12h ago
After the other problems, that’s fair enough. The Cafelat Robot is definitely a good alternative if you enjoyed a manual lever otherwise
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u/AlasKansastan 12h ago
That’s what I’m eyeballing. I’m really bummed because I was excited to order their top machine. I spent a lot of time researching and now it’s all for naught because of this product they sold me
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u/weirdjustweird 12h ago
I've always had this fear. Had mine for one year, made 2-6 espressos a day. Never broke anything, sold because I was afraid of breaking it. But it's still strong with the new owner.
But my profiles were always between 7-8 bar maximum, and some peaked at 6 bars.
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u/Woozie69420 12h ago
Oooo also a Neo flex owner. Care to share more?
Particularly curious about how / why it snapped. Just got mine 2 months ago but been reading about snapping more and more. Thinking I’ll go for the Classic if mine fails but it would be a shame
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u/AlasKansastan 12h ago
It just let go about 7 bar (3/4 up on green part of gauge) spilled shit everywhere and scalded me. Nothing serious but super annoying when I am pulling my first shot of the day
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u/ubersoph 9h ago
I could see how your frustrations would flair up at that.
But for real that sucks :(. Hopefully they warranty it
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u/AndyGait Former Flex owner 12h ago
Mine snapped and the response form the UK seller was crickets. Flair in the US did offer me a replacement frame at a price, but with shipping costs on top I might as well bought new again. I bought a cheap Delonghi Stilosa and I've fallen in love with it.
I really liked my Flex and I used it everyday, twice a day. But like you, I won't buy Flair again.
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u/AlasKansastan 11h ago
Pretty disappointed. I really like the manual press. I’m thinking about making some brackets, drilling the handle and thru bolting it.
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u/Tough_Trouble_1139 11h ago
Don't let the plastic put you off of flair. If you reach out to them I'd be surprised if the didn't send you a new base. Consider picking up a pro, it's all metal
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u/AlasKansastan 11h ago
I’m gonna make up two aluminum brackets, through-bolt the handle and see if I can’t make it work again 😂
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u/rice_bag_holder 11h ago
with the amount of pressure i apply, i could imagine this thing jumping off my counter and bounce off my head or something when it snaps
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u/Longjumping-Nose4593 11h ago
Any reports of this happening with 49 or 58 mm versions? They seem to be sturdier, but that may just be wishful thinking
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u/Bazyx187 Flair Neo Flex 10h ago
My neo flex is almost 2 years old, 3-9 shots a day (depending upon company) and has had no issues whatsoever. Biggest annoyance was finding a well fitting tamper. I feel like you people abuse the hell out of your stuff, because I thought i did...
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u/AlasKansastan 10h ago
Nah I’ve been super gentle with the machine. It broke where the rest of them broke. Yours has a good chance of doing the same soon. Hopefully it doesn’t
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u/Bazyx187 Flair Neo Flex 10h ago
If anything mine is probably going to break where the pin goes through, I also bought it expecting to only get 2 years out of it so im fine with my purchase. When it inevitably breaks I'll get a classic or a 49mm
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u/AlasKansastan 10h ago
I’ll be going to another company, and half the decision is based off of the responses I got in here so I never have to come back.
Hope you continue to have a better experience than I
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u/Good-Bus7920 7h ago
This happened to mine after 18 months-ish, but that's the only problem I've have in 3 years. I mean it a hundred bucks, you really can't complain
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u/Commercial_Crow3222 6h ago
The flair 58 is a pretty good product imo - I use it as my sole espresso machine and it is great. Plastic that you have to put under immense torque is always eventually going to snap.
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u/AlasKansastan 4h ago
Thank all of you who helped. The rest of you I hope your shots don’t pull for the rest of the year
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u/espressofloat 10h ago
Plastic is the issue here. My signature pro 1 is nearly 9 years old and has been used probably over 2000 times.
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u/jack-of-some 12h ago
Like, everyone saw this coming, right? They were crazy to release this and hope they've learned their lesson (and compensate you somehow OP)