Custom build to do (nearly) everything...

Took him long enough, looks good though!

What’s the significance of the M de Porres decal?

Indeed - He's getting a decent reputation, especially for hardcore hardtails and steel fullies and isn't turning any work away!
I'm really pleased with the colour and overall look - I'll reserve judegement on the brutal headtube/gusset arrangement till I see it with the fork fitted!
Also, I see no mudguard eyes at the rear dropout but I'm sure something can be improvised if this has been forgotten!

The M de Porres decal is mildly obscure. I like custom frames with random names on them so when I've had unknown frames in the past I've tended to badge them up with relevant saints - so I've had unknown Italian frames badged up as Madonna del Ghisallo and San Geminiano.
Martin de Porres hails from Lima, as does this frame, and he's patron saint of landlords, public health workers, and all those seeking racial harmony which I'm pretty happy to get behind and seems fairly relevant for a bike that took most of 2021 to build!

It’s on its way.
I’ll need to get hold of traffic grey rattle can to colour match the fork

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Parcelforce delivery - much excite

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What is the finish like? I'm not overly impressed with mine. Cables guides were really badly welded, paint was shocking. Dropper post routing was not thought out. I know they are cheap but..... I am still considering a gravel frame though as nothing touches them on price.

Finish quality on powder coat and decals is top notch
Cable routing was specified on my original drawings so I’m happy with all that.
Entry/exit points for internals are rough and the cable guides are a bit dodgy (but I only have them on the stays so no drama)
My only gripes so far are that it’s a bit porky (nearly 3kg for a 59cm frame) and that he forgot the mudguard eyes on the rear dropouts.

Overall pretty happy as I wanted aggressive all-road geo that’s not too precious to commute on & lock up in town

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Entry/exit points for internals are rough and the cable guides are a bit dodgy

Hopefully, the bike will ride nicely after all the thought you put into the geometry, but the level of finish seems disappointing for a custom-built frame, as @Tom13 found with his. I guess it could be tidied up and mudguard eyelets brazed on if you ever needed to get a respray in the future.

My only gripes so far are that it’s a bit porky (nearly 3kg for a 59cm frame)

Which tubing option did you go for?

you get what you pay for, and a custom frame for marino money is outrageously cheap. I have no idea how he brings the cost down so much. If i charged what he does to build a frame id make about 35p and hour.

Columbus Cromor
Judging by the weight I’m guessing it’s plain gauge reamed out to 27.2mm for the seatpost

Indeed
In this case I’d even go as far as saying you get way more than you pay for.
Baffled by where the margins are. He must be buying cromor by the kilometre and as far as I can see, headtubes, bb shells, disc mounts, dropouts etc are CNC machined in-house

Thanks, yes I'm hoping it'll ride nice and for the time being I'm happy enough to fit mudguards via P-clips

Yeah those guides look rubbish. The one on the underside of my chainstay is shocking. It must be a good 3mm from the frame on the one side. As I mentioned before my dropper routing goes in Perpendicular to the seat tube meaning to turn it though 90degreees in the diameter of the tube to get it to go up towards the underside if the dropper is very awkward.

I'm surprised that he's not got routing nailed, I'm guessing the vast majority of his frames must have droppers... Perhaps it's a customer feedback thing - must be hard to finesse the detail when most of your customers are overseas and can't come back in to clarify what's wrong..

Made a start on the colour-coded stem tonight. 120mm Pro PLT (10deg) kindly donated by @PhilDAS

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Something has to be don't about the guides. Water is going to trap under them where's there's likely very little paint and rust. Badly. The paint will break down and water will creep under the paint. That area will be a constant issue.

Good point. Thanks
I’m thinking a blob of silicone sealant might be enough or perhaps some epoxy

Good point. Thanks

I’m thinking a blob of silicone sealant might be enough or perhaps some epoxy

Maybe grey Sugru is also worth considering for this application.

ood point. Thanks
I’m thinking a blob of silicone sealant might be enough or perhaps some epoxy

I think that is the opposite of what's needed and water will still get in there. I hate to say this because I know this bike has been a long time coming and you're excited about it, but I'd get it fixed properly from the (another?) builder. Or I'd grind it off completely, paint it like you did the stem, then cover it with a frame protector and use a zip tie or an adhesive cable guide.

i respect the bike and I'm sure it will turn out well. I'm in he middle of working out the kinks for a new build myself. it's always frustrating when you need to correct the mistakes someone else won't, but in this case it's worth the effort.

Is it a stamped boss or a cast one?

Interesting frame. Should look pretty cool built up.

Cast or perhaps machined - they look pretty solid

Thanks, I’ve not fitted fork & wheels yet but I reckon it’ll look pretty rad

Yeah then they aren't hollow so they'll be fine in terms of holding water. Some is inevitable but I don't think it will be an issue