Shadow
member
- Location
- edge of the south downs
Oooh, that is loverly.
And how does it ride? (Knowing the answer but we just want to hear your thoughts!)
And how does it ride? (Knowing the answer but we just want to hear your thoughts!)
Yes, you want one. The Spa won't get jealous.I'm enjoying this thread.
I've got a big birthday coming up, and I sadly came into some money recently (a bequest) so I've been pondering a fancy bike, and it would likely be Ti.
Sometimes I'm really enthusiastic about the idea, and have spent considerable time on the Spa and Enigma and other websites.
But at other times the question of what's actually wrong with my Spa Steel Audax pours cold water on these ideas. Because the answer is ... not much really. And it's taken me so long tweaking it to getting it how I want. OK I'd like to experiment with fatter tyres but that's about it. Oh yeah, and I'd be curious to learn if disc brakes are all they are cracked up to be.
Still, a bit of window shopping - or window licking as the French put it - never does any harm.
I've finally got it. It didn't arrive until Monday - and I was working Tuesday / Wednesday so didn't manage to put it together until Thursday. I've just taken it to a local car park to take some photos. I know black finishings aren't to everyone's taste, but I like it. There is an understated economy about it. I got a better dynamo than I expected, and it came set up with tubeless tyres.
The courier said to my wife:- "I'm curious about what's in the box. I've delivered a lot of bikes, and its a box for an adults bike, but it isn't heavy enough. Is it a child's bike? "
Full mudguards
Good spot - the bosses are a bit further up the seat stay, maybe 3 inches above the drop outs - slightly odd positioning for them but they definitely take full guards. Also makes for a super clean looking rear drop out section!Does the OP's bike take mudguards?
There doesn't appear to be any bosses around the rear drop outs.
I thought he wanted mudguards for LEL and similar events.
Does the OP's bike take mudguards?
There doesn't appear to be any bosses around the rear drop outs.
I thought he wanted mudguards for LEL and similar events.
Likewise currently have SKS on mine. Never had an issue with them before but confess given the position of the secret mounts they felt more wobbly than usual - I think the mount position means a longer length metal stay. I’m also currently operating with half a rear guard as it cracked around the seat stay bridge - probably user error over tightening when I drilled through and secured it!It does - they describe it as 'hidden mounts' and I definitely will fit some, but I'm not sure what to buy. I've always used SKS chromoplastic ones, but might try something else.
The Bontrager NCS Mudguard Set have an adjustable stay that effectively doubles at the join which results in good stability; the integrated rear Blendr light mount for use with Bontrager Flare lights is a useful feature; note they have a brighter model as well. Slightly off topic but I personally use the cheaper smaller led as a daylight running light in the summer fitted to the handlebars and in the winter I fit that to my helmet that also has a Blendr magnetic mount system, I then attach the brighter version to the bike.....currently have a Bontrager set on order in the hope they will be more sturdy due to design of wrap around metal stays.
The Bontrager NCS Mudguard Set have an adjustable stay that effectively doubles at the join which results in good stability; the integrated rear Blendr light mount for use with Bontrager Flare lights is a useful feature; note they have a brighter model as well. Slightly off topic but I personally use the cheaper smaller led as a daylight running light in the summer fitted to the handlebars and in the winter I fit that to my helmet that also has a Blendr magnetic mount system, I then attach the brighter version to the bike.
The Spectre that Nebulous has just bought looks to have evolved from that listed on their site, looking at his pictures up thread you can see the eyelets on the outside of the seat stays, for sure you do need to take time working out where to drill the hole for the bridge fitting but if done correctly it will be very neat on that bike. Although the Spectre will not take a pannier rack (to quote 'Reilly' "No pannier fittings. If these are necessary then we say Gradient.") for those who also want a similar styled bike that can fit a rear pannier rack there are models from other brands that may appeal; the Enigma Etape, Van Nicholas Yukon, Mason Aspect, Kinesis GTD and Spa Elan to name just five
Definite vote for the Bontrager guards. So much easier and quicker to fit than SKS. No silly stays to cut, they remain adjustable and seem more sturdy. Good shout on the inner tube patches around the drill hole. Glad you’re enjoying the bike!Well it took me a few days, work and weather got in the way, but I've bought a set of the Bontrager guards. Fitting them was easier than I expected, with a couple of bodges. I had to fit the stays on one of the fittings further up the fork, as I couldn't get the bolts to go through the hole at the bottom of the fork. I had to drill a hole in the rear guard to fit the top mount. Mindful of the issue reported above of the guard cracking where the bolt goes through it, I've cut a couple of small patches from an inner tube and put the bolt through them at each side of the guard to act as a shock-absorber.
I bought a cheap Bontrager flare 1 and fitted it to the Blendr mount on the rear guard. The advantage is it uses 2 AAA batteries and lasts 50 hours on the random flash. If I'm on LEL, despite having a dynamo on the front I'll have a lot of kit to charge. An additional rear light might be one too many. Switching out batteries will be more straightforward. https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/...ts/bontrager-flare-1-rear-bike-light/p/11367/
A modest 40 k on it today, and I really like it. It's light, comfortable and the Di2 is growing on me, particularly with winter gloves.
go for it
(ask them to change the wheels for something less ghastly too )