spa steel tourer?

[Amanda P]

I also have a bike built on a Spa steel tourer frame. I'd heartily recommend it. It looks smart, it's stiff and sturdy and built to last, and it was very well finished - no trouble building it up at all. It's got all the fittings you could want for touring with only the possible exception of a pump peg for mounting a frame-fit pump on the seat stay (I added a bolt-on one to do that).

I've heard it said that Thorn's frames can be rather long in the top tube. Now I usually find I'm a bit too stretched out on many bikes of a given size, so that's not what I wanted. On the Spa, I have the shortest stem I can get and I'm about right, so there's plenty of scope for longer stems for someone with longer back or arms than me.

The details are well thought out. For example, the eyelets for the front mudguard aren't on the dropout but higher up. This means that should a twig catch against the mudguard stays, they won't wrap around the wheel and jam it up, and it leaves the eyelet that IS on the dropout free for attaching a front rack, without it interfering with mudguard stays.

Similarly at the back, the eyelet for mounting a rack takes thicker bolts than the one for mudguard stays - sturdier. There are bosses for three bottle cages, including one under the down tube, which is dead handy for carrying fuel bottles when camping.

Spa are experts in wheels; if they build you a wheel for touring, you can trust it utterly. I've had a couple done (including a rear for a touring tandem and the rear on the bike shown below) and never had a single problem with them, not even a minor truing required in several thousand miles of heavy touring.

 

[jags]

crackin bike for sure .i was thinking i'de put a carbon fork on i have a new one in the shed,only bags that will be up front is a barbag .i don't think i ever heard a bad thing about SPA bikes happy days, all i need is to get the money together before summer.
cheers uncle phil .

 

[Dayvo]

Slightly off topic, but I'm interested to know why many travellers have mud guards on their tourers.

I've done two six-week tours on hybrid bikes without using guards. The weather wasn't always sunny and dry but the rain/wet legs was never a problem: rain shorts and leggings were more than adequate for me to keep moving along happily.

Why do you other travellers opt to have guards? I'm just curious, that's all.

 

[jags]

Can u fit caliper brakes to that frame? .. i have a set of cannondale v brakes but i would be using sti leavers will they marry up.

 

[jags]

I'm not a big fan of mudguards meself but they don't effect my speed and at the end of the day they do keep a fella clean .besides i have a spare set lol.

 

[stumpy66]

I have always wondered why touring bikes tend to have those wear looking ( to me) gear changers What are the advantages? If any.

I have bar end shifters on my tourer, handy if you have a bar bag as sti's can hit the bag if your bars are on the narrow side. The rear shifters are indexed with the fd being a friction shifter and is useful in taking out any chain rub. Excellent if your on the drops, if you spend a while on the tops/ hoods then you have to move your hand down to them.

After a day's riding I was happy with them

 

[Gravity Aided]

Slightly off topic, but I'm interested to know why many travellers have mud guards on their tourers.

I've done two six-week tours on hybrid bikes without using guards. The weather wasn't always sunny and dry but the rain/wet legs was never a problem: rain shorts and leggings were more than adequate for me to keep moving along happily.

Why do you other travellers opt to have guards? I'm just curious, that's all.

Like my Dad used to say, because there's things other than water on the road. Oil,car fluids, animal leavings, none of which you want on your back for a tour segment .

 

[Amanda P]

Can u fit caliper brakes to that frame? .. i have a set of cannondale v brakes but i would be using sti leavers will they marry up.

Yes, the fork crown and rear stay bridge are drilled for calliper brakes, so you could fit them.

Slightly off topic, but I'm interested to know why many travellers have mud guards on their tourers

.

The mudguards' weight and contribution to wind resistance are negligible in the context of touring,and they do a lot to keep rain, sheep shoot, oil etc off me, my luggage and the bike's transmission. No, they're not essential, but they're nice to have so I'll have 'em.

I have bar end shifters on my tourer, handy if you have a bar bag as sti's can hit the bag if your bars are on the narrow side. The rear shifters are indexed with the fd being a friction shifter and is useful in taking out any chain rub. Excellent if your on the drops, if you spend a while on the tops/ hoods then you have to move your hand down to them.

After a day's riding I was happy with them

This is why I like Campagnolo shifters - no 'clothes line' cables to get in the way of a handlebar bag. This bike has 10-speed Campag shifters which work perfectly with 8-speed Shimano transmission and the cantilever brakes.

 

[Pale Rider]

A mate of mine had to abandon a tour earlier this year after getting very poorly from what the doc said was probably animal urine splashed onto his water bottle.

Mudguards would almost certainly have prevented that.

I'm rarely out in the rain, but if my bottle gets wet I unscrew the lid and wipe the thread before slurping from the open bottle.

 

[Dayvo]

Like my Dad used to say, because there's things other than water on the road. Oil,car fluids, animal leavings, none of which you want on your back for a tour segment .

Whilst understanding your father's wise words, in all my years of cycling, I've never suffered with the debris you mentioned above on my legs (or anywhere else).

If it rains I wear appropriate clothing, or seek shelter. If it's wet, I'll wear a gilet and maybe leggings. And when touring, the rear rack and accompanying panniers, tent etc. take up most of the spray from the rear, unguarded wheel. I don't not use mud guards to save weight, I just prefer the 'simplicity' of going without.

Each to their own...

 

[Spoked Wheels]

I do like the Spa frame but I wouldn't buy the bike, I think I'd like higher quality components in some areas such as shifters. The BB they fit, Stronglight JP400, is rubbish and I'm not a fun a Tektro brakes full stop.

I think the biggest decision for me would be ...... the gloss black? Or the green frame? MMMMmmmm I can't make up my mind right now

 

[jags]

i have the new shimano 105 11 speed on my Terry Dolan letape works perfectly every time.if i could afford it i would be getting ultegra i want to try and build it as light as i can afford, at my age i want to make cycling as easy as possible .

 

[Spoked Wheels]

i have the new shimano 105 11 speed on my Terry Dolan letape works perfectly every time.if i could afford it i would be getting ultegra i want to try and build it as light as i can afford, at my age i want to make cycling as easy as possible .

If you are planning to build the Spa frame as light as possible then you would not be able to use 105 or ultegra hubs, you'd need a MTB hubs. The Shimano Deore hub Spa fits to their wheels is a very good choice for touring, it has good seals and easy to maintain / repair anywhere.

Building it yourself would save you of having to upgrade components..... you probably would do with a more suitable chainset too and your Shimano 105 would not do.

Ideally I'd like to go with disc brakes so I wonder if this frame can take them. I have studied the advantages and I'm convince that mechanical disc brake is the way forward for touring. They are much better in the wet, they won melt your rims and even if they get very hot descending long hills, they still operate, they can be easily adjusted too, at least my Avid BB7 can and I understand that modern disc brakes are even better.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It might be worth asking Spa if they could build up with different components, if the ones they suggest don't meet your requirements. I don't know what they'd say, but my experience of them is that they'd certainly listen.

 

[Dayvo]

Having studied the Spa Cycles steel tourers, I've fallen for this: the Surly Disc Trucker 700 c

Funnily enough, I'll be in Harrogate quite soon and will pop into the shop to have a look at a future no. + 1 (within the next 2-3 years). It seems to tick ALL the boxes for me.