Cycling UK Forum

I think you did well to find it in T&C!

I used to be a massive fan of Spa, always saying good things about them on fora. Been a happy customer for over 25 years.

But. a year or 2 ago I bought a freewheel from them. When it arrived it rattled and when I put it on the wheel it wobbled to the extent of not being usable. The bike wouldn't stay in gear under pressure.

So i arranged to get a replacement/refund and was met with a wall of what i can only describe as arsiness. Apparently I don't know how freewheels work and I should take my custom to a shop better suited to my degree of amateurishness.

So i have. Not going back.

Phil_Chadwick wrote:I used to be a massive fan of Spa, always saying good things about them on fora. Been a happy customer for over 25 years.

But. a year or 2 ago I bought a freewheel from them. When it arrived it rattled and when I put it on the wheel it wobbled to the extent of not being usable. The bike wouldn't stay in gear under pressure.

So i arranged to get a replacement/refund and was met with a wall of what i can only describe as arsiness. Apparently I don't know how freewheels work and I should take my custom to a shop better suited to my degree of amateurishness.

So i have. Not going back.

You had the misfortune of speaking to the owner of Spa Cycles on an off day,not a pleasant experience .
I hang up at the sound of his voice on the other end just in case,the rest of the staff are great though.

Ah, Ok

Maybe I should try that approach. I do like the shop and their stuff, and always had good service beforehand.

I do know of someone who got told to "Go"-off because he questioned their policy of using plain gauge spokes on the non-drive side of a back wheel. Now, there's in fact a rational justification for that (even if not everyone agrees with it) and an polite discussion of that i'm sure would have satisfied him. Instead another customer was lost and a lot of bad publicity generated.

reohn2 wrote:You had the misfortune of speaking to the owner of Spa Cycles on an off day,not a pleasant experience .
I hang up at the sound of his voice on the other end just in case,the rest of the staff are great though.

John - that's it in a nutshell. I judge the bloke by the fact that he keeps the business open - and we're the beneficiaries.

Campagnolo ... when holding a 1980's super record deraileur, I can only stroke it and purr ......
Let's be honest, record, even gran sport ....
But current stuff ...... no .... just stuff
Campagnolos star has waned .... possibly set.
Spa Cycles Stronglight based components are superb quality IMHO.

landsurfer wrote:............Spa Cycles Stronglight based components are superb quality IMHO.

I have two Spa chainsets, one bought last year and one about three years ago, I can only agree with that.

JohnW wrote: I judge the bloke by the fact that he keeps the business open

I judge him by his refusal to replace a faulty component, and the wall of abuse I got for daring to request it.

Phil_Chadwick wrote:

JohnW wrote: I judge the bloke by the fact that he keeps the business open

I judge him by his refusal to replace a faulty component, and the wall of abuse I got for daring to request it.

I'm really sorry to hear about that Phil. Can't have been a pleasant experience.

Problems with headset on my Spa Titanium Audax and was surprised to find sand-blasting sand lining the inside. It'd worked its way into the bottom bearing - which is why it stiffened up - actually quite dangerous!
Ditto the BB shell but it's a sealed unit so not a prob - but shouldn't have been there.
I was unlucky with this bike - it must have been a friday afternoon job with a lot of little things wrong.
On the whole I've had good service from Spa for many years, though have had to argue on occasions - the last one being about too narrow rim tape in some new wheels resulting in sequence of punctures. They insisted it was the right tape but it wasn't.
There's one bad tempered nutter in the shop - almost a joke - liking having to argue with Les Dawson!

wearwell wrote:There's one bad tempered nutter in the shop - almost a joke - liking having to argue with Les Dawson!

That'll be John the owner,on a bad day he's disgraceful

reohn2 wrote:

wearwell wrote:There's one bad tempered nutter in the shop - almost a joke - liking having to argue with Les Dawson!

That'll be John the owner,on a bad day he's disgraceful

I've seen that John, but my own experience is that he'll go beyond the call of duty.

On a good day he’s fine, though. And I’ve only had good days. I had a long talk on the phone with him about a pair of wheels I wanted built. He was perfectly civil and showed no sign of impatience. He also treated me well and fairly – indeed generously – when I bought an Audax frame. In both cases there were several special requests and shipping to France to complicate matters.

My problem with Spa Cycles remains the expensive shipping. I think it’s £24 to France now. Okay for a high-end wheel but not a cassette or even a pair of tyres. For this reason I buy more bits and pieces from SJS Cycles, who charge according to the item and offer cheap, untracked shipping for small things like hub seals and pump gaskets. (None of my many untracked parcels have gone missing yet.)

His tantrums are occasional but awful when you hit him on tantrum day.
I often wonder how many customers he's put off .
If it were me and I had a temper like that I'd keep away from direct customer contact,but he's the boss,and if he can't recognise the problem it'll continue,and I wouldn't like to be the one trying to explain the situation to him.

reohn2 wrote:His tantrums are occasional but awful when you hit him on tantrum day.
I often wonder how many customers he's put off .
If it were me and I had a temper like that I'd keep away from direct customer contact,but he's the boss,and if he can't recognise the problem it'll continue,and I wouldn't like to be the one trying to explain the situation to him.

I'm a bit like that myself John - so I kind-of understand.