horizon wrote:[I was put off because at first they only offered straight bars (and, I assume, the geometry to match). When they went to drop bars, it was still the same geometry (I believe). Thorn offers a choice of top tube per size and Spa's geometry starts with drops.
My inner geek got woken so I thought I would do a comparison. Figures are "seat post" - "virtual top tube" - in mm .. nearest size to mine !!
Oxford 700C .................570 – 590
Dawes Galaxy ..............580 – 592
Thorn Club Tour Mk4.....580S - 560
Thorn Club Tour Mk4.....580L – 600
My B’Twin Triban 540....560 – 570
My Cube Travel(flatbar).540 - 580*
Bit confusing because of the different sizes the vendors use but probably fair to say that Oxford 700C model is nearer to the classic Dawes Galaxy and the Thorn "L" model with the Thorn S models as a shorter option than both. The Galaxy has drops of course but I have always seen it as a "day tourer" so fairly stretched geometery. I guess it depends what you want. I have relatively long legs and a short body (and like relaxed touring) so maybe the Thorn S models would be better suited for me (I often shorten stems). The B'Twin was surprisingly short.. my son has borrowed my old (531) Dawes Galaxy so unfortunately I could not compare it to the current model shown above.
*my Cube Travel is a 29er and sits much higher off the ground..... its like a 58cm bike to stand over.