landsurfer wrote:reohn2 wrote:Yep,lower spec alround and surprisingly a 130mm oln road rear end,bit of a puzzle on a tourer,but as you say adequate for purpose,whereas the Spa is a dedicated tourer and at £1k great VFM IMO.
Yes i made all the points about the wheels etc in my post ...
I bought a set of handlebars with Sora STI's from EBAY for £32 from a nice chap in Scotland. I just did not get on with the cheaper bar end gear levers.
I am the owner of both bikes mentioned.
I paid for a SPA Steel Touring and I also bought myself a Jamis Aurora.
The SPA was to be my "best bike" and the Jamis my daily hack / winter bike ... the fact that i did my LEJOG on the Jamis should tell you a few things.
£400 is a great deal of difference, and as for wheels..... hand built are excellent, but machine built are very good as well.
Would you rather have a hand built smart phone or a robot built one ??
I offered my as new SPA on here recently for sale for £600 ono. .... a saving of £400 on new .... not the slightest bit of interest from anyone .... or on EBAY ....
SPA bikes are lovely items, jewellery, class .... but mine has now gone to a new home .... It's not about the bike .. it's about the destination...
Second hand bikes and frames never sell for as much as the vendor thinks they're worth. I know people who have almost given decent, expensive bikes away. I've sniffed around locally about selling a very good quality, hand-built frame, hardly used and and completely unmarked except where the wheels go in the dropouts, which cost £1200+ about eleven of years ago and which includes a new Campag bottom bracket; and the best offer, from experienced, knowledgeable cyclists has been "I'll give him a couple of hundred for it".