SPA CYCLES STEEL TOURING FRAMES

[landsurfer]

Does anyone know where they come from and who makes them?

[Gattonero]

For £375 frame & forks must be from China.
But does it matter, given the price?

[landsurfer]

Given I've just bought one i was interested in knowing.
When i was ordering the bike my questions about frame source where met with " trusted supplier" etc.
It's not a game changer, just curious...

[Gattonero]

Usually there is a sticker, under the BB?

[hondated]

Does anyone know where they come from and who makes them?

Where's Colin he will know.

[mercalia]

Given I've just bought one i was interested in knowing.
When i was ordering the bike my questions about frame source where met with " trusted supplier" etc.
It's not a game changer, just curious...

well I wouldnt tell you my ( cheap ) chinese source incase you decided to source them your self - look at the cheap £10 wood burners sold by some dealers here at £25+ or the Yakalike trailers that before the flood @£60 were being sold at about £200.

so maybe dont press the question? I dont begrudge SPA their profit as they provide an affordable alternative to the over inflated price Galaxies

I think it would be an interesting holiday to look around the various factories in China and see what price they will knock things off for? oh we give them away in crates of cornflakes or use them to fill up any space in a container

[Gattonero]

Same old story: what is the real cost of an item nowadays?
Is it fair for some items to copy an original design and knock it off in thousands and thousands with cheaper manufacturing?
Hard to give an answer!

IMO, is better to support your local whenever possible. A quality bicycle frame can last decades, so buy it right and make it last

[pete75]

Given I've just bought one i was interested in knowing.
When i was ordering the bike my questions about frame source where met with " trusted supplier" etc.
It's not a game changer, just curious...

well I wouldnt tell you my ( cheap ) chinese source incase you decided to source them your self - look at the cheap £10 wood burners sold by some dealers here at £25+ or the Yakalike trailers that before the flood @£60 were being sold at about £200.

so maybe dont press the question? I dont begrudge SPA their profit as they provide an affordable alternative to the over inflated price Galaxies

I think it would be an interesting holiday to look around the various factories in China and see what price they will knock things off for? oh we give them away in crates of cornflakes or use them to fill up any space in a container

They're hardly the first to "knock off" bicycle frames. Isn't every conventional frame more or less a "knock off" of John Starley's 1885 Rover?

For what it's worth I was under the impression Spa's frames are made in China either the mainland or on the island of Taiwan. I think the forks are made in the UK - Lee Cooper perhaps?

[Sweep]

At least they aren't claiming to build it themselves.

Good luck to Spa.

I can't criticise their approach.

Last time I looked at the Hewitt page they seemed to kind of imply that they built the frames themselves, or were willing for folk to go away with that idea.

I think one of their steel frames is now up to £600.

Which is a tad much considering where it almost certainly comes from.

edit: by the by landsurfer, I would be interested in your impressions of the frame, including when built up.

[TrevA]

I've just bought a Spa Touring frame to replace my rusty Ridgeback. It has a couple of things I wasn't expecting. There's no rear hanger for cantilever brakes, it seems to be designed with the assumption that you'll use mini vee brakes. The headset that comes with it is rubbish. The bottom bearing holder appears to be made out of cardboard. If buying one, it's worth paying extra for a better headst.

[meic]

I've just bought a Spa Touring frame to replace my rusty Ridgeback. It has a couple of things I wasn't expecting. There's no rear hanger for cantilever brakes, it seems to be designed with the assumption that you'll use mini vee brakes. The headset that comes with it is rubbish. The bottom bearing holder appears to be made out of cardboard. If buying one, it's worth paying extra for a better headst.

A surprise there, when the titanium version came out (just after I bought my Van Nicholas) I was jealous that unlike the VN the Spa did have a hanger.
You can see it in the picture here.
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p2554 ... -Ti-Tourer

Planet X used to do a seatpost clamp with a fixed cable stop cast into it, much better than the "dangly" versions that you can buy.

[swscotland bentrider]

My Spa tourer has provided three years of excellent service including two fully laden continental tours. Nothings gone wrong and it still kooks good. Handles a load very well. Does it matter who made it? They did a good job.

[simonhill]

I thought they had to say "Made in xxxx" Consumer law and all that.

My new Surly proudly announced Made in Taiwan.

[old_windbag]

I have the spa steel audax frameset. I was under the impression it was made in taiwan( or china ) and would imagine the tourer comes from same factory. When I got the frameset I was very impressed with the neatness of the welds, the people making the frames clearly are very good at what they do. All measurements were correct and all threads were clear of paint when fitting mudguards etc. For the price they are very nice frames. Everything fitted without any fettling.

As with TrevA the headset I felt let the package down... and was a heavyweight with no weather sealing. I bought an orbit mx for £19 with cartridge bearings easily serviced or replaced. So I would advise similarly to upgrade headset when buying frameset, tourer may be similar.

[alexnharvey]

Is it maxway in taiwan?