Just giving my opinion based on what I've seen. Older ones seem to be well finished, the new one I saw was not, and for that reason (plus their current customer service rep) I'd be reluctant to give them any money.
But I guess £413 total for an 853 f&f sounds like good value.
As for tubing choice, if you're going for a quill stem set up I would t worry too much about it.
Just giving my opinion based on what I've seen. Older ones seem to be well finished, the new one I saw was not, and for that reason (plus their current customer service rep) I'd be reluctant to give them any money.
But I guess £413 total for an 853 f&f sounds like good value.
As for tubing choice, if you're going for a quill stem set up I would t worry too much about it.