Spa Steel Audax

After much messing around I'm finally about to buy this frame to form the central part of my first geared bike build.

House moves and weak legs got in the way of me putting it together sooner.

The intended use is audax and long weekend rides, possibly with some light touring if I can ever convince my gal that multifuel stoves can offer an interesting porridge experience.

I bought the wheels and groupset off here about 2 years ago but some of that groupset found its way onto other bikes, leaving me with this list of already owned parts:

• Simano 105 hubs laced to
  
• Mavic T217 rims
  
• Shimano Tiagra bottom bracket
  
• Shimano Sora triple crankset
  
• Shimano Sora STI levers
  
  
  

I reckon I'll get these other parts as well in case I need to steer or stop the bike. Or sit on it:

• Schwalbe Durano Plus tyres
  
• Some handelbars (not really looked into this yet)
  
• Brakes (no idea)
  
• Brooks Swift saddle
  
  
  

Now the frame looks like a good'un and was the winner in a long and involved decision process, beating the Surly Pacer and Genesis Equilibrium. It's in 725, comes in black, black or black and comes with a carbon fork for £305 or a steel fork with low-rider eyelets for £355. The geometry is the exact same as Spa Cycles' much-loved titanium audax. This information had to be squeezed out of the Spa Cycles guy by email.

I'm not sure whether to go with the carbon fork or the steel one. Carbon is light and cool and cheaper, steel allows me to fit a front rack. I can always buy the carbon fork separately for £100 later but does anyone run a bike with two separate forks? I've seen lots of audaxers use a little front rack and bag but I've no actual experience of doing this so I dunno if it's worth it.

Advice would be welcome. Once I've made that decision I can buy the frame and the rest of the parts and start building. I'll put pictures of the existing bits up if anyone would like but most are from this bike (not mine).

Special rep to the first person who tells me Sora stuff is rubbish.

A visual for how it might look. Hopefully mine won't be this rangey.

[img]

I'll put some silver guards on (dunno what yet) and some colourful bar tape as the only concession to fun. Splash tape is *always *cool.

I have a pair of Duranos you can have for not-much-more-than-postage. They have this much mileage on then...

...2328.1km. They're 25mm.

Oh and Sora 8sp is rubbish.

Sora 3300 or 3400?

3400 and it's 9sp. Had to dig the parts out of the back of a cupboard to find that out.

Thanks for the heads up on the Duranos but I've got an Evans voucher so I'll get them new. Always better to ride on fresh tyres.

Hah, 3400 is horrible, until 3500 arrived.

And then 3400 got better? EXPLAIN!

They got rid of the thumbie;

Ditto to the 2400 (8 speed);

Ah peeeeeeeeeeeeenises.

Well I'll give it a whirl and upgrade if necessary. It's my first proper geared road bike.

Have you always wanted to see grainy, poorly lit photos of standard bicycle components? You're in the right place!!!

Soon.

I'm umming and ahing about handelbars and saddles now. Learning all about reach and drop and all this gubbins...argh. I used to base my component choices on what was cheapest.

The built up version of this comes with a Deda Fluida compact but the setup on my current bike seems fine with about a 100m reach and a 130mm drop. Having said that I rarely use the drops but when I had a bikefit the guy told me to practice doing so...

Nitto Noodles get great press too and seem very similar in reach and drop to my current ones.

Csb

Nitto is very much a combination of both the compact and the classic, flat hood with classic drop.

It AFAIK have a similar reach and drop as your current bar.

Stretch your hamstring muscle, it'll make going in the drop easier (and to get used to riding in it).

Thanks Ed. Nitto Noodle and Brooks B17 on the way. I know where I am with a B17.

Oh any advice on the carbon vs. steel fork would be appreciated. I'm really torn.

Narrow it down by deciding whether you want to run a front load or not.

No front load - carbon.

Front load - steel.

I've been wavering about that. I'm just going to go carbon and no front load. I've always got the saddlebag which is fine for audaxing. It's just that I see these nice front bar bags and get envious.

Do both! I'm planning to get one of the Soma low trail forks when they're released, and use that for longer rides and light touring, with the carbon on the rest of the time for general 'short' road rides. Getting another brake calliper and mudguard 'should' make the swap fairly simple

Can't you use a front bar bag with carbon forks?

There won't be much weight in a bag compared to panniers.

Pretty sure there are racks/supports other than those that go on canti-bosses.

Ed?

Cheers - the fork that comes with it ain't got canti bosses though. Or are you saying I could just get one which has? S'pose so.

I was thinking of bunging a handlebar bag on if necessary...

British audax bicycle, especially the Spa are build for bigger tyres clearance, mudguard and rack over a standard road bike, that's what they believed to be the best geometry for long distance ride.

Meaning that a front load will feel a little crap on a normal mid trail geometry (between 50-60mm trails, typical of performance bike for optimised handling without a front load), but will feel fine with a rack/saddlebag as the frame is build for this (assuming so).

In order to optimise the handling of the bicycle with a front load, busseynova's suggestion of the recently announced Soma low-trail* fork will make a difference, giving you a what felt like, a more nimble ride that's very light to the touch without a front load.

*usually between 30-40mm trails).

doppelkorn, from riding audaxes, I find a front bag really useful being able to access certain stuff while in the move, something I couldn't quite do with my small Carradice saddlebag, having access to mobile phone, iPod, energy bar, rain cape meaning I won't have to pull over to get it out (even thought it's not a race).

I've tried two completely different set-up, the British way, and the French way, I prefer the latter, naturally it's very much a personal preference rather than a superior option.

^ must spread rep etc.

I'm going to get it with the carbon fork (its intended partner) and then see about a low trail fork for front loads if needed in the future. I may not even get there as I'm getting back to riding longer distances now after injury. This bike is a big, expensive step towards it!

Decisions now. Black bike. Black fork. What colour Brooks and what colour bar tape?

I was jazzy bar tape so black or brown saddle?

Black or silver component?

Black B17 Special with the copper on the rail removed (easy to do with polish), bit like this;

Silver components. I was going to go for a bright frame with a black groupset but I happened to acquire silver and my hands were tied. I think it'll look nice black frame, silver components and one show of colour in the bars.

Do not bother with two sets of forks. When I built my PQ last year I built two front wheels one with a dynamo and the other with a Hope hub to match the rear. I even had a braze on fitted to the forks to hold the dynamo wiring when not in use. I had every intention of using the dynamo wheel for long Audax rides only and the other wheel for the rest of the time. In reality I have only ever used the dynamo wheel, the other still lives in the wheel bag unused in the workshop. I guess the next build will have to use this wheel.