Finally got the opportunity to take the new SPA Cycles D’Tour 725 Disc Tourer out for a couple of hours, find a quiet spot and talk through (warning – at some length!) some of the build choices I made, and why etc.
Looking forward to many more adventures on this amazing machine … and taking the camera along on a fair few of them too!
Happy cycling, folks!
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s225p4912/SPA-CYCLES-DTour-725-Disc-Tourer-9spd
37 Comments
Bolany stem suspension on your tourer. You'll never go back.
Nice looking set up. The pedaIs look fine, go with what is best comfort wise not looks. I was going to suggest hydraulic calipers, I have cable operated hydraulics on mine and the brakes are really good. I'm off for a trip to France next month and, like you, I can't wait.
Sensible choices all round, dyno setup is awesome.
Can't imagine anyone would have been in any doubt by this point that you were indeed very happy with your purchase!
Does this mean you're a big time YouTuber now if you're getting sent free computers?
Lovely Bike ! As for the pedals, I've just bought some Shimano EH-500 hybrid pedals (flat + SPD) very impressed at 40 quid
Get one ….. but check the paint finish when it arrives …. Mine wasn’t great, rear seat stay very poorly finished.
(And gears not indexed properly)
Cracking bike mate. How are you getting on with the velo charger. Does it have a cache battery built in or just charging?
I just got a Dynamo Hub for my bike and am now looking for a USB charger to go with it. Trouble is there are so many to choose from. Cycle2charge is top of my list so far.
Hi Martin, It was great to see your lovely bike up close and it's a beauty, it is the same colour as my old Saracen tourer I had back in the mid eighties lovely, mine has drop handel bars, silver mudguards, Brooks saddle, rear silver carrier, rim brakes, 700c wheels with Mavic rims , triple chain set, Carradice long flap saddlebag. Now the thing is I'm struggling a bit with these rim brakes on some of the rough terrain out here in Spain which means I'm not doing much cycling ( not safe) and also I think I need bigger rims and tyres so that's my predicament just now, and also wether to go foreign or import (no idea of those costs)if not to bad I might be tempted to import from UK ? But anyway more importantly I'm very pleased about your upcoming foreign tour it will be lovely to follow your progress and wonderful news indeed, also thanks for a excellent video and thanks for sharing Martin 👌🏻👍👏👋
I've been touring on a Spa cycled Titanium tourer for the past 12 years. No issues with the bike whatsoever. Just thinking of updating to a disc braked tourer. Enjoy your videos. Keep up the great content
Great looking bike fella and like the classic/modern fusion set up. No doubt it'll serve you very well in the years ahead. Would love to get a new bike for my 60th this year but I don't think the Missus will let me squeeze a fifth bike into the house! By the way, the pedals look fine 👍🏼
Love your bike.I built up my own on a Kona frame with a lot of parts from my spares bin and new parts from Spa cycles eg same chainset as yours. I have Hy/rd front disc brake and deore v brake rear.Flat bars, Schwalbe mondial tyres 700×42. I'm really pleased with it. My mate's trp spyres started off a bit disappointing but after a couple of hundred miles are now pretty sharp. Wishing you many happy miles.
Lovely looking bike 👍 When I was a kid, in the 70’s, I had a steel Carlton 10 with a Brooks saddle which I loved, Since 2015 I’ve had Genesis Croix de fer with curved front forks and Brooks B17 saddle which I have changed to flat bars and hydraulic brakes and it rides like a Land Rover, similar to a Cadillac 😉😉 Looking forward to seeing your adventures on the new bike 😊😊
Hi Martin, i really like this review of your bike. I have two titanium bikes (Sabbath September and an AR2 ) from Spa cycles, I bought them as framesets then built them up myself and I've had them build at least 6 pairs of wheels over the years, I still have four pairs. I love the old bike shop and the fact that you can have a root around and the advice I've had over the years has always been spot on. Be careful with the TRP hyryd brakes if you go down that route I've had a couple of sets and both have suffered from the pistons seizing. Why not look at fully hydraulic brakes from shimano, they would work out cheaper too.
Thanks
Hi Martin,love the bike & thanks for running through all the spec,I ride a Genesis Day One with an 8 speed hub gear,it’s good to to see what other riders have,keep the videos coming & all the best,CP.👍
Lovely bike! Keen to see how you progress with the saddle.
Only one thing, it ‘arrigut 😂
Happy birthday 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Fantastic and I can tell you love your bike ❤The pedals are fine and if you think about looking old school you would have to junk the Garmin or phone ..I have the top of the range Giant Propel Pro but have Campagnolo pedals with Matt black hard plastic toe clips not great looking but boy can I eject super fast when required which is regular 😂😂
Martin,
Excellent decision to go with cable operated disc brakes.
I bought a new SURLY Preamble in Feb. and immediately got rid of the hydraulics.
Beautiful bike.
But imagine that bike in British racing green.
Schwalbe marathon tyres? Great bike, have fun.
Thanks for the review 👍lovely bike 🚲👍
Stunning bike I love steel touring bikes..great video.
I can't fault the bike, you've put some real thought into the specs for your purposes.
After years of small tours on converted MTB's I thought I'd treat myself to a 'proper' touring bike. This type of bike is rather specialised and the biggest seller, Dawes, had stopped selling touring bikes. I then found Oxford Bike Works online that
sold exactly what I was looking for. After specing it out, but before placing an order Brexit happened. It meant paying far more so it was cancelled (the bike not Brexit😃).
I'm not dissatisfied with my MTB's but with big feet I have to be careful with the panniers or I get heel strike.
I'd really like disc brakes, not because they are better but because 26" rims are getting harder to find and V brakes take their toll on rims.
It's lovely to have a new bike, all shiny and no scratches. They all need a bit of time and adjustment to get used to. You seem to have adapted quickly and 3 hours riding before soreness on a new saddle isn't bad.
Nice bike
I bought a steel Spa Elan mk1 after taking redundancy and luckily got headhunted so got away with some nice bike tokens in the bank. Spa where great, I picked it up in person, I was so impressed with this bike that I bought to commute on I bought an Elan Mk2 in titanium with full Ultegra. The TI bike had no head tube badge but you can get them on the website for the sum of four quid. Yorkshires hidden gem these bikes. You're right about the hybrid hydro brakes I've just done that upgrade on my steel Elan. I rode marathons and conti touring tyres for years but switched to folding Continental GP and the difference is amazing. Some of the new gravel tyres are also worth a look moving forward especially given your admirable plans. My Elan is so smooth, if it was a car it would be an Aston Martin, I put aero carbon wheels on it for shits and giggles and now it's nuts. That's not a Caddy, it's a Bentley.
She looks a beautiful bike. I hope she gives you many many miles of cycling and much happiness.
You look so pleased!
Ummmm….pedals not right, SPD's a better look I feel. Flats make it look too clunky.
Check out mks pedals, they'd be better for that bike.
Looked at the 8 speed SPA steel tourer..
Ended up building a old saracen tufftrax , changed for alivio groupset ..Ryde rigid wheelset..added sella epoca saddle( discounted)
Rides lovely, but keep having the nagging issue the SPA cracking bikes one day I invest in one..
May the wind always be on your back happy cycling
nothing beats having a real good quality touring bike, i have looked on the spa cycles website before. my choice of pedals are a brand called GEWAGE, yes they are probably made in china, however i find them really good and even tho they are a mountain bike pedal, they have the orange reflectors on them.
Thanks, great video. I've just ordered a wheel set from Spa Cycle’s, now I think I might upgrade to a complete build. If you ever ride through Sweden, look me up, always have a place for you to spend the night.
Regards, Neil
Useful knowing the gearing
Curved front fork ❤, triple chainset ❤, flat bars ❤, ergon grips ❤. Built my own wheels with Exal ML21s on Rohloff hub. Totally bomb proof and not too heavy.
proper bike keep her clean.
Lovely bike! Takes me back to my Harry Hall custom tourer I got in 1987. Those were the days of Biopace! The brakes would be the only difference I would change. I’d be going with the best hydraulic options I could. The Harry Hall had centre pull callipers and they were always a point of weakness. Slow to stop in very wet weather and they did cause me to have an accident on a Derbyshire trip full panniered up. A car stopped suddenly on a tight road descent and despite having a fair distance it just wasn’t enough and I collided. I just think hydraulic discs are marvellous in comparison. Had to get a new front wheel and frame – I was OK but shaken. How does it go fully laden up those pinches so typical of UK minor roads?
Great video and love description of the bike, it looks great. I ride using the Brooks B17 saddle but find I need to tilt it back a bit to be able to stop moving forward.
Nice bike. ! My cousin had issues with the performance of his disc brakes, and found that changing the type of pad made a big difference.
One thing you might try is a 180mm front disk. Sometimes all you have to do is remount the post mount bracket upside down. Commonly the 160mm mount will convert to 180mm disk. (Might even say 140mm, but mounting hole placement varies with manufacturer) If caliper mounts higher, rejoyce! Try it first before spending any money.