Spa Cycles Reviews 

Just picked up a "Rove" touring bike. I visited the shop to place the order and wanted some additional alterations to the standard spec the staff could not have been more helpful. I was also able to test ride a bike before placing an order. The service and attention to detail was great.

Just bought two new Elan bikes from Spa Cycles and the friendly service from start to finish has been excellent. We took two bikes out for a couple of hours' initial test ride and loved their lightness and responsive feel. The subsequent build specs and pricing, with a few component tweets we requested were handled extremely efficiently by Bob. Nothing was a problem for them. We had asked for one bike to be be built up, and the other to be a self build. On the day we went to collect, we decided to ask for the second bike to be built up too, expecting to have to come back to collect another day but the amazing young mechanic set to and said he would try his best, although obviously couldnt promise anything as he had other work booked in. However, he managed to build it up, thus saving us another 3 hour round trip to collect it, which was hugely appreciated!
Please don't be put off by reading some of the negative reviews, which probably did reflect some of the service received in past years (and ours too, to be honest) but in our experience Spa seems to be a changed place and their great customer service deserves to be rewarded.

Was after some parts that are hard to find and noticed that Spa are a stockist, albeit they didn't have the exact product I was after. I tried calling to see if they could order the part - they didn't pick up the phone. I tried emailing - they didn't respond.

Based on other reviews here, I won't be chasing and won't be in any hurry to (try to) use them again. The website is also pretty poor compared to most other companies with an online presence.

Shame as they seem to have an interesting range of stock.

I needed a strong rear wheel for cycle touring. John asked a serious of questions about what I needed and the bike that it was to be fitted on to.
The wheel was very well made and solved issues I had with the rear of the bike flexing.
I spent three weeks cycling over the Picos with a pretty heavy load and everything was good.

When I decided to get a new touring bike, I looked at what was available on line and liked the spec of the Spa Cycles D-Tour compared to the others, particularly the choices for gearing range. I do multi-day cycle tours in mountainous areas, and I'm not getting any younger, so low gears are important to me. After reading some of the bad reviews here I was a bit nervous, but my experience has been excellent. They gave me expert advice to help me specify what I wanted. The build was finished when they said it would be. I went to collect in person, and was able to test it out to make sure there were no issues. The build and adjustment were great and I am very pleased with the bike so far. I would definitely recommend Spa for anyone wanting to buy a quality touring bike.

Following the recipient of my parcel, I have sent an e-mail asking about return the product for a different item but I never got a reply. I strongly discourage anyone considering doing business with them.

Extremely rude, ill-mannered owner, who doesn't take any responsibility for his own mistakes. I've ordered custom length cut spokes. Not only he sent two defective spokes out of 12, but he also sent me other type of spokes which I never ordered. When I complained, he just replied with one very rude email and vanished after that. Please, avoid this scam shop and this person at all. Don't help him earn money.

Great service, shop here if you get the chance rather than one of the bigger chains. Also they build some very good bikes indeed.

Could not have been a better shopping experience.
Tyres ordered Thursday delivered Monday morning.
Tyres were a fantastic price to start off with but the speed of delivery added to the experience.
Also excellently packaged which did not deform the tyres.

Ordered a headset that was listed as in stock. After 6 days I contacted them to find out if there was a problem as hadn't received. Turns out it wasn't in stock and needed to be ordered in, it came in that day and was shipped out on next day delivery, the up to date version was supplied which as stated on their website may happen, in my case I was happy with this.

Would be good if they did what some others do and state "in stock with supplier" and let you know in advance if there is an issue differing from what is advertised so you can manage timelines etc.

They were quick to respond so i'm by no means slamming them. Maybe i'd call ahead if ordering online in future.

I needed advice on what’s parts I needed to get my tandem back on the road. John was really helpful and knew exactly what I needed. New chainset and bottom brackets now installed and back up and running again. Installation wasn’t without issues though, I stripped the threads on one bracket, but went back to Spa to buy a Threadless one to fix my mistake. Would definitely use Spa again.

Terrible customer service.
Rude on the phone.
Couldn’t care less.
Sold me brakes that not advertised as OEM.
Sold me used items.
No manufacturers packaging or instructions.
Brake pads used.
Callipers with marks.
Packed in a tyre box.

Told to “Send them back then.”

No refund on postage.

Previously:
Sold me non folding tyres folded with damaged side walls.

Resulted into an argument.

Luckily bought on a credit card and raised a dispute.

Then they tried to bill me.

Nothing has changed since ordering them again.

Will not recommend this business. Took pictures of items and website to do a YouTube review if they dispute.

We recently bought two touring elan bikes from Spa Cycles. From start to finish the service was excellent. Everybody we dealt with was knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant.
We received a call before the build to double check the spec and once they were completed, Spa Cycles stored the bikes until we were ready to collect. We then tested the bikes and they made minor adjustments and we have just completed our first tour and the bikes performed brilliantly. Would highly recommend.

I needed to replace the chainrings on the Sugino crankset on my Specialized Sirrus and a google search found a forum recommending Spa Cycles who offer a compete replacement crankset for a very reasonable price. Before ordering online I spoke on the phone to a helpful member of staff who answered my questions. The well-wrapped package arrived within a couple of days, I fitted to the bike and am very pleased.

I have used Spa cycles for years and as a life long cyclist and ex bike shop owner and mechanic myself, I wouldn't go anywhere else. The service is great and I trust their judgement.

I emailed Spa with a query about their own brand cranksets and received a reply very promptly. On that information I ordered a new chankset on Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon I had an email to say that it had been despatched. To my surprise it arrived Saturday lunchtime by Royal Mail. I have used Spa before and quite honestly I can`t fault them.

One of the worst experiences I've ever had with this company. I would take my money elsewhere.

Surly Long Trucker fork had a chip on the top of the crown. Blamed it on casting. Trust me I've bought the exact same fork from SJS cycles, there was no chipped metal anywhere but scarring on the steerer tube hence returned.

Seriously this is a supplier for Surly products. I am awestruck to be treated the way I was.

I returned it with my own money.
They won't refund my return postage. It is unacceptable to have any chip damage on a fork.

Thanks but I would take my money elsewhere.
They only sell some decent stuff which are just okay. I was a customer who has bought a few things from here. Decent enough service so I went back but now no more.

Update :
Spa cycles have issued a refund of £135 which is the price of the fork.
However they did not refund me the £6 of p&p and £8.95 for me to return it via Royal mail.
John who is the owner I presume won't reply to me at all. His response, the marks implying it wasn't damage was just superficial so he would only refund me appropriately.
PS the guy is a coward. Hides behind a screen and a phone.

Edit: you've been warned. If the transaction goes smoothly you're good but if it goes badly you're going to have a bad time with John. If you do buy from Spa then it's all about luck. I am not taking my chances at all. Money/time/effort has been lost from this transaction.

Very happy with the ex-demo 725 steel Disc-tourer I purchased today at a bargain price. It is a thing of beauty in both form and functionality.
I was provided with honest, friendly and trustworthy sales advice, for which I was grateful as a late middle-aged, overweight, hobby cyclist who is not only past his peak, but missed it by several years. No hard sell - the range speaks for itself - both own brand and beyond.
As a sales experience, I highly recommend these guys. Tell them your needs and wants, and they will tell you what options they have to meet them. They won’t push you to buy more than you need.

Purchased a Ti Audax - nothing too much trouble and could make numerous changes. The bike is fantastic to ride. Had a pair of hand built wheels previously and again the service was second to none with a phone call to check my request and offering advice. This is what bike shops should be like!

Having read the reviews on Spa Cycles I hesitated before purchasing from them. However I had met others in the cycling community who seemed very satisfied with their touring bikes so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. This has turned out to be a massive mistake.

When I went to collect my bike the bike gear set was not as had been specified, and other features I had asked for were missing.

John the owner does not work weekends but the mechanic on duty was clearly annoyed when I checked the bike over and noticed the defects. His response was actually to tell me, ‘this happens too often’. However, he did agree to resolve this issues.

The mechanic changed out the front dual cog set for a triple chainring as had been agreed. I rode the bike up and down the drive before I left and this seemed to function fine. However the first time I rode my bike any distance the front gears malfunctioned at a busy road junction which was highly dangerous.

I took my bike to a reputable local shop who realised that the cog set that Spa had installed was incompatible with the derailleur and shifters. This will cost around £200 to fix and John has repeatedly refused to engage with me on dealing with this issue. Instead of being horrified at having supplied a dangerous bike to a customer the best offer I have had from Spa is suggesting I ship the bike back to them at my own expense (also about £200 of expense to ship and adequately insure) and he’ll generously refund the cost of the faulty bike. I got this offer only after threatening a small claim

Either way this will leave me £200 ish out of pocket but Spa’s suggestion also leaves me without a bike. Appalling service, poor organisation and dangerous installation. Don’t waste your money with this lot.