Calling All Space Horse Owners
 

Hello,

I have been researching the All City Space Hore as a fair weather commuter, road bike and light tourer. I would welcome owner feedback on this bike.

I checked one out in person the other day and it seemed like a great bike. Info on this bike is not as readily available as with Surly's Cross Check, which I have also considered.

Any owner related observations would be much appreciated!

Perhaps some more information would be helpful. My wife and I are looking for our first bikes with drops. We currently have hybrids, which seems to be where most people start. We would like to work up to some centuries and have several organized rides under our belts. I would also be using this bike as a fair weather commuter.

Here is the list of bikes we are considering:

Space Horse
Cross Check
Crossrip

I guess what I am looking for is input from owners of these various models. Are you pleased with your purchase? Any recommendations for someone buying their first road/cross bike? Obviously I will test ride all of the once the weather breaks.

Thanks!

I was considering the Space Horse frame for a singlespeed build, so I took one for a test ride a while ago...the geometry is overall quite similar to my Bianchi Volpe, so I liked it a lot. Didn't feel too different from what I'm used to, and the British Racing Green color scheme is awesome. I ended up getting a New Albion Privateer frame for that project instead, though, mostly because it was less expensive and still pretty similar.

Just putting this out there....

Royale 14 - Road Series, Bikes | SEBikes.com

- Andy

Why this bike in particular? It's not that I don't like it. Many would fill your stated purpose and might be a little more normal and less costly.

Not the OP, but know my LBS has recommended the Space Horse for all-day comfort on a bike/light touring as well. I haven't gotten a chance to test ride yet due to weather. They were suggesting doing a custom build so that I would get the triple with a granny gear that I want/need. What exactly do you mean by other bikes being available that are "more normal?".

My LBS carries All-City, Surly, and Salsa. The All-City seemed cheaper in price to me than Salsa, and similar to Surly. They are also supposedly a GT dealer, but had none on the floor, and did not recommend them to me for my purposes.

I think this a good route to go, you can't really go wrong with a Spacehorse. The Spacehorse is just another QBP brand like Surly and Salsa. I looked at it, the geometry isn't anything different than a LHT or Vaya, it more a matter of personal taste for color and disc brakes or not. In the end I bought a Soma Saga Disc and built it up custom.

The space horse is a class in-betweener or all around bike which makes it suitable for lots of different kinds of riding. I tried to talk myself into buying one a year or two back and somehow managed to not buy it. I like the bike a lot but it doesn't do anything differently than my soma doublecross which is why I didn't buy it.

I've been riding my All-City Space Horse for about 6 months now. I'm extremely please with the handling and comfort of the bike. I rode a Surly Disc Trucker (2 days on "lease" from a friend) and a Jamis Aurora (3 days on "lease" from my lady). I also tested out Salsa Vaya bikes and Surly Crosscheck. The Space Horse feels nimble and handles more like a steel road bike, rather than a touring bike (it has more traditional road geometry). Additionally, it looks so classic (to me), and we all know how important looks are. My roommate rode his Space Horse across the US and said that he had to replace a shifting cable and swapped out the bottom bracket.

I've ridden 50 miles three days in a row on the bike with the stock saddle and had no problems with discomfort. I will say that I swapped the stock cowbell bars out for Ritchey bars because I didn't like the feel of my arm rake shifting between on the hoods and in the drops. Additionally, if you ride in wetter weather (I'm located in Boston, so the weather can get pretty nasty here) and I switched the brake pads to Salmon Kool Stops from the stock Tektro pads.

On paper, the Space Horse looks a lot like my now discontinued Salsa Casseroll. Were I in the market for a new bike, I would certainly put it on my short list.

A good friend of mine has owned a Space Horse for a couple of years. He uses it for commuting, light touring and riding on greenways. It is a well-made frame with a nice finish, and he likes it a lot. The frame has clearance for larger tires and mounts for fenders and racks. We rode the entire GAP-C&O Canal trails last summer and he took his SH with rear panniers and a top-tube bag. My only complaint about All City bikes is they have large gaps between sizes. For that reason, I didn't seriously consider getting a Space Horse when looking for a new touring frame last year because I was mid-way between two of their sizes, so neither frame would have fit me just right. I ended up getting a Soma Saga, which you should add to the list of frames you are considering. The Saga is in the same price range but comes in a much broader range of sizes, and it has a taller headtube and shorter top tube than comparable Surly frames.

Pretty cool looking bike, that Space Horse. Also, if you have a Raleigh dealer, check out their heritage steel bikes. The clubman disc looks beautiful, IMO.

I would steer clear of that SE bike posted above..SE is better than Wal Mart, but I wouldn't want to take one on any kind of long ride. I've built up enough bikes from SE to think they are fun in the right application, but wouldn't trust them for the long haul. Stick with a bike that has Tiagra and on up the heirarchy

Looking for something with gears for group gravel rides and races to replace my Nature Boy... looks like this might be the ticket.

Anyone using a carbon fork on their Space Horse? Anyone compared one with a Macho King?

EDIT: just noticed this was in the commuting forum. Probably not a ton of interest on the Macho King here.

It's a touring bike frame. It has many specific features as such, including cantilever brakes, large fender and tire clearance, rack mounts front and rear, extra eyelets at the rear, double bottle mounts, and long wheelbase. It's going to be a little heavy because it's well built to carry those loads. But then they've chosen to build it up with full Tiagra shifters and compact double drivetrain, which are medium-duty road bike parts; where a touring bike would normally have a smaller triple crankset, which will give you more time in the middle ring and a lower granny (26-32 rather than 34-30), bar-end shifters that are simpler and perhaps easier to fix or bodge on tour, and some heavy duty mountain bike parts, like hubs and derailleurs. Here for example is the venerable Trek 520 kitted out this way (and also ~$280 less), and you'll find the Surly LHT is similar.

The OP's and your stated need is "fair weather commuter, road bike, light tourer." What features do you need for this? Do you need fat tires and fenders both, are you likely to buy all five or six bags? The frame adds a pound, fat tires add a pound, fenders probably add a pound. Some people complain touring bikes don't ride properly without a load. I think I'd put a saddlebag or a rear rack on a sport touring bike, of which the brands you mention include Surly Pacer and All City Mr. Pink. The result would be a lot lighter and livelier. There also is the "cross commuter" category as well like the Cross Check, which also now often have disk brakes instead of cantilever, like the Straggler. Incidentally these are all different brands from the same company, QBP, which explains why your shop carries them; although that does not render their differences invalid. They are thoughtfully designed by different individuals. Because they are sort of following a fashion branding model, you can sometimes find similar bikes from discounters with ripped-off design for a lot less. Just as an example the Fantom CXX is much like but a lot less than a Cross Check; and Giant would like to sell you an Anyroad. If you wanted to go mainstream there are a ton of aluminum bikes in this price range that are quite zippy. My coworker has a Giant TCR (the Defy is similar but more relaxed) and I've test ridden a Cannondale Synapse and there are a bunch of others.

I suspect there's a letter missing here. I've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities.

This is very similar to the Charge Plug I just bought at Performance Bike for commuting. From the skinny steel frame and geometry to the mounts and tire clearance. Mine has disk brakes (not a priority for me), but it has a more contemporary straight-ish front fork. I'd rather have the Space Horse's curved front fork. In fact, I like the look of the Space Horse more, but then, I'm 53. The Charge Plug is similarly priced, but I got mine on sale right after Christmast for half-price, so I'm very happy. If you buy this, let us know how it works out.

I expect Maxway TW was the Factory making them all .. Sub-Contract Manufacturing is the Game now,

The royale 14 is like half the price and pretty similar setup.

- Andy

Don't know about the OP, but I didn't find the Space Horse any heavier than what I'm currently riding. I'm currently riding a 1997 Schwinn Searcher Express, which also has a cro-mo frame. I had walked into other bike shops with a specific model in mind, only inquiring about that specific model. Naturally, the store almost always agreed that model x, whatever it was, would be just perfect for me. So, this time, I went into the shop that I have all of my tune ups/repair work done, and specifically asked for something that would be comfortable for all-day riding, that would also be suitable for some light touring. I don't personally need fenders, but I do need fatter tires, as one trail I ride frequently is labled for bike/hikers/equestrian/and ATVs, but it's surface is most definitely geared towards ATVs with some places sand, and the majority larger gravel. Even though my current bike should do that trail, and it does, painfully, I could use something that takes a wider tire than a 700 x 32 to run at a little lower pressure. It is currently an upleasant ride for much of that trail.

I know Trek makes a good product. The unfortunate part about Trek in my local is that the only Trek dealer is a large sporting good chain. While I like the store fine, that is just not where I want to be tied down to for repairs and fitting, they aren't bike specialists. So, I've pretty much cut Trek out of my choices. Interesting that you're finding the Trek 520 for $280 less, as your link showed them $1300. My LBS is qouting me $1,400 for the SH, so little difference in price.
Personally, I'm fine if my LBS were to suggest the Cross Check frame build up or the Space Horse. Either one is fine with me, though I'm surprised that they would feel vastly different in weight, as there is only about an inch in over all wheelbase difference between them? Maybe they ride vastly different, I'll try both of them out if possible. Mr Prink and the Pacer both max out a 700 x 32, so for me, they are off my list of considerations.

Maybe the OP is looking for zippy, I'm just looking for comfortable for hours at a time. The Giant dealer is 90 miles away, and you're right, he wanted to sell me the Anyroad, nice bike, but I'd rather trade and have service closer to home. I like this particular shop and their staff, so for me, I suspect I'll be buying a QBP frame, and have the shop flesh it out for me. Thanks for the suggestions.

You should do fine. Some of these are not major differences and they're all decent bikes. Don't give up on the gearing, though, that's a significant difference if you need it.

$1320 for the Trek was from their website, All City doesn't list MSRP but a Google shopping search was showing me 1599 for Space Horses, I thought. Now I look and see $1499. Ah well anyhow, it was 5 in the morning and I had a cranky infant to deal with, forgive me.

Pretty much the only thing those bikes have in common are two wheels and drop bars. The 14 has all low-end parts,road geometry,is all alloy(straight blade alloy fork + skinny tires = dynaryder's wrists throbbing),and has way less tire clearance. Totally different bikes.

All, thanks for the feedback. I am just recovering from a broken arm and we have had a lousy winter so I have not ridden any of the bikes I mentioned. I will ride all three, though. I refuse to order any model of bike without first riding it.

I guess I am looking for something somewhat zippy, but also comfortable. That's why the Space Horse seemed so appealing. The Cross Check and Cross Rip also seem promising. Whatever I get, I want it for the long haul, both literally and figuratively. I'd like to be able to comfortably do centuries on it and I'd like to have this bike for years to come. I'd also like to be able to ride it to the office. I guess now the proof will be in the pudding...I need to ride some bikes.

Any Cross Check and Cross Rip owners want to chime in? While I don't mind saving my beans for quality, the price point of the entry level Cross Rip is appealing...

Again, thanks for the input!

Oh, I should also add that my wife and I are both under the 160 lbs mark. As such, a coworker recommended to me that we look at cross bikes or road bikes versus a traditional touring bike.

I believe the Space Horse is electro-plated on the inside of the frame. That's an unusual feature, and is nice for anyone who would like a steel frame but doesn't like the possibility of rust.

I have been riding the SH as an everyday commuter for about 8 months, and love it. I had an Allez, and was looking for something more of a commuter bike, that I can still do long rides on. I tried out the Volpe, Masi CX, CC, and LHT, but ultimately decided on the SH. As someone above posted, be careful about the sizing. I nearly ordered the 55, because it was closer to what I normally rode, but then tried the 52 and realized that fit much better.