Martinf's new Thorn

[Andybg]

I must agree on the gearing being a bit high for gear 11 to be your standard cruising gear. I have 38/16 gearing on my tour and in 11th gear I am sitting at about 33kmh which I wuld love to say is my avrage cruising speed but alas not. However I have not really noticed and difference in noise or efficiency for the gears 10-8 so I dont find it that much of an issue trying to get gear 11 to b the "go to" gear

Any

[Andre Jute]

Gear 11 at 1:1 is (almost) by definition the most efficient gear. But the difference is too marginal to obsess about. Better, I think, to take Martin's view that what works for your riding style and geographic circumstances is the most desirable setup. Common sense, really.

Andre Jute

[JWestland]

That's lovely, the chainglider and black front dynohub (SON?) really finish it too visually

[martinf]

Not had much opportunity for other than short local rides on the Raven Tour recently, but I managed to find time today for a 50 km loop with lightly loaded front panniers. Some more ride impressions:

- The front brake has either stopped squealing, or maybe I have just stopped noticing.

- I still don't notice the Chainglider on the Thorn at all when riding. I rode the less than ideal Chainglider setup on my 5-speed the other day, on this I can still hear the odd noise when I remember to listen out for it, otherwise I just forget it is there.

- Gears 1 to 7 are still a little noisy, but gear 5 already seems to be getting quieter. I managed to provoke the short change into gear 14 when changing from 8 to 7 without easing off, but this was on purpose. Most of the time I pause, as I am used to the old Sturmey Archer hubs, pausing doesn't seem to be necessary for most of the Rohloff changes. 

- The gear numbers on the twist grip seem to have drifted a bit with respect to the Raven pointer, maybe the cables have stretched a little. I don't think that matters, as with the Rohloff it doesn't seem all that important to know which gear I am in - I just twist clockwise for a higher gear and anti-clockwise for lower. I sometimes twist the wrong way, because the Nexus 8 twist grip works the other way round.

- The initial position when riding on the hoods seems about right. I will try tweaking it a bit to see if small changes make any improvement.

- I have done a bit more riding on the drops. With the Thorn anatomic drop bars, my hands seem to move away from the brakes and rest on that funny kink - not a good thing. And using the bar-end twist grip from the drops doesn't feel as convenient as from the hoods. I haven't yet taped the bars on the Raven Tour, so it will be relatively easy to change the handlebars if I decide I don't like the Thorn anatomic. I've still got the more normal drops and bar-end twistgrip on my Nexus 8 bike, so I will try and do some comparison rides.

- I've never used a low-rider rack before. I noticed that the handles on the Sportpacker bags could touch the spokes, so tucked them between the bars of the rack. And the tops of the bags got a bit muddy with spray off the tyre (doesn't happen with a platform rack). Finally, the mounting hooks on the panniers got slightly gummed up with grit, which hindered the automatic opening/closing feature.

- Haven't yet done anything about the slightly off-level saddle. Although this is a new B17, I haven't notice any discomfort, but no long rides yet.

- I didn't check the tyre pressures (latex tubes loose air more quickly than butyl), so today's ride was with about 30 psi in the front and 35 in the rear (Dureme 1.9"). Bike felt nice and comfortable, no sluggish feeling, but I think I will try higher pressures on the next ride and see how it affects the feel. I generally use 40/45 with the 1.9" Supremes on the Nexus bike.

[Danneaux]

Martin!

What a cracking-good progress report from you; glad to hear things are going in the right direction! Your observations square with mine as well. If it helps, I can add a few data points of my own in response/triangulation...

• I'm positively lusting after a Hebie Chainglider now, and am very much hoping a model for 36T 'rings will soon arrive now Rohloff warranty-approved lower gearing is available. I am doing what I can to hurry the process.

• My own Rohloff is rapidly becoming quieter in the same way and at the same points as yours. Like yours, it is a recent model and these seem to achieve "break-in" status earlier than previous editions. Yay!

• My twist-grip indication is approximate as well and became moreso; agreed it really doesn't matter in actual use except when hitting the stops. The numbers read over a "half-gear" off-center compared to the Raven indicator.

• <nods> Yes, it was the little kink atop the drops that in part moved me to another 'bar; the change has had stellar results and I am very pleased with the refinement. I find I also really prefer a shallower, more parallel drop; it provides a more usable/used position for me than the deeper "opening hook" of the Thorn-fitted Zoom anatomics. Your position on the hoods sound encouraging for getting things spot-on for you.

• The dirty front panniers/gritted mounting hooks are part-and parcel of using lowrider racks in the rain in my experience. I have found a major source is blowback from a short-ending front mudguard. I've eliminated most of mine by fitting the extended front 'guard to mine (a repurposed rear 'guard, trimmed slightly at the end and recapped and a long mudflap added to the rear to keep feet and drivetrain clean/dry). The bags, bike, and I stay lots cleaner as a result. Downside? It looks odd and starts conversations...sometimes not in the best of ways. And yes, tucking the Ortileb SportPacker handles between the rack "rails" is the key to keeping them from flapping into the spokes. It soon becomes second nature, else one hears "twip!-twip!-twip!" as the spokes brush by.

• Your tire pressures are spot-on to the psi with what I am now finding works nicely for general unladen use with my 2.0 Duremes. I'll be closely following any developments and refinements here, Martin. I will go higher, of course, when a touring load is added.

Again, what a useful and informative progress and development report! Thanks, very.

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

I'm sure you chaps know this already, but these fora are read by many prospective and new Rohloff owners. Rohloff gear change indicators are supposed to be "loose" by at least 2mm each way. If they're precise, some obsessive has set up the cables too tight, and the gear change will suffer, and probably also the longevity of the gear cables.

Interesting how fast the Rohloff now breaks in...

Andre Jute

[martinf]

I'm positively lusting after a Hebie Chainglider now.

Although my experience so far has been very positive, I'll remain a wee bit sceptical until I've put a few thousand kms on my 2 Chainglider equipped bikes. And I haven't yet done any really long rides with a Chainglider.

I have found a major source is blowback from a short-ending front mudguard. I've eliminated most of mine by fitting the extended front 'guard to mine (a repurposed rear 'guard, trimmed slightly at the end and recapped).

My bodge job of a long "mudflap" on the front of the front mudguard seems to be working reasonably well - no muck on the front light. But it doesn't extend as far as your system, so I expect I well end up copying that. Maybe after the present mudguard breaks.

[martinf]

Just copied Dan (Danneaux) for my Raven Tour front mudguard. I got a set of P55 mudguards from my local shop, who now do a lot of things (B&M lights, Schwalbe tyres, etc.) cheaper than I can get from the Internet.

Being lazier than Dan, I kept the lowest bridge on the new (ex-rear) mudguard in the same position as the original, which means that the rear part of the mudguard is closer to the ground. I therefore moved the mudflap I had fitted to the old mudguard up a bit.

The highest bridge on the new mudguard is slightly closer to the fork, but I could use the old stays without any cutting.

I drilled out a bridge from the old mudguard, and fitted this to the front, more or less as explained by Dan. I used stainless steel hex bolts rather than rivets to fit this bridge, as I may want to relocate the front reflector or fit a lightweight front lamp to the mudguard at some stage.

I didn't cut the new mudguard at all, and ended up with just one unused hole, which was covered neatly by the rubbery plastic part that I had removed from the original front mudguard when I fitted my extended mudflap.

After a few rides I decided I really didn't like the Thorn anatomic drop bars, so have fitted some more normal 44 cm wide bars (BBB, from my local shop, I have the same ones on my Nexus 8 bike).

I fitted some Grab-on foam, and covered it with the tape supplied by SJS with the bike.

With the new job I started in January I probably won't have the opportunity to do any long tours for a while, so I will probably replace the Duremes with Supremes, and either sell the Duremes or store them for later use. I think Supremes are better for the mainly on-road use the bike currently gets.

[Danneaux]

A very, very nice-looking job, Martin; well done!

I've continued to be extremely pleased with mine, especially now the Fall rains have set in. I've found it continues to make a great difference in helping me remain dry, especially when the rain is really bucketing down. My front panniers remain cleaner, as do my legs and even thighs, since I am not riding into my own spray. Water used to jet ahead at fork crown level...only to whip back and soak me. No more, thanks to the extended front 'guard, which extends the flow downward and at lower velocity.

I hope your experience will be as good -- it certainly looks like a stellar installation!

All the best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Interesting how such closefitting mudguards makes one expect that the whole bike when seen will be sporting.

[martinf]

Just field-tested the new front mudguard setup in the rain. It works well, most of the water from the front tyre is directed down and forward.

A little water dribbles down the extra mudguard stays, but looks as if it would miss the front bags, (I only had the rear bags fitted).

Front lamp and front rack stayed clean and relatively dry.

[Danneaux]

Martin, our Thorns are looking more like one another!

I'm glad the new mudguard setup proved worthwhile in the rain for you, Martin; it has worked out very nicely for me in my own use.

Thanks for the report and update.

All the best,

Dan.

[martinf]

Despite not having used the Raven much in its first year, I did the recommended annual oil change last weekend. Cleaning oil came out dark grey. The top 7 gears now feel slightly smoother.

Zero issues with my two Chaingliders so far. I have opened the Chainglider on the Raven once this year to inspect the chain.

The Chainglider on my old 5-speed hub-geared bike (non-optimal setup with thick TA ring, 1/8" width chain and 1/8" Sturmey Archer sprocket) has also performed faultlessly. The initial rubbing noise has faded - I suppose the Chainglider has worn a bit to fit the other components better.

[Andre Jute]

Thanks for the report, Martin.

[martinf]

First "tour" with my Raven Tour.

A mixed cycling and hiking holiday with my wife, close to home, just a 45 km ride to the ferry, then a week on staying on an island off the South Brittany coast. We did 20-35 km cycle rides most mornings and 2-4 hour hikes in the afternoons. Not what I had in mind when I bought the bike, but it performed very well on the tracks and short, sharp hills.

To even out our cycling abilities a bit, I carried most of the gear on the Raven Tour. It seems a lot for a week, but it includes two pairs of hiking boots and a comfortable medium size rucksack.

Wife's bike is an old, fairly light 650B frame, updated with Brooks Pro S saddle, Nexus 8 Premium hub geared quite low, and "sit-up-and-beg" handlebars.