Comparing Thorn Costs

[Bearbait]

I have just finished looking at a rohloff equipped touring bike made by a small company in the U.S.  I have been comparing  to an RST.

The American bike cost $6200 (Cdn) assembled and picked up.  The RST, at least equally equipped cost $4140 (CDN) shipped to Canada, including GST

A few SJCS accessories were slightly higher, but most were 10% - 15% cheaper.  Some were extraordinarily cheaper (1st price is American bike, 2nd is SJCS, all in GBP):

Rohloff Hub   995 vs  (800 I think through SJCS)
Shimano PD-A530 Pedals -  62 vs 50
Brooks B17 Saddle:  68 vs 20 ??

I'll stick with saving for an RST.

[Cedric]

Hi,

I looked at Bruce Gordon Rock'n Road around  $3 600 with racks(I don't know about delivery).
Also read smth about Co-Motion, approximately the same.

But they are derailleur.

What was it for $6 000 ?

[Bearbait]

It's a Peter White 'Tout Terrain'

[rualexander]

B17 for £20? Where?

[baisius]

B17 for £20? Where?

Cost to upgrade to B17 when buying Thorn.

[Kuba]

It's a Peter White 'Tout Terrain'

Tout Terrain is German, not American. Peter White is just their U.S. dealer.

[Andre Jute]

The American bike cost $6200 (Cdn) assembled and picked up.  The RST, at least equally equipped cost $4140 (CDN) shipped to Canada, including GST

Ha, for what Peter White charges for a German Tout Terrain you can have a much more prestigious German bike from Norwid, Marschall (stainless!), Patria and at the top of the heap Utopia.

But this is mainly to give you some moral support, to say that I live in Ireland and have three times imported bikes sight unseen from the Continent and it isn't as risky as it might seem. Just make sure you measure carefully so you get the right size (Thorn has two fits for every height, for instance, and which one you get depends on your upper body length and preferred posture on the bike), and take your time to ascertain that you're dealing with reputable people.

By the way, like you I use the Thorn Raven, which is permanently on my shortlist, as the benchmark; if a bike costs more than the equivalent Raven model, I want to know what I get for it.

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Bicycles at
 http://www.audio-talk.co.uk/fiultra/BICYCLE%20%26%20CYCLING.html

[Bearbait]

I agree.  I don't know enough to compare the tout terrain frame with the Thorn frame, but when i saw the spreadsheet that Peter White provides to build onto and create bike, there was no comparison.  It's making it easier to wait for my bike now that it is -20C with ice, snow and wind here in the Canadian Rockies.  I did see a poor soul out on the roads today on the way to get my morning paper.  Looked like he was on a hybrid.  Looked cold.  My dog and I commiserated.

[Cedric]

Ha, for what Peter White charges for a German Tout Terrain you can have a much more prestigious German bike from Norwid, Marschall (stainless!), Patria and at the top of the heap Utopia.

Hi, Hobbes

Can you advise me any English links on Norwid? as I found only their German site.
Never heard about Norwid, Marschall (stainless!), Patria, tried to find some find information on specification and prices, but despite the fact that site could be switched from German to English all the PDF downloads are in German.

Thank you in advance!

Regards,

Cedric.

[Andre Jute]

Hi, Hobbes

Can you advise me any English links on Norwid? as I found only their German site.
Never heard about Norwid, Marschall (stainless!), Patria, tried to find some find information on specification and prices, but despite the fact that site could be switched from German to English all the PDF downloads are in German.

Why should they have English literature? The market for their type of bike is just too small, and limited by what they can reasonably produce in a year. Try Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/#de|en|

Marschall no longer has a pricelist. You tell him what you want and he quotes. Expect to pay for a frame and fork not much less than for a fully tricked-out Raven.

Norwid had pricelists the last time I looked. His stainless custom frame is cheaper than Marschall's. http://www.norwid.de/downloads.html

Patria prices you find by requesting their catalogue and pricelist. It is not on the net, or wasn't the last time I looked.

Utopia's base pricelist is here:  http://www.utopia-fahrrad.de/relaunch/Preis_Ausstattung.a4d and they have a very detailed option specification/order/pricelist on the net, where every option is grouped and priced. https://ssl.utopia-fahrrad.de/fshop.a4d However, to understand which option excludes which other option, you need the PDF catalogue http://www.utopia-velo.de/PDF/Katalog_09_fruehjahr.pdf and that assumes you've already read the latest Advisor http://www.utopia-velo.de/PDF/rr_09.pdf to grasp which components have been tested and approved. They will on request send you the first service checklist in English, which I translated for my bike mechanic and said they could use.

You have to commit seriously to buying a German bike, Cedric. Time to get out those Berlitz LPs you packed away after learning to say, "Guten morgen."

But I anyway think that when a bike starts costing a thousand pounds and up, never mind when it exceeds two thousand, and certainly when you're talking about bikes the price of a good used BMW, it is worth spending some time to inform yourself.

Andre Jute
http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/Andre%20Jute's%20Utopia%20Kranich.pdf

[Cedric]

Why should they have English literature? The market for their type of bike is just too small, and limited by what they can reasonably produce in a year. Try Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/#de|en|

Thanks, Andre

I already get in touch with them and realized that translating via Gogle is the only available option.

Marschall no longer has a pricelist. You tell him what you want and he quotes. Expect to pay for a frame and fork not much less than for a fully tricked-out Raven.

If so, it too exclusively for me . 

Norwid had pricelists the last time I looked. His stainless custom frame is cheaper than Marschall's. http://www.norwid.de/downloads.html

I treid to download several times from different computers, so it seemed to be an error on the page (it’s empty). I asked to send to me the files and still waiting for reply. Surely SJCS are much more responsive. For me it’s just interesting to compare Norwid Skagerrak with RT .

Patria prices you find by requesting their catalogue and pricelist. It is not on the net, or wasn't the last time I looked.

Having so wide range Patria seemed to me more mass productive company, than any other mentioned. I will try to get the prices from any of their German dealers. Terra seemed to me to be the closest to Raven.

You have to commit seriously to buying a German bike, Cedric. Time to get out those Berlitz LPs you packed away after learning to say, "Guten morgen."

You see, I’m from Ukraine (Eastern Europe) and Germany is much closer to me than UK. And delivery from UK is still an issue (thanks to forum members I already know how it works). Just need to find the easiest and cheapest way to get it.

But I anyway think that when a bike starts costing a thousand pounds and up, never mind when it exceeds two thousand, and certainly when you're talking about bikes the price of a good used BMW, it is worth spending some time to inform yourself.
 

You are right. Purchasing the Raven is quite an investment for me So, I would like to compare the bikes of the same level () nominated in GBP and EUR.

For example, looked at Tout Terrain Silk Road at Peter White page I found out that it has ONLY FOUR size (S, M, L, XL) in comparison with 13 of RT.