Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Thorn General => Topic started by: TodmordenLad on December 11, 2022, 07:30:18 pm
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Have just taken delivery of an Audax Mk4 frame in Imron Blue with matching 858 fork and a set of hand built wheels (DT Swiss R460 32h on Deore hubs)
Am looking forward to building myself a handsome bike.
Went for the Audax frameset as a half/full day, luggage free, light-ish ride and will continue to use my ageing Reynolds tourer for everything else, from daily shopping trips to holidays.
Dealing with Thorn was a pleasure and Nik, in particular, was super helpful and responsive. It was a toss between Spa Cycles and Thorn. I’ve had a soft spot for both brands for a long time but I paid the premium and went for what I think is the better quality product in the end.
Best wishes to all.
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Welcome to the Forum and to Thorn ownership!
So looking forward to your build photos and hope it won't be long before you're out riding the final result (and trip reports, hint hint).
All good wishes, Dan.
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Thanks Dan.
Have ordered most of the parts now but I dont expect to have put it all together for several weeks with postal delays etc. Will post a few pics when it's done :)
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Welcome to our friendly group.
Looking forward to seeing your bike when complete.
I'm a Scotland based Raven Tour man myself.
Slow but sure, it gets me there .
Always interested in other Thorn versions; especially those built up by owners.
Near Manchester? Trip plans?
Best
Matt
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Welcome to Thorn ownership! I have both a Spa audax and Thorn raven sport rohloff. Both lovely bikes and both companies really know their stuff. I like the versatility of the Thorn audax mk4 frame, you’ll have fun with different configurations. A search of the forum will throw up some lovely examples by Leftpoole, formerly of this forum. Pictures welcome of course.
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Welcome to our friendly group.
Looking forward to seeing your bike when complete.
I'm a Scotland based Raven Tour man myself.
Slow but sure, it gets me there .
Always interested in other Thorn versions; especially those built up by owners.
Near Manchester? Trip plans?
Best
Matt
Thanks
Im a Londoner. I first used TodmordenLad years ago on another forum and I cant be bothered to think of a new name each time! I traced my ancestry on my father's side as far back as the early 18th C when they were wool weavers in Todmorden, so that's the connection.
I use my old steel tourer as my daily and for loaded trips in Holland, France and Belgium. I plan to use the Thorn Audax for luggage-free day rides close to home (London wide from the house and Kent and Sussex when using the train)
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Welcome to Thorn ownership! I have both a Spa audax and Thorn raven sport rohloff. Both lovely bikes and both companies really know their stuff. I like the versatility of the Thorn audax mk4 frame, you’ll have fun with different configurations. A search of the forum will throw up some lovely examples by Leftpoole, formerly of this forum. Pictures welcome of course.
Thanks, appreciated
Yes, the forum looks great, plenty of hints and tips for build options
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Finally started putting the bike together :)
Anyone else find that the bottle cage brazeons on the seat tube are mounted very low down? With a 46 tooth outer ring on my triple and a Sora FD, the FD band is a fraction of a millimetre away from the bottom bottle cage brazeon. With a larger chainring, this wouldn’t be a problem, obviously. Had to move the front clamp pad up within the FD clamp to get the correct adjustment. Have never had this problem before. Frustrating design IMO, although I appreciate that most folk will have a road crankset with larger chainrings on their audax so won’t hit this issue.
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Finally started putting the bike together :)
Anyone else find that the bottle cage brazeons on the seat tube are mounted very low down? With a 46 tooth outer ring on my triple and a Sora FD, the FD band is a fraction of a millimetre away from the bottom bottle cage brazeon. With a larger chainring, this wouldn’t be a problem, obviously. Had to move the front clamp pad up within the FD clamp to get the correct adjustment. Have never had this problem before. Frustrating design IMO, although I appreciate that most folk will have a road crankset with larger chainrings on their audax so won’t hit this issue.
With most of my builds, I was frustrated that the bottle cage mounting points were so high, obviously an attempt to make sure it would not interfere when building up a bike. But the lower mounting points allow a taller bottle to be used. I sometimes use 1 liter bottles, thus prefer lower mounts when practical.
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Does something like this help?
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bottles-cages/topeak-altposition-cage-mounts/
I used a similar one to lower the position of a bottle but it could work the other way around?
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Finally started putting the bike together :)
Anyone else find that the bottle cage brazeons on the seat tube are mounted very low down? With a 46 tooth outer ring on my triple and a Sora FD, the FD band is a fraction of a millimetre away from the bottom bottle cage brazeon. With a larger chainring, this wouldn’t be a problem, obviously. Had to move the front clamp pad up within the FD clamp to get the correct adjustment. Have never had this problem before. Frustrating design IMO, although I appreciate that most folk will have a road crankset with larger chainrings on their audax so won’t hit this issue.
With most of my builds, I was frustrated that the bottle cage mounting points were so high, obviously an attempt to make sure it would not interfere when building up a bike. But the lower mounting points allow a taller bottle to be used. I sometimes use 1 liter bottles, thus prefer lower mounts when practical.
I take your point mickeg but I'd far rather have flexibility around the size of my outer chainring than the size of my water bottle! Ive fittted a 48t outer chainring on my triple now and the Sora FD no longer fouls on the lower bottle cage mount. Its just clear by a couple of mm now. Im sure Thorn would vigorously defend their design on this point but its flawed to my mind, plain and simple.
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It isn't something I have experience of, all my Thorns having been Rohloff. I was sure we'd been here before, and yes we have:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?PHPSESSID=b52gmku0qh28mc6oh76dc2evr7&topic=12516.msg92793
Does seem like something that could be designed out, though I haven't worked out the pros and cons. Did you ask Thorn? It might be something they've come across and have a simple solution for. I'd be very reluctant to compromise my choice of gearing and would probably stick with that and then work out how to mount the cage.
Oh well, no build is without some glitches, none of mine anyway, hope this is the worst of them and the bike otherwise preforms as you hope.
Welcome to the forum.
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It isn't something I have experience of, all my Thorns having been Rohloff. I was sure we'd been here before, and yes we have:
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?PHPSESSID=b52gmku0qh28mc6oh76dc2evr7&topic=12516.msg92793
Does seem like something that could be designed out, though I haven't worked out the pros and cons. Did you ask Thorn? It might be something they've come across and have a simple solution for. I'd be very reluctant to compromise my choice of gearing and would probably stick with that and then work out how to mount the cage.
Oh well, no build is without some glitches, none of mine anyway, hope this is the worst of them and the bike otherwise preforms as you hope.
Welcome to the forum.
Thanks for the welcome, PH. Rest assured, my enthusiasm for all things SJS and Thorn is undented :)
I havent spoken with Thorn but did pop by my LBS, run by a guy who knows all there is to know about bikes, as well as being a former pro cyclist, and he confirmed that i needed a larger chainring to resolve the issue.
Will post a few pics once Ive finished. Still waiting on a few parts.
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I was curious so I checked, my Thorn Sherpa (I bought the frame used 12 years ago) is fitted with a triple, big ring is 46T. I used to have a 52T big ring but reduced it to 46T a few years before the photo was taken. The M6 nut you see between the water bottle cage and the frame is a spacer to hold my cage further away from the frame. M6 nut fits loosely on the M5 bolt so it works well as a spacer.
And in the case shown in the photo, the derailleur was made for a larger diameter frame, thus a shim is used that makes the size of the derailleur band around the frame tube a bit larger than a derailleur with the correct size band for the frame tube.
The front derailleur in the photo is a vintage Suntour high normal model. I do not know if some derailleurs have a higher frame tube band than others, that might be possible. Most front derailleurs are low normal, so this is an unusual one.
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Starting to take shape now... :) Just need some decent weather to motivate me to finish the job!
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Hi all, I am new here and getting alot of informative information from here:)
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Welcome, Jimi! We look forward to having you here. :)
Best, Dan.
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Starting to take shape now... :) Just need some decent weather to motivate me to finish the job!
If you flipped the stem so that it is upside down, that would put more spacers below the stem, fewer above. The long uncut steerer would not look as long that way.
Photo below is a decade old, I have a 17 degree stem in a horizontal position to look less extreme. During the past decade I have gotten older and am glad that I did not cut the steerer tube shorter back then, as with age moving the handlebar up higher feels better.
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Starting to take shape now... :) Just need some decent weather to motivate me to finish the job!
If you flipped the stem so that it is upside down, that would put more spacers below the stem, fewer above. The long uncut steerer would not look as long that way.
Photo below is a decade old, I have a 17 degree stem in a horizontal position to look less extreme. During the past decade I have gotten older and am glad that I did not cut the steerer tube shorter back then, as with age moving the handlebar up higher feels better.
Hello Mickeg,
I'll be cutting down that steerer as soon as Im happy with the overall setup - it looks truly awful!. Bars and saddle are at the same height, which is my preferred set up on my current tourer and on other bikes Ive owned.
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First ride this morning, still tweaking the set up so won’t be cutting the steerer or wrapping the bars quite yet. An easy build apart from the mudguards which were a pig to fit with the Thorn under fork/bridge fittings and the proximity of the 30mm tyres.
Am happy with the frame/fork combo, lively and comfortable - not as comfy as my (non-Thorn) tourer but that’s to be expected and a like-for-like comparison isn’t that meaningful with the two different wheel/tyre set ups.
Had forgotten what a brand-new Brooks feels like - brutal compared to my 15 yr old!
Pleased I went for the TRP RG957 brakes. Pricey but they are spot on in terms of quality, fit and bite.
Looking forward to getting some miles in on this one when things warm up a bit :)
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Looking good 8)
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Hi everyone! My name is Joseph, and I'm thrilled to be a part of this forum. I'm excited about the opportunity to connect with like-minded community, learn from others, and share my own knowledge and experiences.
I believe that forums like this provide an excellent platform for exchanging ideas and perspectives. I'm eager to contribute to the community in any way that I can, and I look forward to engaging in thoughtful discussions with everyone here.
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Welcome aboard, Joseph!
Nice to have you join us.
All the best,
Dan.
Thorn Cycling Forum Administrator
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Thanks Dan! :)