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Thorn Sterling info on STW

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peterh:
Thorn Sterling info on STW with a picture?! I'm surprised it wasn't posted on here first?

See http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/read.php?f=2&i=3262178&t=3262178

jp06:
I have my Sterling frame on order and hopefully it should be delivered on Monday.  I spoke to Andy Blance in the week and he explained that the details had not yet been posted on their site since the web designer/graphic designer they use was away.
It sounds like an incredibly versatile frame and at only £299 it seems unbelievably good value.  I look forward to finding out next week!

peterh:
Blimey that is cheap compared to the cost of the Enduro frame I own :-) The extra tyre clearance has got to be a good thing. Not so sure about the cable routing via the down tube rather than along the top tube - liable to getting bashed? But I guess they have to put it there to allow panniers to be fitted with disks? It looks like it uses a seat post clamp? - rather than having an integrated clamp - I'd have preferred that on the Enduro. It definitely does look very versatile.

Still think they could have posted something on here earlier. I seem to remember they posted shots of the Enduro 6 months before you could buy it - I loved it so much I waited to buy one.

spinacilight:
Looks OK for the price but the decals are rubbish aren't they?

jimmer:
Great, as per bl**dy usual. After nearly 3 years obsessive yearning, pining over the online brochure, a visit to Taunton (a cruelly apposite name for a place) to introduce my wife to the competitor for my affections and damned hard saving I got a Catalyst in February. At which the 'Catalyst mk. 2' is announced, at a saving of £200 based on the previously quoted frame price.
Besides the obvious great qualities of the Catalyst one of the most compelling reasons for buying a Thorn was that they were so well designed from the outset that new models were not released annually with minor tweaks and marginal performance enhancements intended to induce the need to upgrade.
The Sterling does sound very appealing, and I may well have gone for it had it been available so I'd like to try and assure myself that I did not spend rashly.
Why the cheaper frame price? The material is not stated, so I'm hoping that it isn't 853, which would explain some of the difference (the decals don't look like 853).
As stated longer chainstays may make the Sterling handle a little less sharply off road and the Catalyst is pretty sweet in that regard. I'm not the fastest on single track, so am not convinced that stacks up to justify the difference, you are paying more for less material on the Cat after all.
The great idea behind the Sterling is that over time it can be developed into a whole stable of bikes with costs spread and storage space minimised (no garage, see).
Change and innovation are inevitable and I can't expect a company to stagnate for my benefit but it is a tad disappointing, as is the realisation that at heart I'm as conservative as my old man. Shares in Northern Rock anyone?

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