My Raven Tour. 3500 miles on (11,000 miles on)

[Pavel]

That does sound like a worthy project!

Let's see, where did I put that panhandling cup?

[sg37409]

Nice pics, looking forward to a up-coming tour is a real pleasure.
Not got anything as good as a brittany camping trip planned myself, but got a few longer day & weekend rides planned this summer on my rst. Entered a 300 audax later this month and think I'll use this bike for it.

[jags]

Class

[Pavel]

Yes, very nice.  The scenery in the background on that last shot is impressive too.  What size is that RST and how do you like the shifter on the accessory bar?

[freddered]

So ... now .... I wonder all of a sudden if my Nomad could do some Audax's?  I think I'd enjoy the funny looks!  

Why would you think a Nomad would get you funny looks?



Drew Buck did 1225km (760 miles) in less than 4 days on this.  I think he was a few hours quicker than me.

[jags]

Wow that is class when i was at the benson cycle rally couple years back thee was lots of guys and bikes like ths all in perfect working order that includes the pilots as well.

[sg37409]

I like the shifter on the accessory bar a lot. I like drops and changing via the accessory bar is no hassle at all.  I hit my knee on it a couple of times at first but I learned not not now. I see fredderered uses same set-up but has no spacer between accessory bar and 'bars. I still need to do a few tweaks in this area.

[freddered]

I like the shifter on the accessory bar a lot. I like drops and changing via the accessory bar is no hassle at all.  I hit my knee on it a couple of times at first but I learned not not now. I see fredderered uses same set-up but has no spacer between accessory bar and 'bars. I still need to do a few tweaks in this area.

It's a balancing act between bashing your knee on the shifter and having enough room for your knuckles when turning the shifter.

I use a very long stem which gives me lots of knuckle clearance.  That means I can have the shifter set very high to avoid knee clearance problems.  It looks like your stem won't allow that so you'll need a few spacers.  Your stem also slopes down which gives even less clearance.

It's not a bike I honk out of the saddle much on, certainly not fully loaded.

I was considering the Gilles Berthoud shifter...I still am in fact.  I'm just worried it will take up too much space on the bar tops.  It would make touring even more relaxed if it worked though.

[Danneaux]

It's a balancing act between bashing your knee on the shifter and having enough room for your knuckles when turning the shifter.

Would it be possible to mount the shifter on Thorn's longer 105mm Accessory T-bar, thus putting it forward of one's knee? Would it still be reachable?

My, what gorgeous bikes and scenery!

Best,

Dan.

[sg37409]

Yes, I'm looking at the GB shifter also. I saw one in the flesh recently and its nice, but was a bit bigger / bulkier than I thought.
The trouble with putting the shifter too far forward is that I might not be able to use a 'bar bag.

[richie thornger]

I'll definitely chip in with others that weight on the front makes a Raven Tour handle better.
I've been gradually adding the weight on to mine to get used to riding fully loaded again for my RTW trip.
It wasn't until I put about 5 kilos on the front, that it felt like my bike again.
I'll probably top out at about 8kg each side on the front and a few in the bar bag on the accessory bar.
I was up to 130kg this Saturday. Bike,Luggage & Rider. I weigh 76kg. I've still got another 10kg or so to go until all my gear is on. So I think my total weight will be about 150kg allowing for gifts of half an apple tree or 6 pots of honey that I will no doubt collect on my travels from kind people.
I ride on as low pressures as I can get away with. I find the heavy weight just takes all the spring out of the bike.

[Danneaux]

Richie,

The weights you mentioned are just about spot-on for mine when setting off on a big tour in remote areas, and also about par for most world-tourists. Thanks for detailing your weights; the triangulation always helps.

Yes, carrying weight up front makes a tremendous positive difference in bike handling. And yes, a heavy load like that does take all the spring out of a bike. Well said!

May I suggest some dehydrated water to ease your load? It helps a lot. See: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3868.0 

Best,

Dan.

[freddered]

If you ever wondered what a Raven Tour looks like, fully loaded with camping gear, stood outside a Normandy Bakery......well, it looks exactly like this.



I snapped a rear spoke on day 2 of a 4 day tour but the wheel hung on in there with only a slight loosening of the brake calipers required to stop rubbing.  The fully loaded setup was VERY heavy so I'm happy it got me back.

Note.  The Raven Tour handling improved (in my opinion) with the addition of low-riders at the front.  It damped the steering and it all became extremely relaxed.  I was forced into 2nd gear on a few occasions around North West (coastal) Normandy, it gets very much like Devon around there and I was very glad of the Rohloff to help winch myself out of some small harbour towns.

Apart from the spoke (which could happen to any bike at any time) it performed flawlessly.  I'm glad I finally got to use it for it's intended purpose.

[JimK]

exactly like this.

Oooo, I could have mistaken that for heaven!

We're lucky to have a good bakery nearby, http://www.breadalone.com/. I'll get a multigrain baguette and fold it into my saddlebag. A handful every hour or so and I can ride happily for many miles!

[Danneaux]

A very fine photo, Fred, and a nice summary account of your trip.

Any chance we'll be seeing more in the Gallery? Judging by this one photo, it would be a genuine treat to see more!

Sorry about the spoke breaking, but that wasn't too bad considering.

Thanks for sharing with us (going back for another look; as Jim said, "heaven on earth").

Best,

Dan.