PH you mention changing forks and wheels, would you mind giving more detail?I can run either bike as 700c with a front rim brake or 650B with a disc, they're a lot closer to each other when wearing the same fork, brake, wheels and tyres. It wouldn't really be fair to compare them in completely different specs. The differences noted in my first post are apparent in any spec, but more pronounced as they diverge. If I were to have the Nomad as my only bike, I'd choose 700c and probably a rim brake fork. I can't imagine only having the Mercury. Having two allowed me to experiment and then build them differently, this would be the case whatever the bikes were. Thorn have widened the appeal with different configurations of each, while contracting the range of models. In my opinion these two bikes are still best as they were originally offered, the Mercury as a Sports Tourer and the Nomad as a full on Tourer towards the expedition end of the spectrum.
Hello and many thanks for your help. I am looking for a bike for audaxing, general commuting and I hope some extensive touring in Europe. I am really drawn to a rohloff equipped bike for ease of maintenance however I have never used one.
Hello and many thanks for your help. I am looking for a bike for audaxing, general commuting and I hope some extensive touring in Europe.I would add that I wouldn't want to use a Thorn bike with a Rohloff hub for commuting unless there's very secure bike storage. The magpies will be attracted by any new bike and it's an expensive loss should the bike go astray.
I would add that I wouldn't want to use a Thorn bike with a Rohloff hub for commuting unless there's very secure bike storage. The magpies will be attracted by any new bike and it's an expensive loss should the bike go astray.
Thanks very much indeed for the advice. At the moment I am leaning very much towards the Mercury, but still dithering slightly.
Thanks very much indeed for the advice. At the moment I am leaning very much towards the Mercury, but still dithering slightly. I will email SJS and see how long it will be for the Mercury frames to come back into stock and use that to make final decision.I just looked on the SJS website, I hadn't realised the stock situation was so low. It looks like they haven't re-stocked since before the pandemic, be interesting to see what they say.
for me Mercury is fast, Nonad is more leisurely (which I love).For me as well. Though I'm reminded what Nomad's are capable of, even if that rider is now looking for something lighter.
In January 2021 I ordered a Mk3 Mercury, however by March 2021 I was told it was no longer possible to fulfil the order. I was led to believe that they were stopping production of the Mercury (if as suggested up thread they've not restocked since pre-pandemic maybe this is the case?).I think the problem was that the frame manufacturers were inundated by orders in response to the spike in demand triggered by covid. The same demand spike would have depleted Thorn's stock of frames faster than normal. Nonetheless the replenishment of Thorn's stock is taking longer than I would have expected.
Sarah says they are out of stock of the mk3 with no plans to recorder.I doubt anyone outside of Thorn HQ knows all the facts and data. They are a successful business, so I think it's a safe bet they wouldn't drop it if it made business sense not to. Maybe they think enough potential Mercury customers will accept a Nomad, I wouldn't be one of them, but we can see upthread some do. There's also the cost, it's an indulgent frame, special order custom made tubes with a lot of manipulation, maybe it was no longer economically viable.
This suggests that there may no longer be a demand for the Mercury
Your thoughts?
They do still have some of the older frames available that will just take 700 rather than 700/650b. Thanks again for the continued help/ideas.I started out with the older model (Crashed & replaced with a Mk3) The differences are quite minor, the fitting for a caliper brake was dropped and the mini EBB replaced with a full throw one, as a result there's a bit more tyre clearance, I went from 35 to 40mm.
Looking at their frame stock levels, I'd say that Thorn are getting out of the bike building business altogether. It seems to have coincided with Andy Blance's retirement.
Pallium
Sad news about the end of the Nomad.Did you mean the Mercury, or do you know something else?
(more than half the Thorn bikes currently on sale at https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/new-used-cycles-frames/) are usedThat's not really a fair comparison, Thorn don't generally have bikes built ready for sale, they have frames ready to be built to spec and those outnumber secondhand bikes by a large margin.
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I also found that as you can't change gear under heavy load with the rohloff
Not that easy with a derailleur bike as well!
Thanks very much indeed. This advice has been very helpful and, following that and the comparison chart, I think I am going to go with the Nomad 700ab which should cover the touring and commuting side of things. Then keep an eye ebay or Facebook for something like the Spa Elan.I think with your usage requirements I'd also be going the two bike route, though my choices might lead to considerably different bikes. With one Rohloff, I would definitely want it in the most used bike.
I did have the Club tour setup with a Rohloff and a chain tensioner for a while. Whilst it worked OK, I found the gear change with drop bars and the rohloff more awkward than with STI shifters.Pity that didn't work out, I remember the thread, though these things are always worth trying.
Of course realised the Nomad 700ab build means 700c wheels. Idiocy strikes! I blame Christmas.I did notice the discrepancy, though I changed my Nomad from 700c to 650B so such things are not impossible.
That was an excellent (and necessary, i feel) response by Robin, so thanks to him (and Dan!).
I’m lucky enough to have a Raven Tour and a Mercury and I’ve built up a little collection of replacement parts, such as eccentric bottom brackets, due to waking in the early hours with irrational thoughts of S.J.S. suddenly being sold, boarded up and all stock immediately melted down.
I’ve had the Raven almost 16 years and there is no reason why it won’t keep going as long as a few specialist components remain available, so i have no need for another bike. Having said that, I got the Mercury as a well deserved 50th birthday present to myself, so i’m sure that if another model was available in 8 years time for my 60th, I should be allowed a look. In my opinion.
I did have the Club tour setup with a Rohloff and a chain tensioner for a while. Whilst it worked OK, I found the gear change with drop bars and the rohloff more awkward than with STI shifters.Pity that didn't work out, I remember the thread, though these things are always worth trying.
I've been toying with the idea of fitting drop bars on my Rohloff bike to try to reduce the wind drag so the comments above are useful. The cheapest solution seems to be to use the Van Nicohlas Rohloff drop bars (which split in the middle) with the Tektro RL540 road drop brake levers (as in the build here https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bikes/thorn-audax-mk4-700c-with-rohloff-and-drop-bars-55-gumetal-new/). However, gear shifting will necessitate temporarily moving a hand. The best, but more expensive, solution is to use the Gebla Rohbox with modified SRAM brifters so gear shifting doesn't require additional hand movements. I have deferred a decision on this investment.
I've been toying with the idea of fitting drop bars on my Rohloff bike to try to reduce the wind drag so the comments above are useful. The cheapest solution seems to be to use the Van Nicohlas Rohloff drop bars (which split in the middle) with the Tektro RL540 road drop brake levers (as in the build here https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bikes/thorn-audax-mk4-700c-with-rohloff-and-drop-bars-55-gumetal-new/). However, gear shifting will necessitate temporarily moving a hand. The best, but more expensive, solution is to use the Gebla Rohbox with modified SRAM brifters so gear shifting doesn't require additional hand movements. I have deferred a decision on this investment.
I've been toying with the idea of fitting drop bars on my Rohloff bike to try to reduce the wind drag so the comments above are useful.I think there's lots of reasons why people would choose the bars that suit them, but I'm not convinced the old theories about aerodynamics are still relevant. I can get myself as low on my straight bars as I ever could on drops. I frequently ride in groups where I'm tucked in more than some of my companions with drop bars, some of whom I've never seen use the drops. For me, the limiting factors are flexibility, physique, fitness and age. I could maybe improve those, except age, and I'd still expect to be able to get as low on straights as drops.
I think there's lots of reasons why people would choose the bars that suit them, but I'm not convinced the old theories about aerodynamics are still relevant. I can get myself as low on my straight bars as I ever could on drops. I frequently ride in groups where I'm tucked in more than some of my companions with drop bars, some of whom I've never seen use the drops. For me, the limiting factors are flexibility, physique, fitness and age. I could maybe improve those, except age, and I'd still expect to be able to get as low on straights as drops.I find that the lower I get my head down with my flat bars then the more my elbows stick out. My recent bike build with drop bars seems to be about 5% faster than my Rohloff bike with flat bars. That may not all be due to reduction of wind drag as a new derailleur drivetrain could well be more efficient than a Rohloff hub + a chainglider but I feel that cycling into the wind is less effort. I spend most of my time on the hoods and agree that being in the drops doesn't give much further improvement, perhaps because the bars are fairly high (top roughly at saddle level). Hands on hoods (with instant access to gears and brakes) and with elbows tucked in should be a lower drag position than flat bars and it feels that way. The narrower the bars then the lower the drag but also less lever arm for controlling the steering. Should I assign my Rohloff bike for use with more load and/or rougher ground conditions then it makes sense to leave it with flat bars.
But I certainly understand that some do not like using the drops. A friend of mine used to ride with drop bars, never used the drops. So, he converted one of his bikes to the bars in the photo, I think they are called bull horn bars. Note his bar end shifters on the ends. This is on his touring bike. His hand positions are very similar to riding on the hoods on drop bars.That's an interesting photo. The handlebar configuration would work with a Rohloff hub using modified brifters and the Gebla Rohbox.
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That's an interesting photo. The handlebar configuration would work with a Rohloff hub using modified brifters and the Gebla Rohbox.
If you want to use brifters and do not want to use drops, you could saw off the drops. But it would look really weird.Thanks for the interesting article. I don't like excess weight but won't go to that extreme!
He did saw off the drops and used brifters. He wanted to have an extremely light bike for good reason, he was going for time with a lot of climbing.
https://www.bikeradar.com/features/ronan-mclaughlin-everesting-bike
My point about bar shape and aerodynamics may have been lost or misunderstood, maybe a picture will better illustrate it (No, this isn't me :o)(https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9d7a1d_5a8a28eaab86c541c2dd84c4d7605f45.jpeg/v1/fill/w_356,h_508,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/9d7a1d_5a8a28eaab86c541c2dd84c4d7605f45.jpeg)
It isn't the shape of the bar that matters, it's where it enables you to hold a position. I have no argument with those for whom that's a drop bar, only with those who jump to that conclusion because they think it's the only way or that's what everyone else does.