Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Member's Gallery => Topic started by: honesty on August 28, 2012, 03:15:48 PM
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hi.
Thought I'd join up and show a photo of my new Audax Mk3.
(http://www.onesti.co.uk/thorn_audax.jpg)
I've changed the rear rack to a Tortec velocity hybrid since this photo.
And a photo from the weekend:
(http://www.onesti.co.uk/avon1.jpg)
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looking good was that a tour you were on.
how does that bike preform with panniers.
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Just a century day ride, but I took full waterproofs, flask of coffee, and food, + tools/inner tube etc. as it was meant to be a a really bad weather day.
It handles really well, as far as I could tell it didn't make a massive different to the bike (apart from downhill speed, wind resistance from the bags) but then I didn't have a huge amount of weight in them. Still got to get the better half to sign off on letting me do a touring holiday as I need to buy a new light weight tent for it (my last one - a Marmot Nutshell - started leaking really badly through the floor and got thrown away in the end).
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Nice looking bike! If I were to go crazy and acquire n+1, that's the bike I dream about. My Nomad is totally sturdy, unstoppable. But I can't say that it really flies. That bike you have there, that looks like it can really soar!
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Wow, Adam!
What a stunner! Beautiful bike, and everything "just so". May I ask, what did you use to pad the handlebars, just rearward of the brake hoods? My hands are envious (must get a bit thicker padding on mine; plan to compression-wrap some Grab-Ons beneath tape, as has worked well on my other bikes).
I surely like the black 'n' blue paint scheme; looks fast even standing still. Welcome to the Forum; nice to see an Audax Mk3 here in the gallery.
Best,
Dan.
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Thanks.
For starters the handlebars are bontrager shallow drop ones with a thickness of 31.8 across the whole top section. Can't remember the exact model, sorry!
Then I added Fizik gell pads.
Then bontrager gell grip tape.
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great bit of cycling honesty i used to do centuty rides a few years back but have gotten lazy recently just do 30 to50 these days but enjoy it.
i did 110 miles 2 years ago on the sherpa a fantastic days cycling , brought the stove and kettle felt like a kid all over again.
btw i think cotswold camping have a half price sale on tents.
might be worth checking out.
any more pics of your ride .
cheers
jags
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With panniers on a new rack (tortec velocity hybrid) and with new wheels. A quick snap in the back garden this morning. Actually quite surprised about the quality of the photo as its from my phone camera (lumia 920)
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still looking CLASS 8)
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Thanks. Next thing to do I'm contemplating changing to a sram apex setup with the wifli rear derailleur, so a 2 x 10 gear setup with the same gear range as a standard road triple. My brother works in the industry so hopefully he can get it a bit cheaper for me. I wanted to change to a road triple but trying to get hollowtech road triples for 9 speed (other than sora spec) seems like a bit of an impossibility now. I should have bought them from CRC when they were dumping them through clearance a few months ago. Oh well, hindsight and all that.
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what about shimano XT M 770 crankset and rear mech thats what i have on the sherpa love it as good as dura ace does exactly what its supposed to do.
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I've been looking at the M771. Again should have picked it up a few months ago when CRC were selling them fr 97 quid. Now though, cheapest looks to be around £170... probably going to be only slightly cheaper than replacing it all with the sram stuff my brother can get. There is another reason to replace as well, I'm building an old frame I have in the shed into a flat bar roughstuff tourer and the full deore groupset will go on it really well ;)
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only seen the sram on a few road bikes nice gear thats for sure.
but i'm a dura aca man meself ;D and the xt is really well made faultless get what you pay for i suppose.
good luck with the build.
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Maybe used items on e-bay are an option?
You can get good deals there.
Hah a Charge saddle, I ride a Charge Hob when I am no on the XTC ;D
Love the sticker on the chain stay.
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Its actually a DMR chainstay protector for a mountain bike. I find I can whip the chain down onto the chainstay if I change whilst pedalling too hard and my last frame had loads of paint chips in it because of it.
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The colour matches perfectly.
Hm, that never happens to me. I should pedal harder!
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Adam!
Wow -- nice as the bike looked "bare", it loos just a fine with a touring load. What a lovely machine, and everything so nicely assembled, too. A true stunner on which you'll simply fly!
Best,
Dan.
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So my plans to change to a nice black road double have been scuppered by the lack of money, new groupsets cost lots! In the end I'm upgrading the chainset to the XT version and fitting a fit and forget Hope bottom bracket. Should be done next week, so photos to follow.
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Don't get new? Lightly used can be found half price, or wait until CRC / Ribble etc. clearance sales.
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Happy with going for the XT in the end actually. I dont use it very often but the ability to dump into a really low gear is useful.
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Short ride over the Blackdown hills today, so here's a photo of the bike completely unloaded.
(http://onesti.co.uk/blackdowns.jpg)
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My! Wonderful photo of a stunning bike "out in the wild", Adam!
Thanks so much for sharing. It's always good to see photos of the derailleur Thorns here, especially those at the sporty end of the spectrum, as with your Audax. Please keep 'em coming.
Good to see the snow has cleared where you are. Spring is coming -- promise!
Best,
Dan.
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Rather happy with the shot given it was taken with my phone!!
we've not seen much snow down here though it has been cold.
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Yes, great shot. Your Thorn Audax is a great looking machine Adam!
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This weekend, propped against Lydford Castle.
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yeah thats a beauti carbon forks i like that. so give my the run down ,whats it like to ride loaded and unloaded.
would you chance putting more weight on it.
great looking set up i love it. ;)
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Unloaded, rack and bar bag mount off is how I usually ride the bike. Lovely, stable and quick. Couldn't ask for more (Well apart from a non creaking brooks saddle...). On really steep hills in really low gears it easy to make to front wheel lift though.
Loaded, I've ridden it a few times with a bit of weight on the back, this was the first time with a bar bag as well. Panniers alone are alright but make the front very light, the barbag weighted the nose down and stabilised everything. I hit 43 mph coming down of Dartmoor and it was perfectly smooth and stable, changes of direction we fine and everything. At very slow speeds the bar bag was a lump that pulled the wheel round once you got going to just weighted the front back down.
In this photo, theres 3kg in the bar bag 2 full bottles of water, and around 7kg in the panniers (a good proportion of which was D-lock)
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(Well apart from a non creaking brooks saddle...)
I have a Brooks on my blue Mk3 Audax doing exactly that! Spray silicone under the nose. Should do the job. Now, where can I find a spray can of silicone/
John
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That is one sweet looking bike. Which brooks have you gone for?
Andy
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Its just a standard brooks B17.
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Looks like a big step from the seat you had on before. I run a B17 narrow. I have a couple of B17 standards that I just cant get on with so probably going to move them on. I have a secret (not so secret now) desire for a titanium swallow saddle. it just looks so divine
Andy
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I was getting numb gentlemen parts with old saddle. I dont get them with the Brooks, so I'm happy. I do have to tilt it back a bit so I stay sat on my seat bones because at the moment I have a tendency to slide forward a bit and end up sitting on bits that can get very painful!
Anyway, some more photos for the weekends ride.
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Another:
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Well, the bike just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it! ;D
So nice to see the little changes as you go along, and I do hope the Brooks saddle will settle in quietly for you. I've found the source of creaks can surely be in the nose and also where the rails are swedged (riveted) into the rear flange. Inverting the saddle and applying a single small drop of oil sparingly to the joints can often do the trick and result in (blessed) silence for many months.
Seeing your bike once again with panniers reminds me Thorn's philosophy of maximum versatility runs across all their bikes, including the "go-fast" ones. It is so nice to find an entire line of bicycles that not only allow but encourage taking a load appropriate to the design of the bike. What's more, mudguards are also encouraged to aid all-weather riding, making these true "working" bikes for those who really intend to use them in a variety of circumstances.
Thanks so much for posting this latest set of photos showing not only the bike, but it's "native habitat". That's some stunning scenery and countryside to ride through, and well captured in pictures. I was going to say Photo 3 was right out of a picture-book, but really all of them are! I enjoyed seeing the "open range" cattle and the self-portrait in the shop window with color-matched display is wonderful! Very nicely done and well-shared.
Best,
Dan. (...who is very much looking forward to More!)
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If I'd been paying more attention I would have used the polarising filter to try and remove myself (and other reflections) from the window in the first shot.... but I just snapped and left. Oh well.
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excellent photos it super sunshine .
this would be my choice of touring, Audax bike rear panniers and barbag.
to me that set up is just perfect,i wouldn't be bothered one bit by the light feeling up front.its what ive been used to all my cycling life ;)
thanks for the photos (expensive camera?)
cheers
jags.
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I think I'd like to try a bagman and a carradice nelson as well to see how it compares.
Not cheap, but not silly expensive. A Panasonic G5 + polarising filter.
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Ok, here you go, after a bit of a re-fresh and ready for duty in the new year. I've decided not going for a bagman and carradice bag in the end as you can you get a rack lighter than the bagman, and its more flexible. I may get a Specialized COBL GOBL-R carbon seat post for extra comfort, but only because my brother can get them cheap!
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class act for sure. 8)
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Well! The freshening looks very nice, and the new cages look just fine.
What a nice, even job taping those 'bars! And, they *do* go very nicely with the saddle.
A fine, fine looking ride, and just itching for some long distances in the New Year! May they roll by smoothly under your wheels and bring you much joy.
Best,
Dan. (...who always loves the latest photos)
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That is one sweet bike!
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Yeah, that's a very nice bike, I do like photos of Audax Mk3s and also Club Tours.
Could I ask what brakes you have on there? And how do they perform?
Cheers.
Jim
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Hi Jim,
The brakes are Shimano BR-R650 standard drop caliper brakes, and they work really well. This is though with slightly older shimano STI's as shimano say with the newer ones the braking wont be as good, something to do with them pulling less cable I think.
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Thank for the quick reply.
Another positive for the BR-R650s, I might well get a pair of them someday.
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Right. Finished. complete turn around on the carradice after popping into SJS today and seeing the size of them. So here you go, and that's the last of my work bonus I'm going to be allowed to spend on bike stuff!
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Man that is one sweet ride.if you seen a photo of my raleigh they would look like twins 8) 8)
(well not quiet but you know what i mean)
mind you you could always pop along to facebook and have a gander. ;D ;D
class bike i love it enjoy every pedal stroke .
anto.
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What Carradice did you get in the end?
Steve
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A nelson in the end. I was toying with a college, but the side pockets are going to be too useful.
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Lovely and a rack as well.
You are all set to go....
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My! It does look the business, Adam! ;D
All the best,
Dan.
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I am convinced that you will give this beauty a full life.......you could hear it whispering..."ride me...rrrriiiiiiiddddeee meeeee" and of course you just can't resist.
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Wonderful looking bike Adam, love the Brooks bar tape, you've managed to do a really tidy job, it used to be one thing I dreaded doing. Happy cycling,
Neil.
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Right. Finished. complete turn around on the carradice after popping into SJS today and seeing the size of them. So here you go, and that's the last of my work bonus I'm going to be allowed to spend on bike stuff!
yeah drooling over these photo i think my mind is made up love that bike and set up.
i'll more than likely change my mind again but for now it's my number one choice.
jags.
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So one fork change later, here you go:
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It looks great - is that the 853 fork? How does it compare, ride-wise, to the carbon?
Also, what bar bag do you have and how does it sit and work with the gear cables? I wanted to use a Super C bag with mine but felt that the cables were bent too much by the bag.
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I haven't had chance to have a proper ride yet, will report back when I do though!
Its an altura dryline barbag. It sits within the cables, between the brake and gear cables really and works will. The gear cables are pushed out from their usual position but it doesn't seem to affect them.
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class ;) 8)
jags.
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A few photos from my short tour of Devon and Cornwall last weekend
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and a few more
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Nice pics, thanks for sharing.
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just curious check your position with this video see if your set up right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh0leyXz840
i did with my audax i was a full inch out with the saddle,i have adjusted it according to that video(reach) i will test it out tomorrow, i have back issues when I'm riding more that 40 miles pain kicks in.
so i need to get the bike to fit me as close as possible to try and eliminate these pains trial and error.
anto.
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What type of suppport are you using for your carradice bag please?
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thats a carradice expedition rack. use one myself.
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Yep, Carradice bagman expedition mk2. With quick release means its so easy to take the bag on and off the bike. No faffing with buckles.
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This morning on a very foggy 20 miler into work. Cold but lovely ride.
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I'm falling under the N+1 spell I fear! That Audax looks great fun. I'd set myself a quite arbitrary goal of doing 100k in a day this year and an Audax Mk3 looks just the bike to do it on. I've already got the Camper longflap so I'm already there - almost!
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I'm falling under the N+1 spell I fear!
Gallery bikes fuel temptation. The lovely machines featured here must surely be one of Thorn's more successful sales tools. Seeing "real" bikes in owners' hands, out in the wild creates powerful images that reach out and grab a person making one think, "Why not me?"
Narrow end of the wedge. ;)
Hope you get yours soon, Ian.
All the best,
Dan.
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I'm falling under the N+1 spell I fear! That Audax looks great fun. I'd set myself a quite arbitrary goal of doing 100k in day this year and an Audax Mk3 looks just the bike to do it on. I've already got the Camper longflap for one so I'm already there - almost!
Ask me when you're ready as I most likely will sell my other Audax Mk 3
John
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Honesty
Saw your commuting photo (lovely looking bike) and thought your set up looked similar to mine, so took this photo on the way in to the office on Thursday.
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Nice! Lends itself very well to the bar bag and saddle bag I think!
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Good looking bike! The red suits the faster bikes (& riders?) very well.