Thorn Cycles Forum
Private Classified => Bikes For Sale => Topic started by: bikerta on January 05, 2014, 07:36:45 PM
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Just spotted these two bikes on Gumtree. Older models, but brilliant price if sizing any good.
http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/thorn-adult-touring-bikes-pair/1043869113
Only posted on Gumtree an hour ago.
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I've sent them a tentative message and had a reply (after a week!): the price looks too good to be true!
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bit big for me but yeah good price indeed ,mind you there are 12 years old so that might have something to do with price.
although having said that i would want a hell of a lot more for my Class Raleigh 753 which is around 28 years old 8)
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I think I've seen them previously on Gumtree. That said for £600 its in the 'tempt me range' with a bit of retro thrown in.
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£300 per bike sounds good to me, but I am new to thorn bikes. Retro doesn't bother me one bit.
My only suspicion is why have they not sold?
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yeah hard to know why they havent sold might be a good reason ::)
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I imagine bar end levers will put a lot of folk off - also the 'old-fashioned' horizontal top tube.
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This pair resemble most of the bikes in my stable and I like mine so much I can't bear to sell even one.
Quill stems, lugs, horizontal top tubes...they are really classic, fine bicycles anyone could be proud to ride into the future.
Best,
Dan.
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My fingers and toes are crossed for the larger framed of the two. A nice warm home waiting......in Skye.....if it ever stops raining. :(
donnieban
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Welcome to the Thorn Cycling Forum, Donnie; nice to have you with us, and you're welcome whether you own a Thorn or not.
I wish you all good luck in your Quest to Ownership. Those are each lovely bikes, and in a superb color as well!
Best,
Dan.
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yes welcome just watching Coast on tv scotland sure is a pretty place ,hope you get that bike sounds like a great deal .
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Hello and thank you for the welcome Dan. :)
Can you confirm that these 2002ish frames are 725 tubing? I think 853 launched some time after circa 2005?
Cheers jags, weather hasn't been particularly kind (he says, staring down at his webbed feet).
Three dry days last week, probably since August last year. ::)
donnieban
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same here in sunny ireland ;D ;D
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Can you confirm that these 2002ish frames are 725 tubing? I think 853 launched some time after circa 2005?
Hi Donnie!
I'm afraid I can't confirm...the best I can do is point you toward the 2003 brochure here: http://web.archive.org/web/20030810005913/http://www.sjscycles.com/thorn/700solobrochure/audax853.htm
It shows the Audax "853" is made from...853, but that's hardly definitive (I believe a non-853 model was extant then as well). Rather, it is the earliest online brochure I could find to place in the archives. There's gaps due to the scheduled scans by the search spiders at the Internet Wayback Machine.
I'd suggest a call or email to SJS Cycles/Thorn or a query to Dave Whittle from Thorn Workshops to check for sure.
Meanwhile, with these turning up from time to time, I'll check magazine reviews and comparos to see if I can find something more definitive. [EDIT: Unfortunately, many of the links to magazine reviews on Thorn's site ( http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/reviews.html ) are no longer available. I'll keep looking and post something in the brochure archive links if I find it.]
Best,
Dan.
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Thanks Dan,
Nothing certain in this life bar taxes and rain, sunny Eireann excluded it would seem eh jags...
donnieban
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ah donnie the weather is crazy over here 60km winds driving rain today and cold and more to come .i haven't been on the bike in weeks gonna suffer next time out for certain :'(
so are you going to buy that bike. ;)
jags
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Yes jags hopeful of buying.
I think the owner is out of the country at the moment so all I have been able to do is express my sincere interest. A leap of faith but hopefully it will work out in the end.
I have 2 other tourer's, a 94 Dawes Galaxy that came from Eireann and a TREK 520. The Thorn is intended to breath some life back into my cycling. A re-training bike if you like.
donnieban
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good stuff sure hope you get it im after a new bike meself but its a long way off yet mores the pity, still i have a gem in my raleigh 753 that gets me out best bike i've ever owned.
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Cheers jags,
A new bike would be very nice but nearly new would be more affordable. :D And to think I turned down the cycle scheme this year to avoid any jip from my spare rib - big mistake not to be repeated. :(
Please don't tell, but we had a dry day here on Skye that makes 4 (dry) days so far for 2014. Sadly though, still no further communication from the seller...
donnieban
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I see the ad is now listed as "no longer available" on Gumtree. Not sure if this implies a sale or not....
Best,
Dan.
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there a storm blowing here tonight expecting lots of flooding over the country midlands and down south hopefully it wont be to bad.
ah keep at that guy until you get an answer hope it works out for you lovely bike for sure.
btw stick up a few photos of your part of the world.
isn't there a great audax ride on skye i'm sure i seen it on utube .
jags.
ah just seen dans post sure hope its not gone just yet. :'(
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Cheers guys.
The seller confirmed that his add was due to close. So, not necessarily sold, I hope.
Yes, Skye hosts a fairly popular cyclosportive - Skye Mor - 95 Miles; Skye Beag - 48 Miles. Great routes but I'n not inclined to pay £39.00 when the same roads are otherwise free for the other 364 days in the year. I do respect that these are very popular, are properly managed and marshalled and that all these factors have to be paid for from entry fees.
https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=1254
The best cycling is to be had not on Skye but on the Western Isles. Less traffic, better roads, beautiful beaches to camp but..... more exposure and winds that can make for hard cycling.
Do you use XC Weather? Its a helpful fisherman biased weather site that's equally suited for travelling cyclists hoping for a favourable wind:
http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/portree
donnieban
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yeah i stopped doing sportive rides years ago they were costing way to much and i can ride on these same roads for free anyway, besides i wasn't able for the crazy pace most of the time. :)
there weather warnings in ireland tonight i'de safely say our man Andre is getting a right battering down in sunny west cork.
anyway lets hope that bike is your's in the very near future.
jags
thanks for link on weather i'll have a look at that.
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Another fine dry day here on Skye - 2 in a row. Anyone selling a Thorn suitable for a poor tormented soul of about 5 foot 11 located on the Isle of Skye?
One at a time please and form an orderly queue....
donnieban ;D
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So is that bike you were after gone :(
i think there a guy on the ctc forum selling a raven tour but it could just be the frame.
if i spot anythink i'll let you know what size frame are you after .
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Gone, perhaps? The Silence is deafening.
Time to move on. Not sure what size would best fit me. 58 cm frame size otherwise. I understand its a personal thing but I dont have a ology in thorn sizing. I'm 5' 11''. 32 inch inside leg (breeks) longish back, blue eyed and fair haired. Answers on a postcard....
donnieban
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Hi Donnie!
Condolences of the Gumtree Audax is...gone. That past, I'll be happy to keep an eye open for anything that might suit for you.
As for sizing, in my traditional horizontal top-tube tourers, I take either a 58cm or 60cm...and I'm the same size as you.
I'd guess something that fit me would come pretty close for you, but I would still suggest taking measurements according to Thorn's instructions (listed in their brochures) and making a call or dropping an email their way for confirmation what "should" fit you. Also, you may wish to take a look at Thorn's setup/positioning guide -- the best in the business in my opinion: http://www.sjscycles.com/thornpdf/SetUpHiRes.pdf
My Sherpa Mk2 (which fit perfectly) was a 560S with 120mm stem and Thorn's anatomic drop 'bars. My Nomad is a 590M (no "S" model available, so the Medium top tube was the shortest for use with drops) and also fits perfectly...with a 60mm stem and compact drop handlebars. Comparo pictures showing how my bikes all fit me are posted here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4523.msg22089#msg22089
I hope this helps a bit in narrowing down the possible sizes, Donnie. Best of luck to you, and fingers crossed at this end for a good outcome soonest for you.
Best,
Dan
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Im 5' 10" and a half (the half is important! ;) ) and have an inside leg of 32 ish and I ride a frame size 550 audax. I would think that a 570 would fit as well.
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say lads on that form you need to fill in how do you go about it you can't tick each question .
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Im 5' 10" and a half (the half is important! ;) ) and have an inside leg of 32 ish and I ride a frame size 550 audax. I would think that a 570 would fit as well.
Cheers honesty, very helpful.
The seller has been in touch; a guy is viewing for the 2nd time later this week. Come Sunday night I should know one way or tother.
He hasn't confirmed the actual size so all I have to go on is this:"One is approx 58 cm (top tube)"
Are there any obvious concerns I should keep in mind given its a 12 year old frame? Would this def be a 135mm rear axle spacing? How robust was the frame paint treatment 12 years ago?
Thanks in anticipation
donnieban
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Donnie! Quick! Call SJS Cycles/Thorn and ask if they have any solid data on the bike.
These are old enough, I can't find reliable copies of brochures to advise you solidly.
I do know some older paint was not robust, but these may have missed those problems...or not. Dunno.
Hoping you have good luck; this is agony, I know! :P
All the best,
Dan.
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If I were nearer I'd have bought this : to the point where I'd priced a rail ticket (£30 return, a day off work) I still have his email.... ;)
Poor adverts = cheap bikes! I suspect you could buy both for £500 cash, then sell one on, photographed well, on ebay/here/ctc for £300, leaving you with a thorn for £cheap.
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If I were nearer I'd have bought this : to the point where I'd priced a rail ticket (£30 return, a day off work) I still have his email.... ;)
In context if things work out and I get a chance to buy it will involve close on 600 miles by road for me.
The bikes are being sold for what the seller wants to sell them on for. My interest is in a bike for my own use, not for resale and not for turning a profit. It seems unfair to want to undercut the seller by haggling or otherwise. If the bike is as described I will buy at the asking price. The seller is alert enough to the probable market value "The current equivalent of these bikes are the Thorn Audax Mk3 (check out their website) and start at £1350 each."
Its nice to be nice :)
donnieban
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100% agree i never haggle if the seller puts a price on whatever there selling i'm sure there looking to break even.i come across guys haggling a much lower price, some pratt offer to take my sherpa of my hands for 300 euro >:( there's 2 guys on my facebook page just waiting for me to drop my price on my guitar, one of them actually said he could buy the same guitar for 300, i asked him what the hell he was waiting for go buy it then and stop annoying me.
its good to meet the seller you can usually tell if there pulling a stunt most people are spot on.