Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Thorn General => Topic started by: marcg on April 30, 2004, 09:03:37 pm
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It is just too beautiful
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Well I have started riding it. I don't have a lot of bike experience but I must say that it seems really excellent. I had worries about the frame being too small but it is actually very nice and I do feel that I am in command of the bike rather than it being in control of me.
The carbon forks and the sprung B67 saddle on Ti Airborne seatpost which I have fitted soak up the bumps over the cobbled streets of Paris and it certainly seems to turn quite a few heads when I leave it locked up against a tree outside the local cafes. I have fitted a Dutch horeshoe lock supplied by SJS.
The Rohloff hub is wonderful and smooth and there is never any need to pause or backpedal when changing gear so no power loss - you just keep going like an automatic car. Just a slight getting used to between 7 and 8 where if you don't ease off, it changes into top instead of 8. How can anyone tolerate anything other than a Rohloff?
I have had a full chainguard fitted to the bike so I expect minimal maintenance needs. I have an adjustable stem as I am still working out my riding position. I'll change to a lightweight fixed stem when I have finally decided what I want. At the moment I quite like my position except that I feel that I am placing too much weight on my hands.
What a fantastic bike.
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I've ordered an Adventure Tour (with sprung Brooks Saddle for road defects, repairs & "cycle lanes" around Toulouse). Where did you get the chainguard (is it fully enclosed)?
Colin
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Chainguard - fully enclosed from Pashley. About £30. About 2" longer than necessary but it looks good on the bike (as if it was a standard component). Adds about 4 minutes to wheel removal in the case of a puncture. Probably extends chain and sprocket life by a factor of 10 or more. Reduces maintenance time to nearly nothing. Definitely an excellent investment.
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And I have to say that if I had a Raven Enduro I would put a chainguard on that too. With the maintenance free Rohloff hub, might as well go the whole hog and go for maintenance free chain and chain-ring too.
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quote:
Originally posted by marcg
Probably extends chain and sprocket life by a factor of 10 or more. Reduces maintenance time to nearly nothing. Definitely an excellent investment.
I can see how a chainguard makes cycling more pleasant, but how does it reduce chain and sprocket wear? It would be good to see a picture of your Raven with chaingaurd; how about posting one on the forum?
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It reduces wear simply by preventing the greater part of grit and other dirt from getting in and acting as sandpaper in all the mechanical bits inside the chainguard. It also prevents the lubricating medium being washed out by rain. Of course - it isn't a perfect seal and the running gear should be cleaned and lubricated regularly
It really is a shame that they are so unfashionable and particularly on hub-geared off-road bikes such as the Enduro which are intended to wallow around in all sorts of mud etc an encased chain and sprockets seems to me to be a natural addition.
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I found a picture at:-
http://phred.org/~alex/bikes/chaincase/reduced/0418_001.jpg
I maintain a fleet of single speed roadsters, circa 1900 to 1950, for a mate. We find chainguards to be a pain most of the time due to rubbing and the difficulty of removing the rear wheel. There are some that run well, like the Sunbeams and Rudge Whitworth, but the cheaper ones get removed at the first opportunity. They don't do high mileage, so chain/sprocket wear is not an issue, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Sunbeams, with their "little oil baths" weren't still on their original chains.
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It would be very nice to see what the chainguard looks likeon the Raven. Go on post a pic of it! Sounds quite sensible.[:)]
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Still no picture that I can see![:)]
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The X is so red, so right, so very perfect for your bike... I'm blown away!
None of your pics have worked, in this thread, the other thread in this category or the other thread in the other category. Lots of red X's but no pics. Perhaps pressing "Preview" first might offer less 'empty' posts? Of course one could level the same argument at the entire "I Wish I Hadn't Started... " thread under the Muppet's category. :D
Post On!
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I've deleted the posts. I think that maybe the page was calling up the pictures from my own hard disk because they came up very nicely on my own monitor.
So back I go ...
How do I put up pictures on this forum?
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Finally pictures of chainguard equipped Raven Sports in the Bois de Bologne
(http://www.sjscycles.com/ForumGallery/MarcgL1020500.jpg)
(http://www.sjscycles.com/ForumGallery/MarcgL1020494.jpg)
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Ahh. Much better -- those pictures I can see perfectly.
Thanks.
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A late response to this thread. I am thinking of buying a Raven Sports Tour. Is yours reasonably robust - I am thinking about the thin tubes and dents. What is it like with a load on - say 7 or 8 kilos. There are reviews of the Adventure model but none of the sports - so it is difficult to choose between them. Gtateful for any info.
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My Raven isn't used ofr Grand Tours but it is used for short one or two day tours and for regular travelling around town - mainly Paris at the moment.
It doesn't get looked after especially well - despite my initial good intentions - but of course with a full chaincase, most of the usual maintenance is not necessary.
It has been used for a little light off-riad work carrying a small child on it and it carries a 10 kilo load without any problems on a Thorn rack which is probably far stronger than is necessary.
It has so far been knocked over twice while parked with no apparent damage at all and once whilst I was riding it by a pedestrian who walked out straight into me. I rember being on the ground watching my Raven skidding along the ground. Amazingly there was not a scratch on the Raven as the impact was taken by a peddle and the rack. The rack actually took a slight bend in one of the supports which I suppose will have weakened it a bit. To bend a Thorn rack shows you the severity of the impact but the bike is fine. Of course I can't tell you what would happen if an impact actually did make it to the frame but I can tell you that there is no sense in the feel or sound of the frame when tapping it that it is at all thin or weak.
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Marcg.
That rear wheel locky thingy on the Raven, did you get it from SJSC and if so what is it called and how many Earth Pounds does it cost?
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the rear wheel locky thing? What is that? I
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The lock is a "Dutch lock" or "horseshoe lock". I've said a lot about them on the C+ site. I bought this one from SJS. Thorn are usually a bit more expensive on many products but strangely they wre cheaper than elsewhere for this lock. My one is made by AXABasta but Abus do a version as well.
I've fitted one to each of three bikes.
Get one which takes a cable too. There are two diffrent weights of cable and it bayonnet plugs into the side of the lock and is releaed at the same time that you unlock the shackle which goes through the rear-wheel. I think that they are really great. They are always on the bike, ready to be locked. While riding, the key stays in the lock and it is effortless to turn the key and lock the bike at least with just the shackle while nipping into the shop etc.
Many people leave their bike unlocked outside a shop which they think they are nipping into just for a moment and I am sure that quite a few bikes get stolen in this way. With the Dutch lock this risk doesn't occur anymore - or if it does, it's not too tricky to chase a guy up the road when they are trying to run while carrying a 25lb bike at the same time.
I use the lock with a heavy duty cable and with a D lock and also a motion sensor alarm hidden under the saddle.
I'm sure that I am still vulnerable but at least I've reduced the risk and given myself a better chance.
The lock cost about £19. Cable about £8. Motion sensor about £5.
Be aware that there is also an Axa Dutch lock which doesn't take a cable. Don't get that one. I think that none of the Abus Dutch locks take cables - but I'm not sure.
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Thanks Marq for the info. I might as well ask some more questions as I have someone willing to reply!
Is the chainguard made of plastic or metal? What sort of weight are we talking about? You have put some weighty items on your steed - sprung saddle, dutch lock plus d lock, you are obviously not bothered about weight. I am just taking stock of some of the weight I carry around with me and may go for lighter items such as a Brooks titanium saddle. The sport is not sold as a lightweight but for "fast touring" whatever that means. I am not fast but if a bike can make me faster I won't complain.
What wheels did you get? I guess the ones on offer are light, medium and heavy duty. I suppose I will go for the medium ones not knowing much about wheels but wanting something that does not go out of true easily. My cycling is mostly day rides maximum weight for weekend trips is not likely to top 10kilos at most.
I will probably go for the lighter steel fork, being thouroughly pjut off carbon forks by my fellow club members.
Anyway, any help you can give will be welcome - there are probably other people out there want to know this sort of stuff but are inhibited from asking. I will obviously to speak the people at Thorn
but other people' experience is always useful
Hasn't the Thorn forum gone quiet lately?
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The chainguard is made of plastic. It's not very heavy but I haven't weighed it. The benefit of very low maintenance drive train out-weighed other considerations.
Although I gained weight with the lock, I figured that security is unfortunately very neccesary. I don't want a light weight bike which is easier for some thief to get away with.
On the other hand, the carbon fork is excellent and very light. Royce titanium bottom bracket which I picked up secondhand makes spinning even smoother and also helped to shed a little more weight. Titanium rat-trap pedals which I modified by adding titanium axles also help to make smoother travelling and also reduce the weight slightly.
Carbon comfort bars do the same job.
The wheels are fairly lightweight for the type of bike - Mavic 717 with a 1.5 tyre.
The sprung saddle is bacause I do a fair bit of riding over Paris cobbled streets and my backside really appreciates the suspension. It also work well on the little bits of gentle offroading which I get to do from time to time.
All in all, I am playing around with lightening the bike with odd titanium bits which I find secondhand. However, I'm not interested on sacrificing comfort. I'm not trying to break any records. I did try a Brooks titanium railed Swift. Very light, but it nearly split me in two. Not a nice experience at all.
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Thanks Marq, I will be approaching Thorn shortly!
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marcg,
could you tell me where you got your chainguard? I'm very interested in getting one similar to it but have had no luck so far. I'm currently living in Japan so visiting my LBS is not an option.
Thanks in advance for any help
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Hi
The chainguard came from Pashley for about £30. Don't forget that you need a longer BB - 118 instead of the standard 113mm.
My chainguard a a little on the large side but it works fine and doesn't look wrong. However, you might find smaller chainguards if you look around.
There were some links to a couple of very interesting and modernistic looking chainguards in one of the threads on this forum but they seem to have disappeared.
Maybe someone will read this and post them again.
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I was wrong, the links are still here. Check this thread:-
http://www.sjscycles.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=364
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Thanks for that link marcg. hadn't noticed the thread before. Those German chainguards certainly look interesting! Anyone got any experience with them?