I'm about to purchase a secondhand Thorn, I believe it is a Mk2 Sherpa with derailleur gears. My wife will be using the bike as well as me for local/casual use and insists on a kickstand of some sort.

I know that Thorn's warranty won't apply as I'm not the original owner but I would still rather not attach anything that risks damaging the frame or paintwork.

What are my options for attaching a kickstand to this bike whilst doing as little damage as possible? We'd prefer something attached to the bike rather than a click-stand. Thanks

Hi, Julien

John is partly correct. I have used Panaracer GravelKing, but they were the slick version, and size 42-584 / 650B, used on my other bike, not a Thorn. They were wonderfully supple, with a great ride. They did wear out fairly quickly.

I would have tried out the GravelKing SK in 26X2.10 on the Raven, but I could not find any at a reasonable price when I replaced my tires. I instead purchased Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 26X2 with the folding bead. I have been very happy with them, and will probably replace them with the same when required, assuming Schwalbe doesn’t discontinue them also.  They currently have travelled 12,000km, with 5000km of that heavily loaded tours, and there is still lots of tread remaining. The only negative I have to say about them is that they buzz like MTB knobbies on tarmac. The newest versions appear to have a slightly different tread, and perhaps they will be quieter. I see there is also a new Marathon PRO Mondial now, for about €15.00 more.

Good luck with your search

Great deal if your rim is in 28"..

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/schwalbe-marathon-supreme-evo-28x2.00-reflex-folding-tires

I think the mondial now is at 640gr

Must be confirmer..

Thanks Martin,

What about Panaracer Gravelking SK ?

26x2’10 for 610gr each

I can’t speak for the 26” Gravelkings but I replaced the 700x32 Marathon Supremes on my Mercury with 700x35 folding Gravelking SK+ (the plus version is slightly more heavy weight I think but still reasonable at approx 460g) and they’ve been really good all year round on variety of surfaces here in SW England - broken up and loose  potholed roads, canal paths etc. As one would expect, more grippy than the Supremes and a bit more rolling resistance. And the puncture fairies have been kind, only a couple of punctures in 3500 miles, both Blackthorns during farmers hedge cutting season, though I might just have been lucky. The mini knobbly bits of the tread are quite widely spaced so tend  not to pick up those tiny sharp shards of grit that can stick in some treads.