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Electric Conversions of "Manual" Bikes / Re: Bafang PAS senso
« Last post by lamonabike on August 03, 2026, 10:00:55 PM »
This is what my loaded rig looks like (minus a 5 year old and some panniers).
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Electric Conversions of "Manual" Bikes / Re: Bafang PAS senso
« Last post by lamonabike on August 03, 2026, 09:53:35 PM »
Okay so I’ve installed the Bafang motor!
Not without messing a few things up that ended up costing me an extra £200. But that’s still a lot cheaper than the Cytronex and other kits which have a lot less torque.

My crank fell off a few days after I installed the right hand PAS sensor so that doesn’t work. I do have the left hand sensor but haven’t bothered to try it yet. Am just using the thumb throttle (yes, yes, I know).

At the time of buying/ writing, Bafang doesn’t give you that much in the way of instruction. So if you’re a bit of an idiot like me you can make some silly mistakes.
I may write a bit more later.
The main thing I learnt is that you absolutely need to put torque arms on your forks otherwise the motor will spin out of the forks (even a centrimeter or so) which pulls the cable and destroys the connection. I had to buy a new motor.

However it works well now and the hills of Lewes are manageable even on the lowest setting.
I have Andre Jute to thank for writing about the level of power/torque you need.

Pictures later.
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Bikes For Sale / Re: Raven Tour frame 612S in France
« Last post by martinf on August 03, 2026, 10:01:39 AM »
And a photo of the complete bike before I dismantled it (most of the parts will be reused on another project).
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Bikes For Sale / Raven Tour frame 612S in France
« Last post by martinf on August 03, 2026, 09:59:33 AM »
More photos.
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Bikes For Sale / Raven Tour frame 612S in France
« Last post by martinf on August 03, 2026, 09:58:27 AM »
I'm selling one of my two Thorn Raven Tour frames. This one is the largest size, 612S. I bought the frame 12 years ago.

Raven Tour is suitable for load carrying, not quite as much as the Thorn Nomad, but the frame is certainly capable of carrying a camping load if suitable racks are fitted. Or, in my case, fully loaded front and rear panniers when I stock up with food at the local supermarket. According to the 2012 Thorn brochure the load carrying capacity is 12 kg on the front and 28 kg on the back.

The frame is for 26 inch wheels and V-brakes. Braze ons and eccentric bottom bracket are suitable for a Rohloff hub. I built the bike up as a utility bike with a Nexus Premium 8-speed hub. I suppose it would be possible to use derailleur gears, but this would need a bolt-on hanger for the rear derailleur.

The paintwork is still the original, with a few scratches and a fair number of discolourations, but no rust on the frame and forks. The insides of the frame and forks were treated for anticorrosion when I got the bike. 

The frame comes with :

- twin plate forks (Reynolds 531). The fork steerer has not been cut.
- FSA Orbit headset
- Thorn 27.2 mm seatpost
- Front low-loader rack. This has a couple of rust points.
- Thorn spanner for the eccentric.

I am asking 120 euros excluding shipping for the frame and accessories listed. I am in France, so the shipping costs risk being quite high to the UK after Brexit, probably not so bad for countries in the European Union.
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Bikes For Sale / Re: THORN EXP’s for sale
« Last post by jul on August 02, 2026, 07:31:23 PM »
Great bike, miss just a rohloff for me..   :'(

It seems very hard to find this type of bike with a Rohloff, if someone  have an idea where i can find it, let me know

Thanks


Good sale Peter
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Bikes For Sale / Re: THORN EXP’s for sale
« Last post by in4 on August 02, 2026, 07:09:36 PM »
Lovely bikes to see. Someone is going to get a really nice one for the summer.
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Bikes For Sale / Re: THORN EXP’s for sale
« Last post by PeteFS on August 02, 2026, 04:05:59 PM »
These bikes are now listed on EBay where photos and spec sheets can be seen.
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This is a very significantly upgraded Sherpa.  I bought it in August 2017 direct from Thorn as a bare frame and built it up (see detailed spec below), including Shimano Di2 electronic gears and S&S couplings.

The S&S couplings mean the frame can be split for travel and packed into a standard-sized case so no extra oversized airline fees.

I chose electronic gears to take pressure off my arthritic thumbs and they worked superbly –  very accurate, smooth gear changing at the touch of a button. But now as my arthritis has progressed I need a smaller bike, hence the sale.

The bike is in excellent condition and I only used it for two tours, a total of 2,029 km /1,260 miles. It’s been regularly maintained.
There is not a chip or other mark on the frame anywhere, even underneath the bottom bracket, chainstay.  The blue paint on either side of the top tube is faintly yellowed but this is  really slight and so is barely visible in the photos, however it’s only fair to mention it here (unclear what caused it but most probably sun-cream slightly tinting the paint). 

PRICE: £1,695 ovno plus delivery (or can be collected ). The parts for the Di2 gears alone originally cost £1,120  and the S & S couplings £700.
Pics below and more pics and information available on request!

I can fit it with straight, curved or drop handlebars to suit you, at no extra charge (details below).
If you can get to the Edinburgh or Kinross areas, you can have a fit on an indoor trainer and/or a trial ride.

COLLECTION / DELIVERY: if you can’t collect the bike, I will send it by a courier service. I’ve lots of experience of securely packing bikes for transport!
 If you live within about 100 miles or so of Edinburgh, I will be happy to deliver it, fully built-up, for cost of fuel only.

Security: as this is a valuable bike, it has a hidden, non-removable RFI 'Immobitag' so if lost or stolen, police can trace its registered owner. The  registration will be transferred free of charge to the new owner. This is much more secure than the frame number.  If sent by courier, a tracker will also be placed in the box.

OPTIONAL EXTRA: a genuine S&S coupling soft case to take this packed bike, in excellent condition, £175 (half new cost), OR a genuine S&S coupling 'Co-Pilot" hard case, also excellent condition, £300 (also half new cost), details below. 

Detailed specification:

frame & fork:
Thorn Sherpa MK3 Frame - blue - 475M for 52 mm forks - in 969 double-butted, seamless, heat-treated, cold-drawn, Cro-Mo steel.  Frame number SH475M1603
The height from ground to middle of the top-tube (ie the 'stand-over height') is approx. 71.5cm (2'4"). It would suit riders 152-164cm/5-5ft 4in.
Frame fitted with S&S couplers, special spanner included.  Rear brake cable fitted with JTek cable splitter/coupler to facilitate disassembly and reassembly of the frame.

26" Thorn ST26 steel fork - blue - 52 mm offset

wheels: 26"/ 559 aluminium 36-hole rims in black: front MX Mach 1 Evo2 with Shimano Deore hub; rear KC Comp on KX hub
tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Supreme HS382 Folding Tyre - 26 x 1.60 Inch , 42-559

drivetrain: 3x11 speed ultra-wide gearing, 165 mm cranks, giving a huge overall range of approximately 17 to 108 gear-inches
KMC 11 speed chain with “missing link” connector, near-new and less than 1.5% wear (see picture)
Shimano XT CS-M8000 11 Speed Cassette - 11-40T
Spa Cycles 104/64 PCD triple crankset, silver, forged alloy 165mm cranks, 48/38/30T
bottom bracket: 68mm shell English thread sealed cartridge taper spindle

di2 electronic gear system:Shimano SW-R671 TT shifters, chosen as they are easily operated with fingers, mounted on custom brackets and readily re-positioned to suit rider

Shimano FD-M9050 front derailleur, mounted on Shimano SM-FD905-H high clamp adapter
Shimano RD-M9050 rear derailleur, mounted on Wolftooth Roadlink to extend cassette capacity
Shimano DN-110A battery, mounted inside downtube just above lower S&S joint
Shimano SC-MT800 information display, handlebar mounted, shows selected gear, enables choice of synchro shift 1, synchro shift 2, or manual shift, plus wireless connection, battery charging port, derailleur adjustment etc
Shimano 4-port di2 junction B, mounted inside downtube just below lower S&S joint
Shimano di2 wires throughout, routed internally where possible, with extra protection for external cables (“spirowrap”, see pictures)
Shimano SM-BCR2 battery charging adapter and PC link interface – mains powered, USB socket for charging lead or connection to windows PC (leads included)
Shimano TL-EW02 wire connection/disconnection tool

brakes:Shimano ST-MC12 mechanical brake levers, right and left, with mechanical gear-shifters removed
Shimano Altus cantilever brakes, front and rear, with Aztec brake blocks

pannier rack:Blackburn alloy rear pannier rack in black included in the sale

saddle: Terry Butterfly Gel woman’s

handlebar:traditional swept back horizontal style.  HOWEVER you can choose one of the alternative handlebars show in the pictures and I will fit it before sale, using the same grips, levers etc.  If you choose the drop bars, I will fit those with Shimano di2 combined brake lever/gear shifters instead of the levers and shifters shown in the pictures. NB no cost for the fitting.

Optional extra: genuine S&S coupling cases:
Each case with a bicycle inside measures 26" x 26" x 10" which meets the typical airline standard maximum size limit of 62" combined (length + width + thickness).
More info on soft case at https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sjscycles.co.uk%2Ftransporting-bicycles%2Fs-and-s-machine-backpack-case-black
More info on hard  soft case at https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sjscycles.co.uk%2Ftransporting-bicycles%2Fs-and-s-machine-hard-bike-case-grey
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