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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification
« Last post by geocycle on Today at 08:50:08 AM »
Ah yes it’s black, for some reason it showed as dark purple on my screen. Thorn did also offer a low decal option as well.

In terms of size, if it is the 537L I have one and am 5’9” to give you a ballpark idea.
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Rohloff Internal Hub Gears / Re: Fitting front Hebie Chainglider 38t
« Last post by mickeg on May 15, 2026, 09:24:58 PM »
The item you called a covering ring, I usually call that a bash guard.  Don't discard it, if the chainglider does not work out you might want to use the bash guard again.

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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification
« Last post by deejayen on May 15, 2026, 09:16:06 PM »
Thanks very much!

It does look like that's it.

i'm just in the early stages of thinking about a new bike, and that one is probably too small, plus it's miles away from me.
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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification
« Last post by PH on May 15, 2026, 08:10:32 PM »
I'd agree with geocycle that it looks like a Raven Sports Tour, I think that's the only Raven with the brakes on the back of the fork, but it was possibly always that colour. Thorn included a stealth black version for a while, I don't thing I've seen one (maybe because it is that stealth) but there was one advertised here a couple of years ago:
https://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=14974.msg112886#msg112886
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Rohloff Internal Hub Gears / Re: Fitting front Hebie Chainglider 38t
« Last post by daviddd55 on May 15, 2026, 07:23:01 PM »
I finaaly got around to fitting the chainglider to my Raven, and it's a good improvement; I can now wear my pale blue trousers without getting the bottoms oiled up.
I'm just using the front section - 38t - I tried to fit the rear part but the sprocket motion sensor for my Cytronex electric conversion was in the way so I returned it.
Amazing how the Chainglider just sits there silently and does it's thing  :)
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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification
« Last post by geocycle on May 15, 2026, 03:03:11 PM »
Looks like a Raven Sport Tour, probably 537L. The colour and lack of stickers suggest a respray.
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Thorn General / Bike identification
« Last post by deejayen on May 15, 2026, 11:59:40 AM »
I've seen this bike advertised and wondered which model it is.  There's a Thorn headbadge, and a Reynolds 531 sticker on the forks, but no other decals I can see.  The Rohloff has the internal gearbox with cablestops on the brake posts.

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...
...  I am still deeply suspicous of the performance losses associated with "one-bye" (single chainring) drivetrains in all but the middle cogs of the cassette. The variations between smallest and largest cogs on the cassette occur at the most extreme chainline angles and the difference in cog diameters is also extreme (i.e. 10t vs 40t+). Perhaps sheer convenience in shifting and relatively greater simplicity accounts for their popularity. I'm not yet sold, preferring to run my derailleur triples (three chainrings, front mech) and shift to keep my chainlines as straight as possible to minimize friction while maximizing component life. ...

Fully agree.

My derailleur bikes all have triples, except my road bike is a double because I bought that as a complete bike, not one I built up from parts. 

My two derailleur touring bikes, the Thorn Sherpa (26 inch wheels) and Lynskey Backroad (700c wheels), both have 3X8 half step plus granny drive trains.  When I avoid the two most cross chained gears for each chainring, I still have 18 effective gears with a total range of 558 percent.   I went with this gearing for touring, as it gives me a few widely spaced gears for hill climbing on my granny chainring and closer spaced gears for where I spend most of my time on flatter ground.
https://gear-calculator.com/?GR=DERS&KB=24,42,46&RZ=11,12,14,16,18,21,26,32&UF=2204&TF=72&SL=2.2&UN=MPH&DV=teeth

The technology is 30 years old, but it beats the 1X drivetrains in performance, plus the cost of expendable parts is much less.

That said, I understand the preference for a 1X system for a single shifter with sequential shifting, anyone that rides a bike with a Rohloff certainly can appreciate that.
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If you ask a hundred bicyclists what the best chain lube is, you will get 150 different answers.  Neglecting different efficiencies from different chain lubes, ... ... ...

I have seen tests that indicate that some sort of wax is the most efficient chain lube. But wax doesn't work well for my riding conditions. These tests also showed that a derailleur transmission was slightly more efficient after a certain amount of use, rather than when it was brand new. After that point the efficiency declined with wear.

Also seen tests that showed that a well lubricated but worn chain was better than a new chain without lubrication.

With the proponents on this forum for chain gliders, that is additional friction.

When I first started using a Chainglider I did some timed rides round the same circuit before and after fitting it. I decided the difference wasn't significant.

Bottom line, I often leave my dyno powered lights on in daytime, even when I am on a bike trail where there are no cars to worry about because I can't feel the extra lost wattage from that, so I don't worry about it.  That is several extra watts lost, probably a bigger loss than the extra friction at the worn drive train.

I generally leave my hub dynamo lighting permanently on. With modern LED lamps I reckon it helps drivers to see me, same reasoning as motorcyclists. When I had bottle dynamos I hardly ever used the lighting in daytime.

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In the common game of comparing derailleur efficiencies with those of hub gearboxes, there's a bedeviling factor: The derailleur transmission in a real life comparison on the roads is not statically efficient: it declines dynamically from perfectly clean and tuned at the outset of the test as the chain and gears pick up dirt.

That also happens with an uncovered hub gear transmission. But more slowly, as the derailleur hangs lower and closer to the ground. And with only one chainring and sprocket the hub gear system is easier to clean than a derailleur system.

Brakes also make a difference on an uncovered transmission, a drum, roller or disk brake doesn't spray water and muck around like calliper brake does. Worse brake I had in this respect was a U-brake, placed under the chain stays, ideally placed to put the maximum amount of water and muck onto the chain.   
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