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Bikes For Sale / Facebook ad: 969 Thorn Sherpa 485L £350 Newbury
« Last post by Willcol on Today at 06:46:50 PM »
https://www.facebook.com/share/17tAiDcNRp/

As in title. Seller is very keen.
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I don't think I'd try and cycle up something that long and steep nowadays. I did go back to the Lakes in 2001 with my wife and one daughter during the foot and mouth epidemic (not so many people about), and went up Hardknott in a hired left-hand drive Citroën ZX with a fairly big diesel engine.

As I had already been living in France for several years and there were no other vehicles on the road at the time I drove the car up the pass the French way, relatively fast, with gear changes before and after the bends to keep the revs up, and was surprised to see walkers near the road clapping, maybe in irony.
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My "overkill" setup did, however, enable me to cycle up Hardknott pass in the English Lake District, the steepest bit on that hill is supposed to be about 30%.

Alas! We were all younger and fitter c1977. Congratulations.

I've been over the Hardknott Pass on foot (conclusion: machismo is stupid) and twice in Range Rovers I was testing for various magazines thirty years apart. I much preferred the Range Rover Way...just saying.

Anyone tempted to emulate Martin's Epic Transit of the Hardknott should note that it may be hours, perhaps even days, before a car comes along, so make sure your bike is in good order and you have enough spares with you.

And mind the feral sheep. There was this ram, who apparently thought we coveted its females, who head-butted the door of the Range Rover, through which I'd just escaped its enraged attentions, so hard that it got stuck by its horns sticking through the aluminium doorskin. I climbed over the centre console and my companion, and gave the jack another couple of strokes so that the ram's front feet we're off the muddy road and it hung from its horns at an angle where it couldn't release its horns by scrabbling in the slippery mud with its hind feet. Then I packed the flat wheel away neatly, checked the wheel nuts, and stood for a couple of minutes fixing angles and distances in my mind while the bloody ram stared at me with bloodshot eyes, probably trying to convey, 'Are you dissing me by working right here in my personal space?' I said to my companion through the sunroof, 'Wind down the rear passenger window on my side.' Then I grabbed the ram by the lowest joints on its rear legs and lifted its back end so it could free its horns from the door. It twisted around with unbelievable speed, presumably hyper-motivated by my impertinence in coming so near its only reason for existence, but I was already twirling like a Scottish rugby forward tossing the caber at the village sports day, and when the animal was high enough and I was moving fast enough, let it go to fly over the roof of the car to land about fifty feet on the downside of the mountain to give me time to salvage the jack, which I thought, correctly, we would need again, throw it through the back window, get into the car and get it moving. That ram was incredibly fast because in the less than the ten seconds it took me to let down the car and throw the jack into the car and me through the driver's door, it reached us and, as the car passed it, used its horns to score the rear quarter of the car.

I've been convinced ever since that you can't hate sheep enough.

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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification and valuation
« Last post by Andre Jute on Today at 01:44:49 AM »
My "overkill" setup did, however, enable me to cycle up Hardknott pass in the English Lake District, the steepest bit on that hill is supposed to be about 30%.

Alas! We were all younger and fitter c1977. Congratulations.
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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification and valuation
« Last post by martinf on June 26, 2026, 11:21:39 PM »
Someone must have swapped the rear wheel since the bike was built as there's a sticker saying "Equipped with Rohloff".

Not necessarily. My frameset came with that sticker. I bought a Rohloff wheel separately, but could have bought a Shimano hub instead. If I had been a bit younger when I bought it I would probably fitted a Shimano 8, but not an 11 as I didn't trust the first version of the Alfine 11.

How many speeds has the Alfine hub, 8 or 11? The latter is worth more but isn't as robust as a Rohloff hub and has a smaller gearing range than the Rohloff so is less suitable for touring anywhere with hills.

The original poster says 8-speed. I like the Shimano 8-speeds, and have them on several family bikes. But the resale value is obviously much lower than a Rohloff, which seems to keep a high second-hand price.

And in 2026 I doubt that anyone would buy a bike with an 8-speed hub with a range of "only" about 307% for touring in hilly areas.

This is mainly because expectations have changed, my state of the art 15-speed tourer in 1977 had a gear range of 343%, only a little wider than the Shimano 8 hub gear. My fellow riders in 1977 considered it to be overkill, most of them had the popular 40/50 double chainring setup, with an overall range of about 250%.  My "overkill" setup did, however, enable me to cycle up Hardknott pass in the English Lake District, the steepest bit on that hill is supposed to be about 30%.

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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification and valuation
« Last post by Andyb1 on June 26, 2026, 10:38:41 AM »
Parcelforce will courier a bike in a box that is under 30kg total weight for around £25.  Their advice attached.

https://www.parcelforce.com/help-and-advice/sending/bicycle

Many LBS have unwanted cardboard boxes.  Or the buyer could arrange a courier (box probably still needed).
I bought my Raven from the East of England and it was delivered to Somerset like that - all OK.
Obviously it needs to be well packed so that might take an hour or so, and I would only do it when sold, but it broadens your market from around Dundee to the whole of UK.
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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification and valuation
« Last post by JohnR on June 26, 2026, 10:19:04 AM »
Someone must have swapped the rear wheel since the bike was built as there's a sticker saying "Equipped with Rohloff". How many speeds has the Alfine hub, 8 or 11? The latter is worth more but isn't as robust as a Rohloff hub and has a smaller gearing range than the Rohloff so is less suitable for touring anywhere with hills.
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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification and valuation
« Last post by martinf on June 26, 2026, 07:26:00 AM »
I was offered £400 to begin with, but when they found out it was an Alfine hub they weren't interested. Apparently the bike is worth in the region of £50 - £100, but I was told from someone on Facebook that it's still worth a lot more.

I consider that the Raven Sport Tour is a very good frame for a relatively lightweight hub-geared bike for light touring/day rides. My Raven Sport Tour cost about £400 as a frameset as discounted end of line stock in 2016. But it has the disadvantage of using 26 inch tyres that have gone out of fashion.

When selling something, the right price is what someone is willing to pay. The trouble with a hub-gear lightweight is that it is probably a very small market in the UK. A pragmatic approach would be to try and sell the bike for half the purchase price - I suppose that if it was bought a couple of years ago that it was second-hand ?

Where to advertise:

- On this forum.
- A touring bike website, this would have been the CTC when I lived in England, don't know if it is still called the same.
- Maybe EBay or the equivalent ?

As AndyB1 has already said, you will have more chance of selling if you are willing to send the bike, but packing and sending a complete bike is quite a hassle and is expensive.

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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification and valuation
« Last post by in4 on June 25, 2026, 08:42:12 PM »
Its a 486L size. Buyers can see the measurments on the Thorn website
Apologies I didn't see the photos as I was viewing on the phone whilst on the move.
best wishes
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Thorn General / Re: Bike identification and valuation
« Last post by MarkG on June 25, 2026, 08:23:19 PM »
Thanks for the replies. Very much appreciated.

Hey, Andyb1. Yeah, I am up in Dundee. I can pack it up if it need be. Thanks for that info regarding the prices. I gave the chain a good clean, but there are little scuffs and wear around the frame and seat.

Thanks for the kind words, in4; I'll pass them on :) Is that the same number as the one I posted in my photos, or is there another one I've missed? I did get in touch with SJS initially and you're right about them buying for a %.

I was offered £400 to begin with, but when they found out it was an Alfine hub they weren't interested. Apparently the bike is worth in the region of £50 - £100, but I was told from someone on Facebook that it's still worth a lot more.

Tbh, I really have no idea what price I should be aiming for.
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