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Thorn Cycles Forum
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Belt Drive / Re: Belt drive article from Thorn Blog
« Last post by Danneaux on March 08, 2026, 03:35:39 PM »Quote
Tristan Ridley who is a long distance back packer has moved back to chain from belt. He has a YT video explaining why….Available here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx5nN3kyx5k
Best, Dan.
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Belt Drive / Re: Belt drive article from Thorn Blog
« Last post by Andyb1 on March 08, 2026, 02:21:10 PM »Interesting to see that Tristan Ridley who is a long distance bikepacker has moved back to chain from belt. He has a YT video explaining why….but his bike usage is pretty extreme!
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Bikes For Sale / Thorn Sherpa 50cm
« Last post by robbieonthenet on March 06, 2026, 12:27:36 PM »For Sale in BH7
Black Thorn Sherpa 511L 50cm
9 speed good condition £650
See EBay or msg me on here
Cheers
Robert in Bournemouth
Black Thorn Sherpa 511L 50cm
9 speed good condition £650
See EBay or msg me on here
Cheers
Robert in Bournemouth
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Rohloff Internal Hub Gears / Re: Crack noise after shifting
« Last post by hendrich on March 06, 2026, 12:38:17 AM »Thanks for the further suggestions. The ping/crack sounds only occurs in 8-14 once after switching gears and applying pedal force. Repeated attempts while climbing in 1-7 do not make the sound. The sound does not repeat with any circular motion of the chain/pedal/BB timing. I agree that those items are difficult to eliminate as a cause in drive trains.
I loosened cable tension significantly, but the same sound still occurs. I have not yet whacked the hub axle, but the wheel does spin as free as it always did.
We are away from home for another 3 weeks. When at home I will try to study more carefully while bike is hanging. I'd like to lock the rear wheel, shift, and then put force into the pedals. However, the amount of force we apply while riding is significant, difficult to duplicate while hanging.
After that, I will give the hub a double cleaning, perhaps some grit will work loose. Then, I will contact Rohloff for ideas. The sound has not caused a problem while riding, but we are planning a 4000 Km heavily loaded tour this summer. Drive train sounds bug the hell out of me.
I loosened cable tension significantly, but the same sound still occurs. I have not yet whacked the hub axle, but the wheel does spin as free as it always did.
We are away from home for another 3 weeks. When at home I will try to study more carefully while bike is hanging. I'd like to lock the rear wheel, shift, and then put force into the pedals. However, the amount of force we apply while riding is significant, difficult to duplicate while hanging.
After that, I will give the hub a double cleaning, perhaps some grit will work loose. Then, I will contact Rohloff for ideas. The sound has not caused a problem while riding, but we are planning a 4000 Km heavily loaded tour this summer. Drive train sounds bug the hell out of me.
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Belt Drive / Re: New "Child Board" for Belt-drive related topics
« Last post by PH on March 06, 2026, 12:04:24 AM »Thanks Dan, your efforts are always appreciated. I must admit though that I take the lazy option and just click on the unread posts.
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Electric Conversions of "Manual" Bikes / Re: Skarper e-bike conversion kit
« Last post by PH on March 06, 2026, 12:02:04 AM »It's a clever idea for those just wanting a bit of assistance, but it's still going to suffer the limitations of all ungeared motors, they need to spin fast to be efficient. A 240Wh battery and 45Nm of torque and it's going to be competing for the same riders as drop in front wheels, which it probably compares quite well too, but it's not comparable to a dedicated E-bike.
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Rohloff Internal Hub Gears / Re: Is it better to use one long housing cable?
« Last post by mickeg on March 05, 2026, 11:31:58 PM »I agree with everything Dan said.
I sometimes wrap some tape around the inner cable before I cut it. That reduces the chance that it frays.
I prefer the Sram cable cutters. They work well on shift and brake cables, as well as outer housing. I checked, SJS does not sell it with the SRAM logo, but it looks like this one with a different name on it. Mine (Sram) has red handle, not yellow. The awl in the handle is great for making sure the end of an outer housing hole functions well after cutting it.
www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/jagwire-pro-housing-cutter/
But SJS also have much cheaper cable cutters too.
I assume you are aware that Rohloff shifter cables use brake outer housing that is NOT compressionless outer housing. No need to use the compressionless shifter housing that is sold for derailleur bikes.
I do not know why your frame would have two sets of cable stops on the downtube for a frame built for a Rohloff. Perhaps the frame builder did not realize that Rohloff cables have to have some slack, that there is no reason to use bare cable along the downtube. But for aesthetics, do it any way you want.
I have started using Dan's suggestion for superglue on the end of the cable to reduce fraying, that was a great idea. But it has to harden before you use it, you do not want to accidently glue the cable tip to something.
If you use your bike for touring, it would be a good idea to make sure that both cables are exactly the same length, and cut a third cable to that length too in case you needed to replace a cable later on a tour. If you already have a cable cut to correct length, it simplifies cable replacement. That means that the outer housing length for both cables should be exactly the same too.
I see PH made some comments while I was writing mine, I agree with everything he said.
I sometimes wrap some tape around the inner cable before I cut it. That reduces the chance that it frays.
I prefer the Sram cable cutters. They work well on shift and brake cables, as well as outer housing. I checked, SJS does not sell it with the SRAM logo, but it looks like this one with a different name on it. Mine (Sram) has red handle, not yellow. The awl in the handle is great for making sure the end of an outer housing hole functions well after cutting it.
www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/jagwire-pro-housing-cutter/
But SJS also have much cheaper cable cutters too.
I assume you are aware that Rohloff shifter cables use brake outer housing that is NOT compressionless outer housing. No need to use the compressionless shifter housing that is sold for derailleur bikes.
I do not know why your frame would have two sets of cable stops on the downtube for a frame built for a Rohloff. Perhaps the frame builder did not realize that Rohloff cables have to have some slack, that there is no reason to use bare cable along the downtube. But for aesthetics, do it any way you want.
I have started using Dan's suggestion for superglue on the end of the cable to reduce fraying, that was a great idea. But it has to harden before you use it, you do not want to accidently glue the cable tip to something.
If you use your bike for touring, it would be a good idea to make sure that both cables are exactly the same length, and cut a third cable to that length too in case you needed to replace a cable later on a tour. If you already have a cable cut to correct length, it simplifies cable replacement. That means that the outer housing length for both cables should be exactly the same too.
I see PH made some comments while I was writing mine, I agree with everything he said.
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Electric Conversions of "Manual" Bikes / Re: eBike Motor Reliability
« Last post by PH on March 05, 2026, 11:29:02 PM »Thanks for the link Dan. One of the things I like about Alee Denham's articles and reviews is he's very clear at differentiating opinion and fact and also pointing out the limitations of any research he's referencing. IMO this one had so many caveats I'm not sure I should treat it with anything other than scepticism. I bought my E-bike for bike delivery work, mixing with a lot of other E-bike riders on a range of bikes from the cheapest conversions to full blown professional cargo bikes. I know of a couple of riders who have had battery failures, a few controller failures (Always water ingress) one failed motor, well out of warranty, and that's it. That's not a scientific sample, maybe 40 bikes, but they all have a tougher life than most leisure bikes (Except maybe eMTB's) and if the data in that report were correct, I'd have expected to see a good few more.
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Rohloff Internal Hub Gears / Re: Crack noise after shifting
« Last post by PH on March 05, 2026, 11:15:40 PM »Not something I've come across.
If it's doing it consistently, can it be replicated when pulling away? I'm thinking you could change gear with the cable disconnected and see if that makes a difference. Though it'd be hard to do that on the move! You might also try it with the cables slacked right off. With all hub gear issues, working out if the problem is within the hub or elsewhere is a huge advantage. If you can get it to do it while on a workstand or upside down, you might be able to hear or feel where it originates.
Good luck.
If it's doing it consistently, can it be replicated when pulling away? I'm thinking you could change gear with the cable disconnected and see if that makes a difference. Though it'd be hard to do that on the move! You might also try it with the cables slacked right off. With all hub gear issues, working out if the problem is within the hub or elsewhere is a huge advantage. If you can get it to do it while on a workstand or upside down, you might be able to hear or feel where it originates.
Good luck.