Hi all. I can confirm it is a 485L from the serial number as it's now found a new home!

I'm not a fan of kickstands for my own use. I can nearly always find a wall, fence or tree to lean the bike on, if not I lay the bike on it's side, drivetrain upwards.

But the users of the pool of 6 bikes I maintain for a nature reserve insist on having them.

The two second-hand electric bikes have substantial kickstands that attach to custom mounts on the chainstay near the rear axle. They work well, but are not an option for retrofit to a Thorn.

Two of the non-electric bikes I renovated had relatively lightweight frames without plates to mount a kickstand under the bottom bracket. I used Hebie 672V Fox kickstands that are bolted to both the chainstay and the seatstay :
https://www.bike-components.de/en/Hebie/672V-FOX-L-rear-kickstand-p56518/?o=1000180855-black-29-
It is possible to get the parts needed to fit an under bottom bracket kickstand to a frame which doesn't have the appropriate mounting plate brazed to the chainstays. But as the single bolt has to be really well tightened, in my experience with second-hand bikes, the chainstays often get deformed or slightly crushed.

The other two renovated bikes had plates brazed between the chainstays to accept a bolt-on kickstand under the bottom bracket. On one of these I fitted a Hebie Central Kickstand 630 LEX :
https://www.bike-components.de/en/Hebie/Central-Kickstand-630-LEX-p20531/
This is cheaper than the 672V Fox, but the single bolt needs to be done up REALLY tight.
The other one (an old Peugeot) still had the original Heslin kickstand.

Bear in mind that I am not a fan of kickstands, but on test rides with these 6 bikes I preferred the stands that fit near the rear axle, they seemed more stable with heavily loaded rear panniers (think shopping or cycle-camping). Of the two under bottom bracket stands I reckoned that the Hebie Central Kickstand 630 LEX was better than the old Heslin, probably because it was adjustable.

The two Hebie kickstands come in several versions, designed for different wheel sizes. But there is some adjustment.

All the kickstands I mention are compatible with a Duramaxx Mountee trailer that has the towing attachment bolted to the rear axle.

I thought you might be interested to hear the latest on this.
I bought a left handed PAS sensor for £12 or so and installed it on my Thorn Raven crank.
It went on okay but as I was installing the crank arm back on it felt like I was crushing the sensor.
Just been out for a short ride and the turning of the cranks feels different.
I’m still not convinced it will all work but I think I just need to go ahead and buy the full kit and see what happens.

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

Jul, I forgot to mention the Panaracer options:  They offer a 26 x 1.75 Pasela PT, but also, in the Gravelking range, a 26 x 2.10.

I tried the Gravelkings on my Mercury in 2025 (650 x 48 mm, 46 actual).  They worked very nicely on tarmac and easy gravel.  BUT, I had to remove my rear tire when the expensive TPU tube valve said "Enuf!" after 500 kms.  At that point, I found that remounting the Gravelking on my tubeless-compatible rim was beyond what my arthritic thumbs could manage.  (Front tire, with my Thorn alloy rim, was no problem at all.)

That problem is mine, obviously -- but if that sort of thing is no problem for you, I'd recommend looking at the Gravelking option.  (My cycling buddy, Ron Séguin, who posts here, uses 26" Gravelkings on his Raven.  I think they're 2.00, but am not sure.)

Hope that's helpful -- good luck!

John