I have now built my ‘mostly’ new Sherpa after many months of deliberating to go 700 or 26” and various frame options. I am so pleased I chose the Sherpa, Steve at Thorn was most helpful and was generous with his time, allowing me to try a bike which I felt instantly at home on.
I purchased a new frame a fork set from Thorn which they prepared and internally waxed for me while I went for a coffee which made the build that bit easier. Wheels were from Spa Cycles in Harrogate as they are offering a discount to CTC members and very fine they are too, with LX hubs, double butted spokes and Exal LX17 rims. I particularly like these as they have a wear grove in the rim taking the guess work out of when they will need changing. The transmission group set is Shimano Deore 10 speed and shifts beautifully, partly due to the M615 Shadow + rear derailleur upgrade. Brakes are Shimano LX with LX trekking (4 finger) leavers which have plenty of stopping power and perform much better than the Acera items they replace. They adjust much better too with the screw actually moving the arm, something the Acera seemed reluctant to do.
I have now put just over a 100 miles or so on my Sherpa and enjoyed every mile, can’t wait to get her loaded up and get away from it all!
Daniel