Raven Tour as mountainbike

[Froggy]

Hello all!

Does anyone have experience of using a Raven Tour off-road as a mountainbike?

I'm looking to replace by MTB and touring machine in one foul swoop and am looking at the Raven.

I spend 50% of my biking time off-road (singletrack, woods, mud, fun) and 50% loaded up with panniers etc so I'm hoping to find a good compromise in a Thorn.

I'm not going to be doing any downhill / freeride / slopestyle / jumpbiking by the way - just good old mountainbiking.

Look forward to hearing what people have to say!

Thanks

Frog[^]

[stutho]

I don't own a Raven Tour - however I have taken my Sports Tour off road on occasion.  It is fine on forest tracks and general light duty off road however if the going gets rough I would rather be on a MTB.  Have a look at this thread.  If you are spending 50% of your time off road I think you would be better off looking at a Raven Catalyst - half mounting bike, half touring bike.

[Froggy]

Thanks for that! 96kph - brave man! I managed 86kph on Holme Moss once and scared myself in the process!

I've looked at the Catalyst too but what worries me there is that its not advised to take more that 12.5kgs on the rear rack - when I'm off for 3-4 weeks then I'm going to have more with me. If anyone has one and knows otherwise I'd love to hear what they think!

I'd be opting for a Raven Tour with a Magura suspension fork.

[stutho]

'Raven Tour with a Magura suspension forks'
Sound like a good plan.

Re 96kph - Only time I have got to this speed on a bike - it was VERY fast (and stupid).  My brother and I are both very competitive, when we are together there is often some sort of recklessness. [}:)]

[kwkirby01]

Frog,

I have an EXXP (a sort of custom Catalyst/Raven cross) which was originally fitted with a Fox suspension fork as  I intended to do lots of off road stuff.

It handles fine off road, but the suspension fork (even with lock-out) is a poor substitute for a rigid fork on road.

I've now swapped out the suspension fork for a Thorn rigid fork and it now handles much better on road and beter suits the cycling I actually do. Obviously it's not as comfortable on road...

A Raven with a suspension fork would meet your requirements, and would  give you a rigid fork for on-road use (if you can be bothered to switch!)  Stutho mentions the Catalyst; I'm sure it would be good too, although more off-road orientated. It all depends where your priorities lie.

You don't say where you'll be touring; on or off road? My reading of the brochure is that the 12Kg limit on the Catalyst is for off-road touring.

Check with Thorn, they'll always give good honest advice. I'm sure the other Raven Tour owners will be along to give you more specific advice.  

I don't want to make this into and advert[:I], but I am considering selling my EXXP (with both forks). I'm confident it would meet all your requirements and more. Email me off-forum if you're interested.

Whatever Thorn bike you choose you'll be very happy and, as has been pointed out on this forum more than once(!), you have 100 days to change your mind (just don't trash the bike off road during that time[])

Good luck,

Kevin

[geocycle]

What about a Catalyst with a trailer? See here for inspirational account:  http://www.pedalpatagonia.co.uk/

[geocycle]

I have taken my loaded raven tour  off road a number of occasions on forest tracks, through fords, across beaches etc and it was great, especially the balance and handling.  Mine is currently set up in commuter/tourer mode with fixed forks and 1.5 inch tyres, but if you added suspension forks and big tyres it would probably do 80% of what a standard MTB could handle.  I think a modified Tour would do what you require as long as the singletrack element wasn't too extreme, for these routes the Catalyst mentioned above would be better.

[DomT]

I'm another Raven Tour owner and bought it for that same reason (wanting both an off-road bike and a tourer at the same time). It sounds like it'll be the ideal one for you. Mines only a few weeks old and have only been off-road once (today), but I found that it handled really well, even in thick mud.

[Froggy]

Tricky Tricky Tricky!

I really love my mountainbiking so a Catalyst does sound like the best option. Until now I've only done tours ON road (but thats because my current bike http://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/image/65254230 wouldn't manage an off-road tour with full kit) but would love to get off-road with the camping gear (Kettle Valley Railway is on the to-do list!).

Riding with a BOB trailer sounds fine - it's just the taking it in the train/plane which would worry me. I fly out of Schiphol in Amsterdam and they can be a real pain in the ..... about extra baggage. How do folk go on taking their trailers in the plane?

[PH]

I’ve used my Raven off road a few times, it’s OK but nothing like as agile as a decent MTB.  When I’m on my own it’s no problem, I just go a bit slower and might walk over technical bits that I’d ride over on an MTB.  When out with friends it’s hard to keep up unless their derailleurs get clogged.
A friend who’s a keen MTB’er has a Raven Sport and a MTB with sliding Rohloff dropouts, he swaps the Rohloff wheel between them.  Each bike has its own chain and shifting kit so the wheel change is very quick.  Not as dear a solution as you might think.  

[Ragin Cajun]

Sorry for being off topic but I have just seen a pic of geocycle's Raven Tour and what a sweet ride!!  Can you please post the set up?  The bars look especially nice as well as the rear rack.[][]

[geocycle]

quote:Originally posted by Ragin Cajun

Sorry for being off topic but I have just seen a pic of geocycle's Raven Tour and what a sweet ride!!  Can you please post the set up?  The bars look especially nice as well as the rear rack.[][]

Glad you like the bike.  The spec is nothing special -comfort bars, ergon grips inboard bar ends; Blackburn Mtn 1 rack.  Since the pictures were taken the tyres have been changed to Schwalbe marathons, the seat tube is now black and I've installed pitlock skewers.  I like the black as it is elegant but understated and slightly anarchic in comparison to some of the bling colour schemes found on bikes.  I like the ease of maintenance and especially the reliability of the rohloff. I like being passed on hills by guys on club bikes thinking I'm on a single speed 'butchers' bike and then watch there consternation when I slipstream them!  I like being able to use it anywhere at anytime for almost any purpose, I've not yet found it lacking for any of my uses.

[Magnus Thor]

I have a Thorn Raven Catalyst and I have been using it as a main bike for the last three years.  I have toured on it, albeit only with a BOB trailer and found it excellent.  I commute on it all year round here in Iceland, through hub deep snow on occasion.  I'm planning a tour over the Icelandic Highlands this summer and will be using panniers for that, as  I believe them to be better for the rough ground I plan to cover.  If you spread your load between front and rear panniers you should be able to get away with less than 12 kg on the rear.  If you have 8 kg on the front, you'll be carrying 20 kg, plus whatever you have in your bottles and on your person!
Anyway, I've found the Catalyst to be a great bike, fot for most purposes, including commuting and touring.

Magnus Thor
Iceland