Nevermore

[ahconway]

At long last, I had my first ride on Nevermore, my new Raven AT. (Or is it just a Raven Tour as it says on the frame? Still seems mighty adventurous to me...)

From home in North London, I did one of my favourite rides - but one I've never quite had a suitable bike for: the National Cycle Network Route 4. I picked it up at Putney Bridge and followed it west along the Thames to Barnes, through Richmond Park, through Ham, back onto the Thames path to Kingston, across the river and to Hampton Court Palace. A delightful ride at any time - but particularly at the crack of dawn when I started. From home, it's 40 miles return.

I shot some nice photos of the bike and the scenery along the way: http://homepage.mac.com/ahconway/cycling/PhotoAlbum21.html.

So here are my first impressions of the bike:

 

• More nimble and responsive than I expected, all the more impressive considering its not insubstantial weight


• The comfort bars and bar ends are great; holding the grips is a similar position to holding the tops of drop bars (but more comfortable), and the bar ends are similar to holding the brake levers; the bar ends also allow several good positions


• The Rohloff gears are, pure bliss! Everyone's read about how nice it is to shift at a standstill and all that... but I hadn't anticipated how smooth the changes would be! Practically instantaneous. I found myself shifting much more frequently than usual, even on reasonably flat terrain. My only trouble is getting used to the direction of the twist-shift, which is to from the SRAM shifter I have on my commuter bike.


• The Brooks saddle was - even brand new - the most comfortable saddle I've ridden! I was wearing padded shorts and Gore-Tex over-trousers, which makes it a friction-free experience. I've ridden with all sorts of Italian racing saddles, and for some reason, this one tops them all.


• The pedals also take a bit of getting used to with SPD on one side and platforms on the other. I finally worked out that when you bring a pedal to the top, the cleated side goes down, and it's easy to work out from there, even without looking.


• The Panaracer tyres did a great job on high-speed (okay, just 32mph that day) twisty-turny descents, and they were also nice and grippy on unpaved towpaths and grassy bits.


• I haven't yet done any really steep hills, but I don't anticipate them being a problem; it rides well out of the saddle, and it's easy to throw around, even with just one loaded pannier.


• The gearing seems to be just about right, if not a little low; I spent most of my time in the 6-12 range, only going up to 13 or 14 when pedalling downhill. I never actually made into 1-5, but I'm sure I will do when loaded and on real hills.


• What else? It's incredibly well balanced; I had no trouble going no-handed, even over rough terrain.

That's about it for now... I'm just looking forward to my next ride!

[Penfold]

quote:Originally posted by ahconway

quote:Originally posted by Penfold

Ahconway,

The 'nevermore' is indeed a beast of beauty.

Can I ask a bit of a cheeky question?

Would, if I were to purchase one of a similar spec get any change from say £1500 or per chance £2000?

Penfold,

Your question is not so much cheeky but lazy, as I'm sure you could figure out exactly what I spent by adding up the base cost plus the options!  []

Andrew

Andrew,

Well you got me sussed out straight away []

Great pics by the way

[Sprocket]

Andrew,
It seems that Nevermore has gone to a good home. Hope you are both very happy together.
Are you going to leave the steerer tube overlength, or are you still experimenting with handlebar height? I have seen a few left long with a couple of spacers above the handlebar stem and I wondered if there is a reason for not cutting the tube shorter.
Thanks for the great photos. Sprocket

[ahconway]

quote:Originally posted by Sprocket

Andrew,
It seems that Nevermore has gone to a good home. Hope you are both very happy together.
Are you going to leave the steerer tube overlength, or are you still experimenting with handlebar height? I have seen a few left long with a couple of spacers above the handlebar stem and I wondered if there is a reason for not cutting the tube shorter.
Thanks for the great photos. Sprocket

I will indeed trim the steerer tube one of these days. And of course, I'll also take the opportunity to replace the spacers and cap with ones that match my blue bar ends!

[ahconway]

Hey PH - How's Big Red treating you? Got any photos?

quote:Originally posted by PH

Achonway,
Have Nevermore say Hi to Big Red, though they’re probably well acquainted, having travelled from exotic parts together.
Being built on the same day[], though due to working away from home not being despatched for a fortnight[B)].
Should be easy to recognise, big and red (frame and forks) Only slight deviations from the standard spec; straight bars, Deore brakes, silver bottle cages, Brooks B17 and an extravagant Schmidt hub and twin Schmidt lights (I ride in the dark a lot)[][][]

 

[PH]

Hi ahconway, Big Red is doing great, thanks for asking and the prompt to get some photos uploaded.  How are you getting on with Nevermore?

Just passed the 1,000 mile mark[], mostly commuting but also did the Dr Foster 200 k audax from Cardiff, which gave it a good test, passed with flying colours.   Saddle is well broken in, changed the stem and played with different positions for the lights.  Had to tension the chain once and pleased at how easy it was, likewise removing the rear wheel, easier than on my derailleur bikes.  I’ll probably get a set of summer tyres, the 1.75” TG’s are fantastic for the mucky lanes and tracks but I fancy something faster to use in better weather[8D].
All in all I’ve been very impressed with the bike, the hub and the service from SJS.

Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49286797@N00/

[Istanbul_Tea]

PH-  Beautiful cycle you have there.  Could I ask for some close up photos of your 2 headlamps and their mounts?  I like the setup you have.

[ahconway]

Great photos, Paul!

Your lighting arrangement is really nifty - how did you do it? Can the SON power both front lights on the back ones too?

Glad to hear Big Red fared well on your 200k audax... I'm just attempting my first audax ever, a 100k, in a couple weeks.

Nevermore and I are getting on wonderfully - did 50 miles this morning, including about a half hour in freezing rain and really muddy tracks. (Very glad I brought a cover for my saddle!) I'm only on about 250 miles due to a month of travel and the dreaded flu - but I'm racking up the miles as fast as I can.

I haven't decided on my stem height yet... my position feels perfect, but I do get some pain in my wrists and the balls of my hands, so I need to figure out what to do to avoid that... I'm sure I'll get it sorted, though.

[PH]

Hi ahconway and Istanbul Tea
Thanks for the comments, the lights certainly get a lot of attention from other cyclists, even those with high powered rechargeables are impressed.  All the bits came from SJS;
The primary light is an E6
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/item7749.htm
Mounted on the fork with
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/7234thornalloyhlampbrackbig.jpg
The secondary is an E6Z
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/8216schmidt.jpg
mounted on the handlebars with
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/9884schmidt.jpg

The E6Z can be switched on at speeds over 10 mph, below that the E6 on its own produces more light. I work nights and commute 150 miles a week so they’ll get plenty of use for most of the year, enough to justify the cost!  Originally they were set side by side on the fork crown, I didn’t like the light spread and felt the width made them vulnerable to knocks.  The handle bar bracket was a great improvement, they are set with the top light shining further, but with a really useful bright patch where they overlap and of course it’s in an easy position to switch on and off.  The clear plastic cowls on Schmidt lights shows the silver of the reflector underneath, a bit too bling for my taste, so I painted them with black model paint. The rear lights are LEDs, a Basta on the rack and a Cateye on the seatpost, both of which I transferred from another bike.  It is possible to run a rear light off the SON, just didn’t seem worth the bother as red LEDs are so much brighter and last well on the AA rechargeables I’ve got.
I’ll take some more photos for IT, next time I’m out in daylight.

[Istanbul_Tea]

PH-

Thanks for the links... looking forward to the photos as well!



-Scott