Excellent Service - Raven Enduro test ride

[skyhigh_71]

Hi All,

Just wanted to say a big thank you to Andy Y at Thorn. I recently visited Bridgewater to try out the Raven Enduro and was very impressed with the level of service and genuine enthusiasm for the product. I arrived expecting to go for a quick spin around Bridgewater, taking in nothing more adventureous than the local canal. Instead I was encouraged to take the bike in my car to the local Quantock hills, and I was given detailed and clear instructions on how to get to the forestry commission site allowing off road cycling. This I duly did and spent a good 2 1/2 hours really getting a feel for this fantastic bike. Suffice to say, upon my return I placed an order, which again was dealt with thoroughly and professionaly. Finally, I realised when half way home on my 2 hr drive from the shop, that I had left my own SPD pedals on the test bike! One phone call got this sorted and they arrived back by post 2 days later.

I would highly recommend a visit to the shop if you are considering spending this kind of money on a bike. Set aside several hours for the test ride itself and you probably won't regret it.

Can't wait to take delivery of the new Enduro.[]

Regards

Neil

[skyhigh_71]

Hi All,

Just wanted to give an update.

Have had the Raven Enduro for about 2 months now and it is fantastic.

There have been problems with the PACE RC41 XCAM forks, that have been returned twice under warranty due to oil leaks.

Although irritating that this problem has occured, I remain very impressed with Thorn and SJS Cycles. Each time I have asked for assistance with a problem I have been quickly and efficienty assisted. The second time the fork fault occured, I was contacted directly by Robin Thorn himself, who arranged a conference call with Pace and got things resolved. Subsequently the forks were fully rebuilt and I visited Bridgewater to have everything checked over and refitted.

A big thanks to Robin and the team. If only other businesses could achieve this level of customer service.

Regards

Neil

[Frenchie]

I don't ride off road, but I have a Raven and have taken a fancy for the Enduro... if I ever buy an off-roader.

Have you ridden other MTBs? How does the Enduro compare? How is the weight spread? Pros/Cons?

[skyhigh_71]

Hi Frenchie,

In reply to your post, the Raven Enduro is actually my first proper mtb. I was previously riding a £360 Marin Hybrid, giving it hell really in off road situations it wasn't designed for, and it performed really well. The Enduro is of course in another league, as you'd expect from something costing over 5 times the price.

It is quite a heavy bike, around 29 lbs, but this doesn't overly worry me, as I don't ride competitively - though quite a few lads from Thorn do on the Endura, albeit their's are equipped with carbon evrything and the highest spec lightweight chainsets. Durability is more important to me.

Initially I found the handling tricky, though this is probably the case with all mtb's of similar geometry - i.e. your weight is placed way back over the back wheel, so when going up steep inclines in the saddle, the front wheel has a tendency to lift and you get a torque steer effect with the front end pulling in the direction of each downward pedal stroke. I've learned this is all about shifting your weight around the bike.

The Rolhoff hub gear seams ideally suited to this application. Occasionally changes can be a bit stiff, or if you forget to back off pedal pressure between 7-8 gears you can get 14th engage momenterily. What's amazing is how quickly you become used to being able to change through the whole range of gears, even when stationary.

Finally, one big plus for me is that after a ride, if the bike is filthy, it's so easy to clean with no fiddling around brushing between loads of chain rings and derailleurs.

Great bike, expensive, but quality doesn't come cheap.

Regards

Neil[]