Many of you will have seen pics of my 2006 RT which has done brilliant service over the last 20,000 miles. I've slowly added goodies to it and it now has a good spec personalised to my use. It is still an excellent bike but I have not been making full use of its load carrying abilities. This is mainly as I've not done much cycle camping and my touring tends to be heading to the lighter end of the scale rather than tents, pots and pans. So the RT has been a commuting workhorse, a utility vehicle and a means for day adventures, supplemented by some europe wide tours through france switzerland as well as the UK.
Changes in the Thorn range gave me new bike itch. That well known conditions contracted through forums. Initially my head was turned by the mercury with its great lines, 700c wheels, discs etc but I decided it probably wouldn't work well as my all weather commuter, utility bike or for unscheduled off-road explorations. I also admit to being deterred by the thought of having a bike of that value tethered outside work.
So, I needed to look elsewhere. I wanted a more sprightly bike and did briefly consider the audax derailleur bike or various Ti concoctions but I soon realised I could not be without the rohloff. I decided that the new raven would not offer much more than the RT. Finally, the obvous solution was to buy one of the discounted RST frames. Unfortunately, my size had long gone. However, Thorn had built some RSTs into alfine-driven commuters, so I decided to take the plunge and bought a new bike!
My new arrival below is a svelte beauty in British racing green. First impressions are very positive with the RST being a much lighter build. I'm not planning on riding it and instead I plan to swap the frames and use the rohloff on the RST which will become my do everything bike. I'll be selling on the RT frame and some brand new components from the RST alfine so watch this space. I'll probably spend the weekend swapping bits from both bikes and will update this thread with comparisons.
Looking forward to the next 20,000 miles...
