Author Topic: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike  (Read 12331 times)

Hubs

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2014, 06:38:04 PM »
Sean Conway, round the world in 116 days on a Rohloff - Mercury frame, aero bars, not a whole load of luggage - might be a nice midway approach between a Nomad and a carbon and helium confection...

http://www.seanconway.com/2012---cycling-the-world.html

richie thornger

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2014, 07:31:21 PM »
Cheers Hubs. I love my Nomad for what its meant for so I don't want to get rid quite yet. So I would keep the Rohloff wheel. Therefore I don't think it will fit the mercury frame???
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy

jags

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #17 on: October 20, 2014, 07:54:52 PM »
Sean Conway, round the world in 116 days on a Rohloff - Mercury frame, aero bars, not a whole load of luggage - might be a nice midway approach between a Nomad and a carbon and helium confection...

http://www.seanconway.com/2012---cycling-the-world.html

hard as bloody nail that guy.

Danneaux

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #18 on: October 20, 2014, 08:20:37 PM »
Richie...

Here's a thought (or for the price, two!):

I've found I tend to not ride bikes where there's a hassle to get them ready. For some reason, swapping accessories from one to another is enough to put me off and choose another, so each one is fully equipped with its own lights, computer, underseat bag, bottles, pump, etc.

I fear the same could be true if you found yourself swapping rear wheels very frequently (maybe you won't).

Wondering...where the "new" bike would be lighter, could you get by with something less than a Rohloff and thus less costly, but with many of the advantages...something like a Nexus or Alfine IGH?

Or...depending on terrain, perhaps a single-speed or fully Fixed-gear setup on the second bike? That would bring back the simple joy of your past BMX bike, but sized for a grownup and with better positioning to make speed and the same near maintenance-free advantages. That seems to be a large part of the appeal of SS and Fixed bikes for the college and uni crowd where they've simply exploded in numbers. They're lightweight, too.

The point being, if you have the second bike equipped with some sort of (less expensive) rear wheel, you could still quickly grab and use it without having to do the full swap thing on the Rohloff wheel. If you ride only one bike or the other for an extended period, it wouldn't be a problem to swap, but this would give options.

Best,

Dan.

martinf

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #19 on: October 20, 2014, 09:07:22 PM »
I'd second Dave Whittle's suggestion of a clearance Thorn Raven Sport tour frame if SJS still have one. I'd also suggest a Shimano Alfine or Nexus Premium 8-speed hub instead of swapping over the Rohloff wheel, so long as you can manage with the more limited gear range in the area where you live. An Alfine 11 would give more gear range than an 8-speed, but more expensive and not sure it is as reliable as the 8.

When SJS had some in my size a few weeks ago I was sorely tempted to get a Raven Sport Tour frame to build as a "poor man's Mercury" with a Shimano 8-speed hub, drop bars, lightweight rims and tyres and no racks (hypothetical replacement for my old derailleur gear lightweight). The 8-speed hub would have enough range for the kind of rides I now do on that bike, and, from comparison rides I did when I converted an old MTB from derailleur to Nexus 8 I don't think the slight extra weight of hub gears and their reputed lower efficiency would make much difference. Advantage is less maintenance and less complicated gear changing.

However, I already bought a slightly heavier Raven Tour frame for utility use earlier this year so that's enough new bikes for the time being!

Thread on my Nexus Premium 8-speed Raven Tour here:

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=8981.0

Rual recently did an Alfine 8 conversion on an Audax frame, thread for that here: 

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=9693.0

Andre Jute

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #20 on: October 20, 2014, 09:18:31 PM »
Ah! That changes everything!  :DMy two cent'sworth:

Still, I've enjoyed reading your "Tools and equipment for masochists" article.

Andre Jute
Us credit card tourers suffer too, you know

geocycle

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #21 on: October 21, 2014, 08:47:11 AM »
I've gone from an RT to an RST frame for similar reasons.  I wasn't using the full carrying capacity of the RT frame so I bought one of Thorn's sell-off RST-alfines and then swapped the rohloff  etc onto the RST.  I've sold off most of the surplus bits and ended up with a rohloff RST.  I was tempted to go the mercury route but that would have required new wheels etc and wouldn't have been very cost effective (buying a mercury and selling the complete RT would have been a better option). The RST is a nicer bike to ride unloaded than the RT and copes with two panniers and a bar bag for touring.  It's maybe a 1 mph quicker on the long term average.  Was it worth it?  I think so, as I've effectively got a new rohloff bike for a fraction of the cost.  The difference between RT and RST are relatively subtle, although you may experience a bigger difference still with the nomad.
 

mickeg

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #22 on: October 21, 2014, 01:18:36 PM »
Borrow or rent a bike with drop bars and ride it for several hours to see if the change in position meets your needs.  If it does, then decide if the "fiddly" gears are acceptable or if they are as bad as you recall.  (I really have no problems with my indexed 8 speed bar end shifters on my Sherpa.)  Once you have done that, you will have a better idea on what you really want.

Option B - convert your Nomad to drop bars.  You would need new bars, new brake levers, probably would need shorter stem, then you would have to choose from over a dozen options on how to mount the shifter.  Hopefully, your top tube would not be too long for such a setup, but Thorn sizes the frames for drop bars to have shorter top tubes than for flat bars.  Switching the bars won't make it lighter, but if your issue is your riding position, maybe the weight won't be that much of an issue any more.

Mine in the photo is a size 590M and I am using drop bars.  I have not used it on a tour yet, I wanted to see how my racks and panniers worked on it, thus the panniers in the photo. 

If you do the bar conversion, make sure you get the right brake levers for your brakes.  If they are V brakes, you would either need the long cable pull type levers or travel agents.  I have V brake on the front of my Nomad with travel agent, cantilever on the rear.

Hubs

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #23 on: October 21, 2014, 03:20:35 PM »
Cheers Hubs. I love my Nomad for what its meant for so I don't want to get rid quite yet. So I would keep the Rohloff wheel. Therefore I don't think it will fit the mercury frame???

Good point. No easy way around that without the rolloff being disc specific, and even then I guess it would look a little odd! RST it is then..!

richie thornger

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2014, 07:38:21 PM »
Yes lots of probably better options beyond swapping the Rohloff wheel over.

I had a look on ebay for used Thorns and came across various other lighter weight Rohloff bikes, so perhaps that is an option??

It's always good fun spending time looking into new toys :)
 
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy

Hubs

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #25 on: October 24, 2014, 08:21:06 AM »
Thinking more on the wheel swap, one of the enjoyable parts of more sporting bikes is often the lighter / lower rolling resistance wheel set, with narrower tyre profiles and narrower rims.

If you're looking at moving the wheel from Nomad to 'Rolloff Sport' mode, presumably you'll be keeping the (presumably) heavy duty Nomad style rim and tyre.

Which seems to negate some of the ethos you're going for here.

Just a thought.

richie thornger

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #26 on: October 24, 2014, 10:28:39 AM »
Yes unfortunately My Rigida Andra rims are indeed more suited to a tank.
The whole new bike option is seeming the solution, I just had to work through it with some others to get me convinced :)
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy

Donerol

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #27 on: October 24, 2014, 12:37:12 PM »
In that case the Mercury seems the closest option within the Thorn range. I would love one myself...

richie thornger

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #28 on: October 24, 2014, 01:03:05 PM »
Unfortunately I can't stretch to that money :(

I think If I go down the 2nd Rohloff bike route I will have to look at cheaper aluminium bikes from Germany.
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy

Donerol

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Re: Turning a Nomad into a Carbon Race Bike
« Reply #29 on: October 24, 2014, 11:21:08 PM »
Unfortunately I can't stretch to that money :(

Neither can I!