MartinF's Raven Sport Tour

[martinf]

Finished building up the red Raven Sport Tour clearance frame I bought earlier this year, just before the last ones in my size went.

I've set it up for on-road use, for day rides and possibly short tours with minimal luggage use, just a Lord uplift and large Carradice saddlebag.

After considering a Nexus 8 I finally decided to splash out on a Rohloff.

No Chainglider on this bike (yet), but it might be possible later on if I change chainring size.

A mix of new, old and NOS parts, the latter include XTR brakes, these were on special offer at my LBS.

Several years ago I bought a stock of TA Cyclotouriste rings from a bike shop that was closing down, which explains my choice of crankset/ring. I'm starting out with 50x19, but have plenty of other sizes available to try.

Tyres are Kojak folding 35 mm, but I have clearance for 42 mm Supremes if I decide I want more comfort.

I got a B&M IQ-X front lamp. My initial impression is that it isn't significantly better than the B&M Cyo I have on other bikes.

This is the first time I have used compact drop handlebars, so I have left them untaped for the time being in case I want to alter the brake lever positions.

[Danneaux]

Absolutely stunning build, Martin; all compliments your way. I think the T/A cranks and rings look magnificent on it.

Yes, wise to leave the compact drop 'bars untapped till you can ride/play with them a bit.

All the best,

Dan.

[in4]

There is something wonderfully juxtaposed about the build. I love the contrast of the classic chain ring, leather toe straps. pedals  and shallow drops combined with the  rohloff etc. I was also struck by how close the bottom of the drops are to the secondary brake levers ( must be a 'proper' word for them) Nice one!

Ian N-1  For now!

[John Saxby]

Nice clean lines, Martin--the red and black set off the bike's lines very well, and the silver detailing makes for a sharp contrast.  Enjoy!

[ians]

that's a handsome looking bike.

[jul]

Old school style combined with a modern rohloff transmission..

Well done !

[macspud]

What is that that I spy on the rear rack mount in the third pic?

[martinf]

Address plate.

Used to be mandatory here in France.

A relic from the days when cyclists had to pay a yearly tax on their bikes. The tax was abolished in 1959 and the address plate became facultative in 1995.

I still fit them to the family bikes, with the hope that if a bike is stolen by a casual thief and then abandoned I might get it back.

[Neil Jones]

Superb build Martin, love your setup.

You did well to get the XTR brakes, they go for ridiculous money secondhand.

I bought my RST with flat bars although if I was to buy again I'd spec drops now. Looking forward to hearing how it rides

Best,
Neil

[martinf]

You did well to get the XTR brakes, they go for ridiculous money secondhand.

I originally planned on getting a more basic model of brake, but the mechanic I know at the LBS had had the XTR en stock for a few years, he persuaded me to buy the front and rear set for 50 euros.

There was a posting on the forum recently about the need for a special washer when fitting the Rohloff cable hanger to XTR, so I wasn't caught out with that during the build.

[martinf]

The RST build is the first time I have set up the Rohloff shifter cables, I did have a bit of trouble with this, at one stage I undid the wrong grubscrew and had to take off the bellows to refit the internal cable.

I had a spare "Easy" internal cable set in stock in case I bodged things completely. But I reckon it was good training doing this in the workshop at home, it should make it easier if I ever have to do cable replacements on tour, probably not with the RST, but more likely with my Raven Tour.

One thing I could have done better is the brake cable adjusters. I used in-line adjusters, which add another break in the cable housing, as I forgot to order the special noodles with built-in cable adjusters, which are neater.

The bracket for the Cateye rear lamp is also a bit ugly, but it was the only strong steel bracket I had in stock that would easily fit in that location on top of the mudguard. I like having two rear lamps, the generator powered B&M Secula mounted lower down on the mudguard is very lightweight and gives an even patch of light that is reasonably visible to traffic approaching from behind, whereas the Cateye LD1100 is a "point" source, with 6 LEDs pointing directly backwards and 2 LEDs pointing directly sideways on each side. This increases side visibility significantly, particularly important on roundabouts and road junctions.

[Matt2matt2002]

I'm a big Chaingliger fan.
Did you fit one?

[martinf]

Not yet, there isn't a Chainglider for 50x19.

50x19 gives a gear range of about 18" to 95", which is a slightly lower top gear than I have on my old derailleur lightweight bike, but a higher range than on my Raven Tour, the latter has 37x16, so about 17" to 89".

Not had the time to ride the Raven Sport Tour much yet, but I reckon the 50x19 combination should be about right for me.

I think a non-Rohloff specific Chainglider rear part for 18-22 sprockets would probably fit without rubbing on the Rohloff hub, and Chainglider front parts are available for 48T, 44T, 42T and 38T ring sizes, so a Chainglider may be an option in the future if I reduce the gearing a bit.

I have 42, 44, 46, 48, 52 and 54 size TA rings in stock, so it will be easy to increase or decrease the gearing.

[geocycle]

I couldn't get a chainglider to work on my 536l RST. The clearances were too tight. Your larger frame might be better I suppose. It did go on but didn't glide like on my Raven tour and rubbed on the frame.

[martinf]

My Raven Sport Tour is the biggest size, 611S.

I borrowed the Chainglider D18 rear part for 18-22 sprockets off my old 650B bike, and tried it (without the front part) on the RST. It seems to fit without rubbing on the seatstay or the Rohloff hub, but I can't test it in operation with my current chainring.