Mercury with Frame Bags

[ian.mccolm]

Hi All,

First post in the forum, so I'll apologies up front in case this is in the wrong section!

Thinking of getting a Mercury for mid to lightweight camping touring - the Thorn Mega Brochure has great detail about the weights you can carry with front and rear carriers but I can't find any similar information on the weight you can be expected to carry with seat, frame and handlebar bags.

Does anyone have any experience of frame bags on Thorns, in particular the Mercury?

Many thanks,

Ian

[jags]

Welcome to the forum Ian i ride an  Thorn audax sorry cant help on the max weight only thing i can tell you the thorn bikes are built like tanks so don't worry about over weight .

jags

[Mike Ayling]

I own a Mercury and I would say it would be more like a light armoured car than a tank!

Generally speaking a heavy handlebar bag does affect the bike handling and the frame triangle is quite small compared to a traditional tourer so measure your frame bag before you place your order.

Nevertheless it is a fun bike to ride compared to a traditional tourer.

Mike

[ian.mccolm]

Thanks Jags and Mike!

I've got a Nomad MK2 so I know the build quality is excellent...   I've got the go anywhere 'tank', am just looking for something a little more spritely so I can cover more miles per day with a light to medium load - mostly road or light off road.

Just concerned about the handling and difference in the Mercury's weight carrying ability using frame bags instead of racks...

Thanks for the tip about the triangle size Mike, I'll keep that in mind!

Birthday today, so if ever I needed an excuse to spoil myself with a Mercury, today's the day! 

Ian

[julk]

ian,
I use a revelate tangle bag in the frame of my expr to carry the small and very heavy metal items such as a d-lock and bike tools.
You just have to buy one that fits as they come in different lengths and depths.
I have a medium and can just fit a couple of bottle holders with bottles below it.
I think keeping the weight within the frame solves most handling problems.
julian

[ian.mccolm]

Hi Julian,

I had a look at the revelate tangle bag today and I like the look of them, makes a lot of sense what you're saying too, so thanks for your input.

I definitely think that's the route I'll go down.

Now to sneak another bike past the ever watching other half! :-)

Many thanks,

Ian

[jags]

if you need any advice of conning the wife give me a shout she still thinks i paid 35 euro for my bike 

jags.

[Hubs]

Have a look at the Mercury about  8  bikes down this list; there are also youtube videos showing the luggage set up.

http://www.seanconway.com/my-bikes.html

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JTMkhH7T5uY

[ian.mccolm]

Thanks for the links Hubs!  The setup looks great!

[mickeg]

I got a really cheap frame bag that I can put on my Nomad Mk II size 590M on Ebay.  When I ordered it, the description of dimensions was terrible so I did not know if it would fit at all, but it fits well and I have room for one bottle too.  I added two straps to it so I could strap it to the head tube and the downtube instead of to the seattube which it was designed for.

I am not sure if I will ever use it for touring, but it was a nice bag to have when I pretended that my Nomad was a mountain bike.  I am guessing that it has about 5 liters of volume.

[ian.mccolm]

Semi-custom bag... I like it, Mickeg.

Spec'd my Mercury over the phone with Thorn on Friday... now need to start looking for bags, I like what you've done there!

Ian