Appearances (sorry)

[ians]

quote:Originally posted by PH
The only consolation is that when you're riding it you're not the one looking at it
 

unless of course you ride past shop windows - wondering if your bum looks big.

Wheezy - sounds as if you want to ride with drops?  A cyclo-cross bike seems a good all-rounder - C+ certainly promote that view.  But - you didn't tell us what you actually want the bike for.  It's usually horses (or donkeys) for courses.  Or fitness for purpose.  I'm lucky enough to have more than one bike so I chose the RST for a particular purpose.

And sometimes things that are ugly can be (techically) beautiful.  Which is why I drive an old Citroen car.

[frog]

Going on the C+ forum and raising your head above the parapet and shouting 'Thorn' can lead to pages of folk, most very knowledgable, telling you where you went wrong.  It's true that there is a very small set of formulas which make a really great bike.  But, for me it's 'horses for courses' and what I've bought reflects what I want to get out of cycling.

My Raven Tour is one year old tomorrow and we've done 5828 miles.  I had a few days off the bike through illness last year so it should over 6000.  If I didn't like it I wouldn't run that sort of mileage up on it.  Mine has been described as the 'vicar's bike' and a 'laura ashley armchair with wheels'.  Those who mock me have done less than half the miles on their ultra modern carbon racers.  My favourite response to a friend at work who calls my Raven 'Massy-Ferguson' is 'Just how much is a cassette and chain these days?'

[freddered]

I've just done over 3000 miles on my Raven Tour now.

1) I've Audaxed up to 300km in a day on it.
2) I've just (Today) done my Personal-Best time on it round my 15 mile "Lunchtime Circuit"
3) I've carried a full camping load through Devon, Dorset and Hants.
4) I've commuted with a heavy load up to 46 miles a day.
5) I've done leisurely sunny-Sunday Pub Rides on it.
6) I've washed it with soapy water and a brush a few times
7) I've changed 25ml of oil in the hub (15 minute job)
I've replaced a chain (for a no-rust one)

The bike will do everything (quietly), apart from Race, with the minimum of fuss/maintainance and the maximum of comfort.
Trust me when I say that the bike is designed correctly.

I think it looks bloody lovely in a chunky, purposeful sort of way but I really don't care too much.

[The Raucous AUK]

My Cyclosportif has done me proud and seen me through my first 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km audax rides but nobody will convince me that the design is right and mine only fits me by use of an excessive number of spacers. The head tube is at least 2cm too short. It's got nothing to do with fashion police or spacer police. A traditional frame with a 545mm c-c seat tube will have a head tube of at least 14cm whilst my 545M Cyclosportif has a 12cm head tube! It's just wrong!

To be fair, it's a superbly well-built frameset with perfect fillet brazing, a stunning paint job and good handling but, to me, it will always be a flawed diamond. I'd love to buy another Thorn but not until they address this issue.

[wheezy]

I think it should be reported to the Head Tube Police.

[wheezy]

Freddered – Yours looks like one of the smaller sizes for the shorter legged gent. In many ways it looks like a scaled (though chunky) 700c bike, and all the better for it. Unfortunately my own legs account for 90% of my total bodily height, and the larger frame sizes look increasingly out of proportion to the wheels.

Maybe a super-extended seatpost and stem would work for me. (Did I mention my arms are so long, I can pedal with my hands?)

[WindyRob]

First Post on this forum so please be gentle!

I brought a cyclosportif last month for my 40th, which isn't until the 13th June so only a few days to wait[][][]. I have not been allowed to ride it so have had to content myself with staring longingly at her (Sugar Blue is in the Kitchen next to my favourite chair).

As for appearances I think she is stunning. I looked at a giant SCR 1 but then I would have a bike like everyone else on the road. I followed a bit of advice that I saw on the C+ forum: pick a bike that fits what you will do most of the time. I tend to cycle relatively quickly for a couple of hours in the Southdown’s. Knew I’d never tour (Wife doesn't cycle) but thought I might do a credit card C2C. The thorn ticked all the boxes as they say.

I’ve only a few days to wait until I can ride her. If she rides as good as she looks then I think I’m in for a long and happy relationship. I’ll let you know how we get on[]

I'd post a picture if i could work out how to do it!

[freddered]

quote:Originally posted by wheezy

Freddered – Yours looks like one of the smaller sizes for the shorter legged gent. In many ways it looks like a scaled (though chunky) 700c bike, and all the better for it. Unfortunately my own legs account for 90% of my total bodily height, and the larger frame sizes look increasingly out of proportion to the wheels.

Maybe a super-extended seatpost and stem would work for me. (Did I mention my arms are so long, I can pedal with my hands?)

It's a 537S (originally I had 537L with Comfort Bars but swapped to drops and needed shorter top tube for reach).  I'm 5'10".

Why don't you get one, ride past shop windows for 100 days and send it back if you don't like the reflection.  Chances are you'll like what it feels like so much that you won't care about your reflection.

[The Raucous AUK]

Nice one WindyRob! You'll certainly find it a versatile machine. Apart from audax, I've done a light tour (three days with two nights B&B) and might even do the odd long-distance time-trial on mine as I don't have a suitable TT bike at the moment.

The two best things about it for me are the stiffness at the back end (must be those beefy chainstays because when you press hard on the pedals you can feel the bike respond with forward motion) and its stability when descending - it's easily the best bike I've had when descending at speed. I think the steel fork and oversize headset help make it rock solid.



Anyway, let us know how things go when you take her out.

[frog]

quote:I think it should be reported to the Head Tube Police.

Nah!  I find the 'Bernard Cribbins There-I-was-digging-this-hole' approach is better.  []

[WindyRob]

so how do you add an image to a post, does the image have to be on the net first? Because when i cut and paste the image it opens a new internet explorer page and this one is lost.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread but i just want to show her off, is it too much to ask?[]

[The Raucous AUK]

For me, I upload to NTL/Virgin Photobox. Open up two IE's with one on the forum and one on Photobox. Find my target picture on photobox, select it, right-click, copy the properties and paste it into my reply adding (img) and (/img) at the start and finish.

Edited: The brackets need to be square brackets [ ]. When I used square brackets in the text above it thought I was adding a photograph and put up the red cross of death square!

[freddered]

quote:Originally posted by WindyRob

so how do you add an image to a post, does the image have to be on the net first? Because when i cut and paste the image it opens a new internet explorer page and this one is lost.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread but i just want to show her off, is it too much to ask?[]

Join Photobucket.com

They have a neat [/IMG] link already created to cut paste

[wheezy]

quote:It's a 537S (originally I had 537L with Comfort Bars but swapped to drops and needed shorter top tube for reach).  I'm 5'10".

That's interesting. I'm also 5'10", and the RST I test rode was a 536L. I still had loads of TT clearance on the 561, but maybe the smaller bike with a longer stem would be OK. It sort of goes against the grain to be altering the fit of a bike rather than going for the largest appropriate frame size first.

[freddered]

On checking again, I am 5' 11".

I have, comparitively, short arms and long legs so reach is always an issue.

I sat on bikes at SJSC until one felt right.  It was the 537.  3500 miles later I know I made the right choice.  I've sat on it for 20 hours in a day and, although most of my body ached, I couldn't have managed 20 hours on any of my other bikes.  I've done 10-12 hours at a time in comfort a few times.