Class 
Fred what have you in those panniers serious question i trying to figure out a packing list for my two week tour of ireland, but i dont want to use front panniers,yours look pretty empty to me or a least you could certainly get a hell of a lot more gear in the rear.
great photos btw.
Ha...I was just testing how it handled on Friday night for an hour so my packing list consists of all the clothes I could grab and stuff into panniers. One pannier has my tent in it and looks half full.
However..my plan is to stuff my sleeping bag into one front pannier and possibly my tent into the other (tent pole on the rack maybe). That would leave my mattress to be rolled up on the rack (in a drybag) and leave 2 large panniers for clothes, wash bag, cooking stuff and so on.
To be honest I may have more capacity than I need but the idea was about balancing the load rather than increasing it. That has clearly worked because the bike handles very nicely. It will also enable me to keep a (possibly) wet tent separate, in it's own pannier.
I should also mention that the Tubus "Duo" rack is superb, very high quality, solid, and fairly discreet as front racks go.
I needed to dig out a couple of spacers to make it fit properly (chrome V-Brake lock nuts seem to have been designed especially for this purpose) and it may need a bit of innertube, where the hooks fasten to the rack, to stop the tiniest amount of rattling, but otherwise I'm delighted with the combination.
My aim for this thread was to post photos of my bike in as many situations as possible. I remember when I was deciding on the Thorn, I wanted to see as many photos as possible myself. There's more to buying a bike than technical specs, there's a touch of imagining yourself in some distant country, self sufficient and sleeping under the stars.
It was seeing Thorn Ravens, "fully loaded" that did it for me. I loved the fact that the bike was 100% designed to have panniers bolted to it, front and back, that it handled better the more luggage you hung off it.
I've thought about selling it more than once. I went for 2 years hardly using it, choosing a "fast tourer" for my Audax adventures (there's no doubt the RT can't compete against my Condor Fratello when it comes to covering miles quickly in comfort) but now, when my mind has turned to cycle camping, there's really only one bike in my garage suited.
I'm fairly sure now that I'll own the bike for life, even if it's just for the occasional camping trip and to get me through winter (it really does shake off the worst of winter with no complaints).
Hopefully the photos continue to let people imagine themselves owning such a bike and helps them make a decision about buying one.
Whatever people say about it being heavy, remember that mine has got me round a 600km (370 miles) Audax ride in under 2 days. It really is fast enough for most people and is also suited to travelling the globe with luggage. That's a rare combination I think.
Mind you....there may be some different choices to make from Thorn shortly..hint hint.
