Raven V Nomad

[Andre Jute]

Sorry for wasting people's time here.

No worries! Offers to help with good intent are always welcome. Sometimes, even a tangential bit of information can help in making a decision, especially when a person hasn't ridden the bikes in question.

There's also the legitimate case that Thorn bikes are so long-lived that someone, who just has to have a particular model or configuration no longer produced, might reasonably start looking for a second hand version, so reports of earlier versions are good to have, and that's besides the heritage and provenance and capability questions, which would make discussions by those with experience welcome to the new owner. Or... without the reports of earlier versions, the prospective Thorn owner may not even discover that he should be looking for a used bike.

[mickeg]

For an expedition bike like the Nomad, I like to have a healthy amount of clearance between my 57mm tires and fenders in case I get some mud on my tire, etc.  First photo shows that I have a small spacer between my fender and frame for my Nomad rear fender, second photo shows I have almost no gap between the front fork and fender.  Maybe you could put a 650b tire on there if you wanted skinny tires, but skinny tires is not what the Nomad was designed for.  I think it is pretty much a 26 inch bike.

I think lack of tire availability was a much bigger problem before the internet.  I have an old bike that I quit riding in the 1980s because I could no longer find tires to fit it.  They were out there, but not where I was looking.  The bike took 650b tires, which have become common again and been re-branded as 27.5 to give them a new modern sound.  But now with the internet and huge number of suppliers that sell over the internet, I think worries about lack of 26 inch tires in a few decades is not a big concern. 

[RobertL]

How close is the new Raven to the RST?

Five years on my RST with 13,000 miles plus, still enjoying the ride of this problem free machine. The old Shimano Alfine was changed to a Rohloff but was reincarnated into my old Diamond Back. The Rohloff is great - just gives you confidence that you could ride thousands of miles.

[bike_the_planet]

But I don't think V-brakes will go away any time soon,

No, I don't think they will either.

But you may be restricted in future in your choice of  26" rim-brake compatible replacement rims with specialist touring providers, like SJS Cycles.

Cheers,

Tony

[Mike Ayling]

But I don't think V-brakes will go away any time soon,

No, I don't think they will either.

But you may be restricted in future in your choice of  26" rim-brake compatible replacement rims with specialist touring providers, like SJS Cycles.

Cheers,

Tony

What, no more CSS coated Andra rims?
Not a worry to me as the ones on our tandem are likely to outlast me.

And I agree you can't go past the simplicity of V brakes and in most conditions they are just as good as discs.

Mike