New Thorn Brochures up!

[Mike Ayling]

Has the Raven been discontinued?

Hoot

 The designer is reaching or maybe past 'retirement'.

The designer of the catalogue or the designer of the bikes?
Or is it the same person?
I often wonder if there is a sucession plan in place at Thorn.

Mike

[leftpoole]

Has the Raven been discontinued?

Hoot

 The designer is reaching or maybe past 'retirement'.

The designer of the catalogue or the designer of the bikes?
Or is it the same person?
I often wonder if there is a sucession plan in place at Thorn.

Mike

Hello,
Designer of cycles and as far as I’m aware, the web pages also. I’ll ask him next time I speak to him.
John

[Pavel]

The one thing that the new catalogues really need, are updated stories and photos - perhaps from some of you all, the customers, who've gone on some fantastic trips.

[macspud]

I was wondering the same thing about the Raven and the Sherpa.  Wonderful bikes but I guess Thorn are rationalising the range.

I suppose that if a Nomad is overkill for your needs but you want a fat tyre they now have the option of a 650B Club Tour or Mercury depending your preference of transmission.

For everything apart from exhibition touring I suppose 650B tyres have supplanted the 26",  there's a terrific choice of 650B tyres on the market now too.

As an owner of a 26" Thorn Rohloff tandem and a 26" Rohloff Surly my colours are, for the time being very much nailed to the 26" mast.       

Joe B, did you mean exhibition touring or do you mean expedition touring? lol.

[John Saxby]

As an owner of a 26" Thorn Rohloff tandem and a 26" Rohloff Surly my colours are, for the time being very much nailed to the 26" mast.

Joe, I have just checked the vertical positioning of the brake pads on my Raven's Deore V-brakes fore and aft.  At the rear, I still have 15 mm of adjustment remaining, so I think I could just fit a 650B rim there. At the front, I have 20-plus mm of vertical adjustment remaining.

Similarly, there's 20 mm or so of vertical adjustment available for fenders fore and aft.  Currently, I use a 20mm spacer plus steel and leather or rubber washers in setting the vertical clearance on both fenders.

If Schwalbe were to decide that my precious 26" Supremes are all-of-a-sudden passé, then I think I could fit a 650B rim and tire instead.

I don't know the dimensions of either your Thorn tandem or your Surly, but you might check your brake and fender mountings, to see what vertical adjustment remains.

[Andre Jute]

Joe B, did you mean exhibition touring or do you mean expedition touring? lol.

Dinyaknow, it's in the folklore: Lord and Lady Godiva rode into town on a Thorn Tandem?

[Danneaux]

...If Schwalbe were to decide that my precious 26" Supremes are all-of-a-sudden passé, then I think I could fit a 650B rim and tire instead.

Happily, I found my late 2011 Sherpa Mk 2 was capable of taking 650B rims and tires: http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3893.msg20016#msg20016
...and my 2012 Nomad Mk2 in size 590M will too: http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7553.msg49661#msg49661

The brake pads only have to move upward 12.5mm, often possible on Thorn frames with v-brake posts because they thoughtfully fit the posts with the pads near the bottom of the adjustment slots to maximize arm/cable clearance. Once you determine you have enough brake pad adjustment to reach the larger diameter 650B rim, then the next obstacle is to see of you have room for the tires as well. The larger outside diameter of 650B means you would need to fit a smaller tire to match a 26in equivalent for the same outside diameter. For example, my 26x2.0 (measuring 47-50mm actual depending on inflation) Schwalbe Duremes are within 1mm of the same outside diameter as a 650x38B tire like the Grand Bois Lierre. To fit 650 tires larger than 38mm, all you need do is measure for the extra needed clearance between the tire and fork crown, seatstay and chainstay bridges, and side to side to make sure you have space between the fork blades and stays. Once you've done that it will be clear if you could also fit mudguards with the larger tires. Many Thorns with 26 x 2.0 tires have generous clearances and are fitted with spacers between the 'guards and crown/bridges for a cleaner look with mudguards. If you need additional mud clearance, you can remove the spacers. Same for switching to a larger diameter 650B tire. The "rub" (literally) will be lateral clearance at the fork blades and at the rear, typically moreso at the seatstays - especially if you have fastback seatstays as on the Sherpas and Ravens. The Nomad has extra width there thanks to the wider placement of the upper steastay ends/caps alongside the seat lug.

If my experience is typical, there is indeed some "legacy" (backward) 650B compatibility for Thorns shod with 26in tires. This is my hedge against the future, too...along with a disc-compatible Rohloff end cap in case I need to modernize from a rear v-brake.

Best,

Dan.

[macspud]

Joe B, did you mean exhibition touring or do you mean expedition touring? lol.

Dinyaknow, it's in the folklore: Lord and Lady Godiva rode into town on a Thorn Tandem?

 

[Pavel]

...If Schwalbe were to decide that my precious 26" Supremes are all-of-a-sudden passé, then I think I could fit a 650B rim and tire instead.

Happily, I found my late 2011 Sherpa Mk 2 was capable of taking 650B rims and tires: http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3893.msg20016#msg20016
...and my 2012 Nomad Mk2 in size 590M will too: http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=7553.msg49661#msg49661

The brake pads only have to move upward 12.5mm, often possible on Thorn frames with v-brake posts because they thoughtfully fit the posts with the pads near the bottom of the adjustment slots to maximize arm/cable clearance. Once you determine you have enough brake pad adjustment to reach the larger diameter 650B rim, then the next obstacle is to see of you have room for the tires as well. The larger outside diameter of 650B means you would need to fit a smaller tire to match a 26in equivalent for the same outside diameter. For example, my 26x2.0 (measuring 47-50mm actual depending on inflation) Schwalbe Duremes are within 1mm of the same outside diameter as a 650x38B tire like the Grand Bois Lierre. To fit 650 tires larger than 38mm, all you need do is measure for the extra needed clearance between the tire and fork crown, seatstay and chainstay bridges, and side to side to make sure you have space between the fork blades and stays. Once you've done that it will be clear if you could also fit mudguards with the larger tires. Many Thorns with 26 x 2.0 tires have generous clearances and are fitted with spacers between the 'guards and crown/bridges for a cleaner look with mudguards. If you need additional mud clearance, you can remove the spacers. Same for switching to a larger diameter 650B tire. The "rub" (literally) will be lateral clearance at the fork blades and at the rear, typically moreso at the seatstays - especially if you have fastback seatstays as on the Sherpas and Ravens. The Nomad has extra width there thanks to the wider placement of the upper steastay ends/caps alongside the seat lug.

If my experience is typical, there is indeed some "legacy" (backward) 650B compatibility for Thorns shod with 26in tires. This is my hedge against the future, too...along with a disc-compatible Rohloff end cap in case I need to modernize from a rear v-brake.

Best,

Dan.

She used a Thudbuster, and that is why she looks so serene and noble in all those paintings.?

[PH]

I note from the Mercury brochure that "Our decals are now high quality self-adhesive decals and replacements are available."  Which I think must mean they're now on top of the lacquer rather than under it.  Pros and cons, but I dislike it.
Pros - You can remove them if you like the stealth look, or reposition them to cover a scrape or something else.
Cons -  Sooner or later they look tatty, getting better now it's a big thing in the commercial motor industry, but the smaller they are the harder they are to protect.  To me it's always been the sign of a cheap bike, even when stuck on some that are far from that.

[Prince of Darkness]

They used to make a positive about the decals being under the clear coat. Apparently their Taiwanese manufacturer was very pleased that the "Made in Taiwan" part was not on a removable sticker, as with most brands.

[leftpoole]

Hi,
Regarding decals.
I’m of the opinion that it’s a cost cutting exercise and it is one I personally dislike.
I have purchased over the past years, a number of frames and building in my opinion some rather nice bikes!
I will no longer be buying frames if the decals are on top of the lacquer.
Spa Cycles sell Chinese built frames and the decal is simply supplied with the frame! Not for me.
It is the first backward step in many years.
Is there other than cost another reason for this I wonder?
John

[mickeg]

I think a touring bike that occasionally is packed up for travel is much more likely to have the decals damaged in regular use than a bike used for other purposes.  I am sure my decals would look pretty bad on my yellow Nomad after packing it up a few times in the S&S case if there was not a clear coat over them.  There is visible damage to the paint in a number of spots on that bike, but it is an expedition bike, there are supposed to be a few scrapes and scratches in the finish.

The clear outer coat on my Nomad peeled off in a few spots, not sure if the frame was not prepped well enough or if the clear coat was off spec.  But fortunately it is not easily noticeable unless you are close enough to the bike to be working on it. The decals in this case fortunately have remained looking good.  I think the clear coat that peeled off was not on the decals, only where it was over the other paint layer.

The top clear coat on my Sherpa looks great.

I have several other bikes that are not used for touring that have a lot of miles on them.  They have not been packed up for travel since I bought the frames, those bikes do not show any wear and tear on the decals and the paint looks great.  I think how a bike looks depends in large part on how the bike is used and the potential for that type of use to show on the frame.  Touring can be tough on a bike finish.

I put a used Surly fork on my Titanium bike.  It took a lot of work to get the decals off that fork before I sprayed it a different color.

Some people remove the decals in an attempt to make the bike less likely to be stolen, but I am not sure how successful that is.  I do not park my better looking bikes in high theft areas, for example when I ride a bike to the local University campus, I take my early 90s vintage Bridgestone that has a lot of rust on it.  And when I park my Titanium bike somewhere, I use my best lock since that is my most expensive looking bike.

[Bill C]

had my sherpa nearly 10 years now i nearly  didn't buy it as i really wanted a frame that would take disk brakes,
it was a toss up between the sherpa or a surly troll, no regrets but next NEW bike won't be a thorn, don't want rohloff don't want 650 or 700 wheels and i think the nomad would be overkill for my needs
had been patiently waiting for Thorn to finally get around to updating the sherpa to a more modern spec looks like I'm going to be looking at a Intec m1 disk next time

as for stickers on top of lacquer don't like them they look naff don't last and are to easily removed if the bike is stolen
imo they should of kept the stainless head badge as even after a respray they still look good and no denying they were a thorn before the respray

[Danneaux]

imo they should of kept the stainless head badge as even after a respray they still look good and no denying they were a thorn before the respray

I see the
Thorn logo is cast into the new eccentric bottom bracket shells and may still appear on the dropouts, making origin discernible after a respray.   

That said, I sure liked the original brazed-on stainless headbadge from the days when Thorn had its frameworks onsite or contracted for them to be built under contract in the UK.

Best,

Dan.