Jay's Raven Tour

[SafetyThird]

After recently buying a second hand Raven Tour and receiving some very useful wisdom from the forum folks here, I've recently gone about making a few upgrades to make it fit me and my plans.

I've added a Son dynohub in an Andra 30 rim and I must say a big thank you to @Danneaux for the information he's put on here about wiring his own dynamo lighting and I pretty much copied his. The lights are a Spanninga Axendo 60 at the front and the Spanninga Elips at the back. Additionally I've wired in a Powerbug usb charger to charge phone/batterypack when away for a few days. Not seen anyone else review these but it was £30 shipped from Poland, is waterproof and seems simple. The battery pack will live in the top tube bag.

I've gone with the On-One Geoff bar which is a copy of the Jones H Loop bar and it's very comfy. I had to add a stem raiser to get it to a height that was right for me. Ergon GC1 grips are just perfect for the Jones bars and are very comfortable. There's a Thorn accessory bar to mount my old Arkel bar bag. I'm not sure how well that will work so far out in front but the accessory bar was cheaper than a bikepacking type of rig so I'll try it and see how I like it. Once I'm happy with the bar and not adding any more gadgets, I'll wrap it with tape to make the additional hand positions more comfortable.

As the chain was an X1 and fairly new, I swapped the front chain ring for a Surley stainless version and added a Chainglider. Not sure if I'll need to trim the front pieces yet, it fitted fine but there's a bit of noise which may just be bedding in so I'll not make any adjustments just yet. One surprise is that the chainring bolts don't quite snug up tight. The bolts go all the way into the back sections of the bolt but only so far, leaving a very slight gap. The chainring doesn't really move at all but there's a tiny bit of play. I figured the bolts would be a standard size but I guess I'll have to find some slightly smaller ones.

There's a Topeak Road Morph pump and my brooks flyer saddle which I'm still tweaking for the best position, I think that'll take a little while.

Lastly, some spoke reflectors and a front mudguard extension round things out. The only thing still needed is a more suitable bag for repair spares to go under the saddle as the springs on the flyer stop the typical small seat pack from fitting neatly.

Oh and I have to do an oil change on the Rohloff. Other than that, it's pretty close and just needs me to go out and ride it a lot.

[Danneaux]

Hi Jay!

My, you've done a lovely job setting up your Raven Tour -- it looks grand!

Though I own a Nomad Mk2, i have ridden a Raven Tour extensively and found it to be a fine bicycle that always served me well. I predict many happy miles ahead for you. 

All the best,

Dan.

[SafetyThird]

Thanks very much, this forum is a real inspiration.

On the chain glider, here's some photos of the install, does anyone think the chain cover should be cut down further or does it look about right? My finger is on the end of the front pieces.

[SafetyThird]

and some extra dynamo light instal photos in case they're of help to anyone else.

[martinf]

I've not cut any of the 6 Chaingliders fitted to family bikes. One reason for not cutting is that on Raven Tour frames you should allow for some adjustment as the chain wears and the eccentric bottom bracket moves forwards.

Current settings of the rear adjustable part vary from -1 bar top/5 bars bottom on my "touring" Raven Tour to 7 top/13 bottom on my wife's bike.

Difference between top and bottom ranges from 4 to 7 bars depending on the bike.

The optimum adjustment is quite fine, even 1 bar seems to make a difference. And I reckon it can only be done by riding the bike, a setting that is quiet when backpedalling can be noisy when riding. The setting will need to be changed slightly over time as the chain wears. I think (but am not sure) that this means opening the bottom part by one bar at a time to compensate for the extra chain slack.

On some bikes the Chainglider was fairly quiet from the start, on others it needed a bedding in period, notably on my first non-optimum installation on my old utility bike with a rather thick TA 1/8" chainring and 1/8" chain. But contrary to some who have tried Chaingliders I have never experienced excessive drag, and the faint rubbing noise has never bothered me. If I really try and listen on a smooth road with no traffic I can sometimes still hear it, but on all the family setups it is insignificant compared to tyre noise and wind.

Chain wear is slow, so I haven't yet needed to adjust the eccentric on the 3 Raven Tour frames, logically when I do need to adjust it would mean opening the top part by one or several bars.

_____________________

An alternative to getting the correct length chainring bolts is to fit extra washers between the bolts and the chainring or crank.

[Matt2matt2002]

Great pictures.
I'm a Raven Tour guy with a Chainglider.
Picture looks fine. Give it a while to bed in before worrying about that noise.
The only issue I have had is with the front clip sometimes coming loose. But that was after 4+ years!

I'm interested in the Powerbug from Poland. I see it on the UK eBay site.
Please give your opinion/ usage/ issues.

Best regards.
Matt

[SafetyThird]

Thanks very much for the advice on the chain glider, I'll leave it for now and let it bed in and then see how it is.

Matt, the Powerbug is cheaper bought direct from their website, https://powerbug.pl, it's in polish but google translate worked just fine and PayPal was easy for payment. I've only used it once and that was a very hilly afternoon. I had my phone on constantly running Komoot with the screen on max brightness. The battery was at 40% when I set out and 5 hours later I'd gone through the small battery I use as a cache battery so I'm not sure yet how effective it is but it's certainly working. That was also with my old very cheap Shimano dynohub.

Once I've done a few rides with the new setup I'll report back but it looks favourable for the money so far.

[geocycle]

Congratulations on a well specced bike. I had a similar problem when changing to the thinner Surly ring. SJS recommended some spacing washers to use with the existing bolts. This also helped centring  the chain ring. I never actually got it right and In the end I the surly ring was slightly asymmetrical.

[PH]

Interesting and individual bike, you've certainly made it your own.
I'm interested how you get on with the bars, I'm considering them for a non Thorn bike, but I'm a little wary of having the grips behind the steerer, does that not feel odd?  I've ridden a Dutch bike like that, but of course it was designed that way with very different steering geometry.
That's some bar bag! I think I have some panniers smaller than that.  Be interesting to hear how that effects the steering, though it being lower might minimise that.

[Andre Jute]

That's a nicely fitted-out bike.

I don't know whether SJS passed them on, but once upon a time, possibly still, every Rohloff box was supplied ex-factory with a set of chainring spacers to convert a bike from derailleurs to HGB. Or you can just buy spacers, which are also very useful to get the chainlink straight to within Rohloff's mandatory 1mm.

[SafetyThird]

Thanks for the notes about chainring spacers, I'll look up a set of those. An alternative is just to grind the end off the threaded section and shorten them a mm or so.

The bars are certainly different. The only longish 28 mile ride I've done with them so far was with them much lower before I put the stem riser on. I think it'll be a lot more comfortable raised where it is now. Initial results are very positive, it's a comfy position and I'll report back after a few more rides.

The bar bag is an experiment. It's an old bag I've had for years so trying it out. I might go with a bike packing alternative such as https://restrap.com/collections/bar-bags/products/bar-bag-large but I do like the ease of getting at things with a traditional bar bag and the ease with which it detaches. I guess a lot depends on how much weight you put in it, I tend to use it for snacks, waterproof, repair kit etc so I don't have to dig into the panniers regularly.

[PH]

Thanks for the notes about chainring spacers, I'll look up a set of those. An alternative is just to grind the end off the threaded section and shorten them a mm or so.

Before you do it's worth measuring your chainline and noting which sprocket you have, the perfect chainline for the original screw on type is 54mm, with the slimline carrier it's 55mm and the with the standard carrier it's 57mm.

I might go with a bike packing alternative such as https://restrap.com/collections/bar-bags/products/bar-bag-large but I do like the ease of getting at things with a traditional bar bag and the ease with which it detaches.

I like some of the current bikepacking options, but when it comes to bar bags I'm a traditionalist for the very reasons you give.

[Pavel]

That is a very nice looking bike that you've put your own stamp on. 

I'd be highly interested in more details on the wiring of your lights.  It seems a very well thought out run of wire and the connectors look to be a good touch, and of good quality.  Who manufactures them? Details on the thinking behind the setup would be greatly appreciated. 

To me the bars seem like just what I may need, as I always feel stretched out even on a short frame one size two small.  What has stopped me in the past is my passion for a bar bag, the Carradice super C in my case, and it is important for me to have easy access to the bag with one hand while on the go.  How is the bar/bag combo so far?

[SafetyThird]

Thanks very much. The lighting ideas were copied from *Danneaux who came up with the idea of using this type of connector, his threads are all linked in this post: http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=12065.msg87783#msg87783 The idea is to not have to remove the connectors from the dynohub itself which can be pretty tight. Also, I wanted to be able to remove each section of the loom without dismantling everything. So I can take the rear light off without disturbing the front light or charging. The charging is all separate from the lighting, the front light can be removed without touching the wiring to the hub, etc.

The Jones bars are interesting, they're wider than anything I've ridden with before, but very comfortable. There's multiple hand positions and I'll tape up the bars with bar tape once I've settled on any accessory mounting. Tou can change the reach by changing the stem length without touching all the things on the bars. So far the bag is working ok but I've not been on a loaded ride with it yet, I'm hoping to do a short 3 day tour in the next few weeks and will report back then.

[leftpoole]

Hello,
First of all, the bike looks good, obviously.
The cable connectors recommended by the illustrious Dan are, of course as is his want, overkill. The cables coming from the Dynamo Hub down under the fork are in a seriously poor space and will one day be caught up in passing bushes brambles etc and torn free. The cable run along the centre of the rear rack is obviously sensible, but it does not look very tidy in my opinion.
So even great looking bikes, with great ideas can be improved.!
The bars are of course one mans perfection and another's poison.......
Mostly enjoy riding the bike.
Best regards,
John