New Mk3 Mercury

[alexmac]

Back garden photos of the Mercury I bought at the beginning of the summer. 700c size 61L Mk3 Blue Imron. More or less the 'default' spec as of 2020:

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This is my first Thorn bike. I've only been riding it for a few months but I'm happy to answer any questions about my impressions so far.

[Matt2matt2002]

Lovely bike and background.
Question: the thin USB (?) wire running front to saddle?

[PH]

Very nice, though I would say that as it's similar to my own 
A question - are the decals under or over the lacquer?  I ask out of interest rather than any need to know, the brochure says they're now using high quality vinyl and they replaceable, which would indicate they're on top, yet on my recent frame they are under.
Nice garden BTW, though your lawn could do with a trim.

[geocycle]

Lovely bike, v nicely specced. I didn’t know it had the bottle fix under the down tube. What are your plans for it?

Must be a pain to have all those visitors in your garden when you’ve got the builders in!

[alexmac]

The wire runs from a power bank under the saddle to my phone on the handlebars - I find that if I use the turn-by-turn navigation on my phone I only get a few hours out of the battery otherwise.

With the exception of the badge on the steerer tube which is stuck on top and looks decent, all the decals are under the lacquer and the finish over the top is completely smooth. I can’t really tell what they are made of. Also worth mentioning that the paint is full of glitter and more sparkly than you can really tell from photos.

I bought this intending to use it for everything - practically all my journeys are by bike. However, it’s so new and nice that so far I’m reluctant to leave it on any public bike racks so I’m going to keep using my old hard tail mtb tourer to commute and go to the shops etc. and keep this for weekend rides and holidays - mostly in France. .

[Matt2matt2002]

Neat idea for the battery pack under the seat.
Since buying a MotoG7 power last year, I have never run out of power.

[energyman]

Neat bike.
Can't understand why they put a disc brake on the rear as the max braking is on the front wheel.
Anyone enlighten me please ?

[PH]

The wire runs from a power bank under the saddle to my phone on the handlebars - I find that if I use the turn-by-turn navigation on my phone I only get a few hours out of the battery otherwise.

I thought that was probably what it was, though the long cable run seems unnecessary, when i do similar, I use a bar bar or top tube bag. But hey ho, it's not my bike.

all the decals are under the lacquer and the finish over the top is completely smooth. I can’t really tell what they are made of.

Maybe we're in a transition period, I've remembered the decals on my fork were on top, I say were because I peeled them off. 

Also worth mentioning that the paint is full of glitter and more sparkly than you can really tell from photos.

Yes, I think all the colours probably look better in real life than they do on the screen. 
On the subject of paint - If you haven't already, put some protective tape under the cables on down and seat tubes, that Imron paint is tough stuff but it'll still wear away.

[PH]

Neat bike.
Can't understand why they put a disc brake on the rear as the max braking is on the front wheel.
Anyone enlighten me please ?

Clean, no rim wear so less times the Rohloff wheel needs re-building.  Also has the option of a front disc fork.
For myself, I'd have been happy with v brakes both ends, but I'm sure Thorn know what sells better than I do.

[leftpoole]

Neat bike.
Can't understand why they put a disc brake on the rear as the max braking is on the front wheel.
Anyone enlighten me please ?

Clean, no rim wear so less times the Rohloff wheel needs re-building.  Also has the option of a front disc fork.
For myself, I'd have been happy with v brakes both ends, but I'm sure Thorn know what sells better than I do.

It is, in my opinion a really daft idea to have mismatched brakes. It is a good job bicycles are not subject to an MOT!
John

[Matt2matt2002]

Neat bike.
Can't understand why they put a disc brake on the rear as the max braking is on the front wheel.
Anyone enlighten me please ?

Clean, no rim wear so less times the Rohloff wheel needs re-building.  Also has the option of a front disc fork.
For myself, I'd have been happy with v brakes both ends, but I'm sure Thorn know what sells better than I do.

It is, in my opinion a really daft idea to have mismatched brakes. It is a good job bicycles are not subject to an MOT!
John

Agreed. But there is reasoning somewhere by someone.
I'd be interested in theories or facts on the mismatch issue.
Some time ago I think I read about it being a good idea for CSS rim on rear and normal on front.
Times and thoughts change.

[martinf]

I'd be interested in theories or facts on the mismatch issue.
Some time ago I think I read about it being a good idea for CSS rim on rear and normal on front.
Times and thoughts change.

I think the reason for CSS rim/rear with normal rim/front is that sometimes the CSS rim doesn't brake well in the wet, so with the normal front at least you can stop.

My Raven Tour predates this idea, and has CSS front and rear. I have not yet had any problems braking in the wet.

As far as mismatch front and rear goes, with the same brake type you already have a sort of mismatch, because the front is always much more effective. So having a front rim brake coupled with a rear hub brake (drum, roller-brake or coaster) has never bothered me.

I do warn visitors to try out the braking on my large visitor bike when they first ride it, as the feel and different performance of the rear roller brake can be disconcerting if they are not used to it.

Why have a hub/disc brake at the rear? One possible reason is that hub/disc brakes are less affected by wet conditions. Another is that you eliminate rim wear - instead you get disc pad wear, brake-shoe lining wear, etc. Yet another is that the transmission stays cleaner with no spray of wet muck off the rim, no longer an issue on bikes with a Chainglider.

[Matt2matt2002]

"My Raven Tour predates this idea, and has CSS front and rear. I have not yet had any problems braking in the wet."
Snap. Almost.
My Raven Tour also had CSS front n rear.
But I hate them. If I had the dosh I'd change 'em.
I've gone through all types of pads, normal, pink salmon etc.
Always getting squealing after a while. And don't get me started on wet weather non- breaking. Suicidal springs to mind.
I don't doubt your own happiness with them but for me - a no.no.

[PH]

It is, in my opinion a really daft idea to have mismatched brakes. It is a good job bicycles are not subject to an MOT!
John

Yet many vehicles that are subject to a MOT Test do have different brakes front and rear,

[PH]

I'd be interested in theories or facts on the mismatch issue.

The arguments for disc brakes are well rehearsed, whether you agree with them or not - No rim wear, consistent all weather braking, improved modulation (Subjective) lighter force required (maybe seen as some as a disadvantage)
The Mercury can be set up with a choice forks, so can be made suitable for either front brake.  So maybe the question ought to be turned on it's head and rather than ask why a disc at the back, ask why not a disc on the front?  Thorns answer to that is in the brochure, basically a disc requires a stiffer fork and a stiffer fork is a bit heavier and more importantly obviously less compliant. 
How much does that matter?  Well IMO it depends on the bike, it's use and the tyres.  On my non Thorn do it all 29er tourer with 50mm tyres, I have discs on both wheels.  On my sports tourer Mercury with 32mm tyres, I've chosen the most comfortable fork, which means it can't have disc brakes. 
As usual, a certain poster is happy to call the ideas of others daft without any attempt to further the conversation.