Raven, Raven Tour or Raven Sport Tour?

[Oldboybob]

Hi There,

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Raven, Raven Tour or Raven Sport Tour? Is it spec levels or different geometry?

Thanks in advance!

[in4]

The Sport was a lighter version of the Tour. Link to follow below

http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=6975.0

Scroll down! Might be a slow loader.

[martinf]

The Raven for Rohloff is more recent than the other two and replaced them both in Thorn's range.

Raven Tour is a slightly heavier-duty frame than the more recent Raven for Rohloff, but still not as heavy as the Nomad for Rohloff available at the time (2012) I got my Raven Tour. So in my opinion, slightly more capable than the Raven for carrying heavy loads, though not an all-out expedition bike like the Nomad. It was also a bit cheaper, as the Raven for Rohloff had just been introduced and SJS were discounting the Raven Tour frames. My Raven Tour is set up as a heavy-duty tourer. Max tyre width about 54 mm with reasonable mudguard clearance, which is less than the Nomad for Rohloff.

Raven Sport Tour is a lighter frame, made from a mix of Reynolds 853 and 725 tubing, with 531 forks. I reckon it to be the old equivalent of the current Mercury, but with 26" wheels. Max tyre width about 42 mm with reasonable mudguard clearance. My Raven Sport Tour is set up as a lightweight bike for day rides.

The Raven for Rohloff could be ordered with different forks, 853 for a light build without front luggage and 531 for a heavier build and the option of fitting a low-loader front rack. In Thorn's range it slotted between the Mercury and the Nomad, and has been discontinued for a few years.

Current Thorn policy seems to be reducing the number of different frames and customising them with different fork and wheel options. 

[Matt2matt2002]

Hi There,

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Raven, Raven Tour or Raven Sport Tour? Is it spec levels or different geometry?

Thanks in advance!

Grab a second hand Raven Tour. As mentioned above, it's a very capable semi heavy touring bike.
45lbs / 20Kg naked and ready to load.

Mine has served me well on some very tough & rough roads, fully loaded and at high altitude.

(I'd rather regret some of the things I've done than some of the things I never did.)

[Oldboybob]

Thanks all for the replies, just done a 560 mile round trip to pick up a Raven Tour. Very well specced, even with full Ortlieb luggage and exactly my size. Absolutely chuffed to bits.

[PH]

What martinf says, but if I remember correctly the first Thorn Raven was also just that.  The one with Celtic bands and black forks, it wasn't around for long and I think the models after that split into Tour and Sport, with the Tour being beefed up a bit.  I wanted one, but by the time I'd saved up there were none left in my size and I got one of the first batch of Tours, no one had seen them when I ordered, not even Thorn, the colour was wrongly described, something like Burgundy?  In retrospect I might have been better off with the Sport, though maybe not, and I was still working out what I wanted from a bike.

[in4]

Photo incoming surely! Congratulations and happy miles ahead.

[mickeg]

Thanks all for the replies, just done a 560 mile round trip to pick up a Raven Tour. Very well specced, even with full Ortlieb luggage and exactly my size. Absolutely chuffed to bits.

If you are new to Rohloffs, Thorn has a video on oil changes on You Tube.  But I substitute red wine for the cup of tea.

And if you are new to Rohloffs, you need to keep the gear cables much looser than on a derailleur bike.  Resist any urge to adjust gear cables until you get used to the bike.

Some people do not adjust the eccentric correctly, the thick part of the eccentric should be on the bottom of the bottom bracket shell, you do NOT want the thin part of the eccentric to be where the two eccentric bolts under the bottom bracket shell are as those bolts could deform the thin part of the shell.

And people that are new to internally geared bikes have a tendancy to tighten the chain too much, make sure you have some slack in the chain.

[energyman]

"And people that are new to internally geared bikes have a tendency to tighten the chain too much, make sure you have some slack in the chain."

... all good advice and which explains why my RST chain looks like a saggy washing line

[mickeg]

Yeah on the saggy look.

If you hold a straight edge on your computer screen against the chain on my bike, you see a healthy amount of sag.  It is not that apparent until you put the straight edge on it.

[Oldboybob]

Thanks everyone for the replies,

I am new to Rohloffs and intend this to be my forever bike so will take on board all of your advice. The bike had just been serviced, oil changed, bearings greased and all cables etc replaced by an ex Team GB Mechanic Chaz Curry at Roots cycle works in Exmouth so hopefully will be good for a year.

I have changed tyres today from the Gatorskin slicks it came with to Schwalbe Hurricanes (until I can find some Duremes), reconnecting the Rohloff cables was a bit tricky but I did read the Thorn manual first so got there in the end.

Will post up soem pics as soon as I can work out how.

Thanks Again everyone, much appreciated!

[lewis noble]

I've used Schwalbe Hurricanes in the past, a good choice for mixed riding.  Dureme would be my choice, but if not available, Hurricanes a v good alternative.

Good luck.

[mickeg]

If you try to post a photo where you store the photo on the forum website, there is a very small electronic size allowed.  The photos I post are usually 922 by 691 pixels, which is photo reduced to 20 percent from my original 16 megapixel camera.  But if you have the photo stored somewhere else, I think there is no limit to photo size.

There is a limit of four photos per post if you store the photos on the forum website.

***

One more note on bikes if you are not aware.  An aluminum seatpost that is in a steel frame for years can get stuck from dissimilar metal corrosion.  That is especially the case if it gets wet.  If your seatpost is bare aluminum, you should grease the part of it that is in contact with the steel frame which reduces the chance for corrosion and the grease also reduces the amount of water that can get in from rain.  If however the seatpost has a good layer of paint, that prevents the dissimilar metal corrosion, but grease can still help limit water ingress.  If this is your lifetime bike, that is part of the lifetime list of things to know.

[Oldboybob]

Hopefully these pictures will load up ok.

[ourclarioncall]

Congrats on getting yourself a Thorn

I’m on the lookout too

My interest in the Raven Tour has just risen after reading this . Especially that I’m hearing that’s it’s a bit heavier duty than the most recent Raven , as I was originally going for a nomad but still open to getting a Raven as i like them both.  The Raven tour now sounds like a viable option too