Fitting a Rohloff to a Thorn Club Tour Mk4

[DIAGMONKEY]

This morning I managed to do a decent test run round one of my usual 30 mile routes.

Pleased with the results so far.

I did have to move the accessory bar back in front of the steerer tube as care was needed not to knock my knee on the shifter. It would be fine for the regular commute and shorter rides, but I suspect it would be more of an issue on longer rides when I would be tired. Its ended up at a bit of an angle to clear the bracket for the canti brake and make access to the shifter a bit easier.

The tensioner works well and is quiet. The hub also seems quieter in the steel frame rather than the alloy frame of the Storck Multitask.

I have attached a quick and dirty mobile phone pic

[PH]

Didn't take you long to get it up and running!  How's the chainline?  It probably matters less with a tensioner than without, but IMO it's still worth getting as close to perfect as possible, you only need to do it once. 
Now you've moved away from STI's, I'd suggest you could also change the front brake for a V, with the appropriate lever, not only for a better brake, but you might find less conflict between cable and shifter. Not sure what you'd do with the rear disc though, either miss matched levers or you'd need a new caliper.   

[DIAGMONKEY]

SJS sent the parts out quicker than I expected and I am on holiday this week so had some time to do the conversion. Chain line is pretty good. I checked with my caliper and I recon I am within about 0.5mm. I am running an 8 speed chain so it has a  bit of flex in it anyway.

I did a weight check, with my pump, spare tube, tool kit , Garmin and mirror its comes in at 14.65 KG according to my luggage scale. I just need to swap the rear rack and front lamp onto it so another 850 or so  grams to add. Not lightweight compared to some builds, not quite as quick as my lighter road bike. But it is comfortable, I can carry enough stuff on it for the odd weekend away and should be reliable.

I think I will keep the  bars and shifters as they are, apart from anything else, my regular commute takes me through several of those cycle gates that narrow towards the top. The reduced width of the drops compared to the Koga Denhams makes getting through those a bit easier.

At some point I will look at the brakes. The existing rear caliper is a bit awkward to adjust with the rear wheel in place due to the larger diameter of the Rohloff. I guess if I can find a dual piston mechanical rear brake with the same cable pull as a V brake that would be the best option,

[Pavel]

Well done.  This is a very interesting thread, and it's nice to know that this can be done.  I look forward to more photos and some trip reports.

[mickeg]

If you want to install a full size (not mini) V brake and use conventional short pull brake levers, you can use Problem Solvers Travel Agents.
https://problemsolversbike.com/products/brakes/travel_agents_-_6416

More:
https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/repair-help/travel-agent-installation-and-adjustment

They are getting hard to find with the demise of rim brakes.  I was looking for one more a few years ago and could not find one, but I found a copy from asia on Ebay, bought that.

I have these on my Nomad Mk II both front and rear (first two photos), also on my Lynskey front (third photo).

They work fine, but if you ride on a lot of dirt or mud, you need to keep them clean, too much mud or dirt in them can make them less smooth.  I usually do not have fenders (mudguards) on my Nomad Mk II when I travel by airplane, and on my Iceland trip I had so much mud in my rear Travel Agent that the springs in the brakes were not strong enough to open up the brakes again after I used the brakes.

That said, I have canti brakes on three bikes and have no plans to get rid of them, they work just fine.

[Pavel]

I can't wait to have the circle turn around and have rim brakes again advertised as the new greatest "since sliced bread" thing.  I do wonder however if at that point I will be able to get out of my coffin and go on another bike adventure, with sensible components.

[DIAGMONKEY]

Really pleased with how the bike has turned out. It should fit my needs very well.

About half my mileage is commuting the other half longer day/weekend rides. I tend to stay off the main roads where possible, mostly I ride on b roads and cycle paths / tow paths with a reasonable tarmac or hard pack surface.

Camping is not really practical for me as I need a mains power supply for my CPAP machine in order to sleep. If I'm really honest a hot shower and a comfy bed are also far more appealing after a long day in the saddle too! The bike has more than enough luggage capacity for some more extended B&B touring.

I'm not into competitive or club riding either, so a bit more weight because of the rear hub is not a big deal to me. Comfort, practicality and ease of use have become more important to me than cutting a few minuets off my usual routes. Although I do have a lighter and faster bike, I pretty much always choose to ride the club tour, especially for longer rides.

The plan is to ride it as it is until the winter, then do a more comprehensive rebuild at that point.  Selling the road bike and the Storck Multitask should more than cover rebuilding the Rohloff and Son28 hubs into a set of nice matching rims, powder coating the frame and fork and upgrading the front and rear brake.

[JohnR]

The hub also seems quieter in the steel frame rather than the alloy frame of the Storck Multitask.

I noticed the same when I moved a wheel with Rohloff hub from an aluminium framed bike to a steel frame. I think the larger diameter alloy tubes serve as acoustic amplifiers.

[PH]

Really pleased with how the bike has turned out. It should fit my needs very well.

Glad it's going well, though no reason it wouldn't.  I wonder just how much difference there is between that and the Mercury, not something I'm ever likely to find out but I suspect it's minimal for most riding.  The Club Tour has never really been on my wish list, though I know several people who have them. I already had a good steel derailleur tourer before I'd heard of Thorn and have only really considered Rohloff tourers since.

rebuilding the Rohloff and Son28 hubs into a set of nice matching rims, powder coating the frame and fork and upgrading the front and rear brake.

The rear wheel in my Mercury predates it by several years, it's a Sputnik rim which was the best choice for it's previous use but inappropriate for it's current. I'm frequently tempted to change it for something lighter, but the advice has been to leave it undisturbed as long as possible. I'm also unlikely to have my frame refinished unless it's absolutely required,  The ED coating and Imron paint is about as good as it gets,  it's unlikely a powder coater, even a good one, could replicate that level of protection.  So, the only advantage would be aesthetics, which is of course a matter of opinion, I really like the grey! 

[DIAGMONKEY]

PH, I suspect in terms of the ride feel it would drop somewhere between the Nomad and Mercury, probably bit closer to the Mercury, but I have never ridden either of them so don't know for sure.

The later mk5 club tour gets quite similar scores in the Thorn bike comparison chart to both the Mercury and the Nomad AB special, using the same 853 forks and wheel sizes. I think picking the right tire size, type and inflation level would probably make more difference to the ride quality than the tube types used to make up the frame.

From an esthetic point of view though, I do think the Mercury looks the nicest, much more photogenic, no dangly bits to spoil the lines!

I just get that nagging feeling, that once the shiny new bike phase passed, and the bike has collected the usual muck, minor scuffs and marks from daily use,  there may not be enough of a difference in the way the bike looks and rides to warrant spending the extra money that a new Mercury frame and matching fork would cost.

[PH]

From an esthetic point of view though, I do think the Mercury looks the nicest, much more photogenic, no dangly bits to spoil the lines!

The Mercury frame is a thing of beauty, nearly every tube is manipulated and shaped, there's very little standard about it.  How much that matters is debatable, impossible to know what each element contributes without dozens of blind tests, the whole is very pleasing though, or at least suits me riding well. You already have the better forks, IMO that's likely to make as much difference as the frames.  And I agree, tyres and their pressure will be at the top of the list.   

[DIAGMONKEY]

As it was chucking it down yesterday, I decided to swap the bars over for the Koga Denham's, I found some old flat bar canti levers in my parts bin, so it only cost me a bit of time to swap the bars.

I took the bike out today as it was better weather. Works well. Positives are better brake and gear control, better low speed control, enough different positions on the bars, good forward position on the horns for faster cruising and head winds.. Negatives, bars are wider so getting through the cycle gates on the way to work will be a bit tighter.

Overall more positives than negatives, so I think they will be staying :-)

[PH]

Negatives, bars are wider so getting through the cycle gates on the way to work will be a bit tighter.

I'm sometimes tempted to try wider bars, but there's rarely a ride where my current ones are not already a tight fit through barriers.  I've seen people on group rides struggle, needing to get off and manhandle the bike through where I can just scoot through with care.
Hope the new set up works for you long term. 

[Mike Ayling]

I can't wait to have the circle turn around and have rim brakes again advertised as the new greatest "since sliced bread" thing.  I do wonder however if at that point I will be able to get out of my coffin and go on another bike adventure, with sensible components.

Rim brakes are definitely lighter than discs!

Mike

[in4]

+1 for rim brakes. Just changed front and rear pads (css rim) on tour. Quick and easy: a consideration when in the middle of nowhere, even Wupwup or Kickatinalong!