Raven Tour

[lancer17]

Collected my Raven tour late on thursday, its great, blue with black trim, looks well smart. I gave it a good test ride home, did 198 miles back to the midlands, loaded with about 20 kilos. The bike is rock solid, absorbs bumps well, did 35 mph down hill and felt totally safe and very stable, could have gone faster just need to be able to spin faster, thats the down side to the hub, up side is i got up all the hills, i like to ride my bike not push it! I have not had to adjust anything. Little bit sore from the new B17 saddle but even that was not to bad. My comute to work (30 mile round trip)took me about the same time as on my old bike but it just rides so much better. I have brought the bike to take me back to New Zealand in March and as my daily transport(i dont own a car) I considered the Exp and the Raven Nomad but went for a high spec RT as a good all rounder, I think so far it is a good choice [] Overall very happy teddy[]

[ians]

good one.

any photos?

ian.

[stutho]

Starting a 198 mile trip starting on the first day of ownership. That shows increadable trust in a bike you hadn't ridden before! Well done - how long did it take you?  

[lancer17]

Did it over 3 days went up through Cheddar people were sat out side enjoying the sun not bad for the start of November. Will post some pictures tonight. This is a bike i intend to cycle to New Zealand on I need to trust it and be confident in my ability to fix it goes wrong.

[stutho]

D'oh!  When I read your first post I thought you were just taking the Raven back to New Zealand.  i.e. chucking it the hold of a 747 NOT riding there! Best of luck with your trip

Stuart

[lancer17]

couple of pic of my new bike

http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc102/rharding65/?action=view¤t=Warwick20072.jpg

[pyjamas]

couple of pic of my new bike

Great, it looks as if you have bar ends on comfort bars, but I thought bar ends were only possible with straight bars?

[lancer17]

I thought that but was told it was ok, but it does shorten the hand grip  a bit so i may well change back to just grips as i am finding that i only just clear the shifter

[ians]

you can always put bar-ends inboard.

ians

[PH]

Good looking bike lancer and a fair test as its first ride.
Are those the carbide rims you've got? What do you think of them?  I have a front one and the wetter the weather the more I like it.
What's the thinking with the accessory bar, with a fork mounted light and a bar bag I can't see what you'd use it for.
Mine's been my most ridden bike since I bought it three years ago, the hub just keeps getting better.  Until a couple of months ago it was used for my 32 mile daily commute, a new job two miles away will curtail it's use.

[lancer17]

Not sure i like the idea of the inboard bar ends do they make you feel less stable? I think they may also interfere with the bar bag.

I nearly brought it in Black, red and green, its just as well they limit the colour choice, or I might never have made my mind up, but yes I am really pleased with the way the bike looks.
Yes they are carbide rims. They seem fine so far apart from the very loud blood chilling squeal when I brake hard. But I am led to believe this will go away!? I do hope so.
The accessory bar, has a GPS mounted on it, and a back up front light. It hides the GPS from prying eyes but still has a good signal, I also intend to use the dyno hub to charge things while I am on my ride back to NZ, so I need some where to mount batteries and a small circuit.
Wish I had known about them three years ago, I can understand why its your most used bike. I have just spent all afternoon cleaning up my old bike, and am now not sure what to do with it.
Do I sell it and get about £12.99 for it :-(  or keep it for spares for the kids bikes?  
The hub is already improving it is defiantly quieter in some of the gears, but i do just like the way it just works, plain and simple.
You might find that not doing the longer commute you find that the miles you do are more of a pleasure, I enjoy my ride home more than my ride in as I feel I need to get somewhere at a certain time, but on the return I can ride with no regard for time, but good luck with the new job anyway.

[geocycle]

Lancer, excellent bike and a good (brave) first ride!  Inboard bar ends are OK for streamlining on straight roads but I found they didn't give much stability if you had to turn.  I've moved mine to the normal position outside of my ergon grips on comfort bars due to a wrist problem.  They look OK, and other than creating a slightly narrower basic position, are more effective on climbs etc.  

let us know how the carbide rims cope long term.  They are high on my list when I need to replace the CR18s.

[lancer17]

Thank you geocycle, I think the stability would be my worry, I am overall happy with the bar ends, the ones I have they work well with the Ergon grips and they make the grip padded area wider and give me another choice, SJSC recommended them to match the Ergons, they said they are better that the Cane creek ones, item#13134 and at £15 did not break the bank. They just made the shifter side a little short.
Down side is I like a mirror and so far I can't find one that will work with the bar ends I have, I thought about cutting a hole in the end, but i rap my hand around the bar end and this is a comfortable position on my set up so I don't want to do that.
Will definitely let you know how the rims get on

[cyclingispure]

Hi geocycle & lancer17, re inboard bars and carbide wheels, I love the inboard bars, yes they are more streamlined and on a regular downhill on my commute ride I notice an average of 2mph difference riding outboard and inboard position. I felt a little unstable but got used to the position so quickly, within minutes frankly. I have inboard and bar-ends to give lots of position options.

Andy informed me that the carbide wheels and pads would "squeal like stuck pigs" for a while. Not my experience, a minor squeal and completely gone withing first 50 miles of commuting. With the deore V's unbelievable power with great modulation, with a slightly strange "sandy" feel, not coarse or unpleasant, it feels smooth but completely different from normal rims and breaks. As one who has worn through and bust three rims through break wear I too am very interested in the longevity of the rims. I hope its as long as reputed. Only the miles will tell!!!!!!

[cyclingispure]

Apologies for the appalling grammar..............what comes from writing a stream of consciousness!!!!