Saving for a proper bike!

[DavidH]

...I'm jealous! - I too am popping down to Bridgwater soon, but I think I have a few more weeks of saving to do yet. It looks like you are after almost a mirror image of what I'm planning. I'm toying with the carbide rims, and umming and ahhing about black hubs (are they really worth £45 extra for both front and rear). I'm going for blue: my old Holdsworth Eclipse was (most recently) British Racing Green. Is the waiting list really two weeks? I perversely hoped it would be more than that.

Anyone had any good experiences selling their old bike through SJS on e-Bay. I can't help thinking I'm not going to get that good a deal.

Oh and Freddered - I was wondering what a Thorn Raven looked like after 400 miles of winter country lanes. Keep the pics coming, they help keep me dreaming...

[freddered]

In my opinion the black versions of the Rohloff and the Schmidt SON are absolutely superb.

A quick brush and they are like new, in fact the SON appears to be self-cleaning in the rain.

Photos of a less than shiny RT tomorrow hopefully

[ians]

..

Anyone had any good experiences selling their old bike through SJS on e-Bay. I can't help thinking I'm not going to get that good a deal.

I did just this.  It was painless - and I got more than I expected.  I had a Specialized Crossroads hybrid.  Tried selling it locally at £150.  No takers (LBS is full of them).  Dropped it off at SJS when I went to choose my RST - they did all the business - sent me the ebay details so I could see how it went and it eventually sold for £220.  I think they took 10% - but did all the photos, description, organised delivery and so on - so well worth it for me.

Talk to them first - they won't take on bikes that they think won't sell.

ian

[Cake]

I've certainly been out and about Fred, i still wish the winds weren't quite as strong!  Today was superb - quite still and the sun was out.  Excellent attitude though - get out and get stuck in!  I think my bike is going to look pretty similar to yours, apart from the flat bars and black stem - also the kit people choose i.e. Ortlieb panniers, Brooks saddle etc. is purchased through its own proven track record which leads to a "standard setup" in some ways perhaps.

I'll post pictures as soon as possible Geo, once i've worked out how to do it - this may take several attempts....

I must admit to being surprised by the two week (estimated) waiting list DavidH, i was expecting at least a month.  Some of the options i chose could be deemed luxuries, black hubs, Thorn rack, but i thought "sod it" i'm only going to do this once so do it properly! I thought about the carbide rims but thought i'd try the standards first and then the carbides.  It should be a true comparison because it will be my braking habits on both sets of rims.  Thats the plan anyway!  They do seem to be quite highly regarded though.

I didn't even consider using SJS to sell my hybrid, its not worth a great deal, £250 ish, and assumed it would be uneconomical for them to do it.  I obviously should have done!  Oh well.

I'm also looking forward to more pics of RT's and RST's - until i can post my own that is!  Is it normal for a 36 year old bloke to feel like a nine year old at Christmas???!!!

Gary

[Cake]

Forgetful am i.  DavidH, when i went to Bridgwater one thing that was useful was to see an EBB out of the frame and the indentations made by the securing "bolts" for want of the elusive correct term.  These have been discussed at length on this forum and some issues had started to concern me - seeing one immediately put my mind at rest.  You may well be familiar with these systems, i am not and it helped a lot to see one.

Also be prepared for how good the red frames look - a twinge of indecision almost took hold...

[geocycle]

Cake: it's perfectly normal to feel excited -you'll get over it .... in a few years!  My RT is the only 'proper' bike I've had, so the contrast was way beyond expectations.

You are right that the specs are merging as folk test and recommend different products, but it's good to have scope for individual requirements.  One area that doesn't seem to have reached concensus relates to rims.  I suppose it's because we'd all select different types according our own usage and most people don't replace often enough to have tested a range of makes.  I'm about 3800 miles into a pair of CR18s and had no problems despite fairly heavy loading and some rough riding.  The reports on the carbide options look favourable and might be what I decide to replace with when they start to show signs of wear -or when I invest in a Schmidt dynohub!  However, so far so good, so I'll just enjoy riding for a bit.

[freddered]

I've posted a photo of what 400 January miles do to a Raven Tour in the Gallery, it should read 5500 miles now.

If you look closely you can see how my new Avid Ultimate V-Brakes have improved cable routing at the rear.  The front is just as improved.

[DavidH]

Thanks Cake for the advice about eccentric Bottom Brackets - I'm at SJS tomorrow - so it is timely advice, along with Ians recommendation about selling on e-bay. I have no experience of such things, they sound simple enough: I don't know how regularly they will need attention.

I can definately relate to the 9 year old at Christmas excitement - and of course that excitement lasts for several weeks beforehand and ratchets upwards as time goes on. I think the lad I sold the Skoda was the same when he came to buy it. He then drove to his mate's house in driving rain and spent the evening showing it to them - perhaps he's posted some photos of it somewhere, as inspiration for those that will follow.

In my post the other night I said I was perversely hoping for a longer waiting list: that was only so that I can justify going up to SJS tomorrow, I'm still a month or so away financially (unless I get a good price for a rather worn but quality sport tourer, which has suffered from my past attempts to turn it into the sort of bike a Raven Tour is).

[DavidH]

... It looks like you are after almost a mirror image of what I'm planning...

well I've just put a deposit down on a Sport Tour, so that tells you how important a test ride is, and how the "ideal bike" is very much one of personal choice. I found the Tour to be a great bike when I rode it (I was amazed at the brakes - a test ride on wet and muddy lanes in the Quantocks is going to be good test of a bikes brakes). However I found the Sport Tour to be just a bit more responsive, and less heavy: having been used to an (overly) sporty tourer in a Holdsworth Eclipse, I found the ST bang on what I wanted. Probably if I had a mountain bike, I'd be making the same point about the Tour.

Time will tell how good off road it is. Like most people, I'll say I want off road, but then take it on ground little worse than cinder tracks - the commute across some Purbeck heath / forest roads will tell.

Rather than sell on e-Bay, I have decided to keep the Holdsworth - and perhaps rebuild it to its former glory as a future project. Robin T reckoned it might get £50, although it was difficult to gauge its value. Those two points made me think the e-Bay route was too risky.

Anyway the bike I've ordered is a blue ST "with discreet decals". I went for black hubs etc, and the Grizly carbide rims. I've ordered the regular comfort bars (starless bible black again), with Ergon grips with Titec Hell Bent Bar ends. To help save £££'s for the more expensive frame, I/m going for a Blackburn rack (I had my eye on the lightweight thorn rack), and will transfer my existing B17 onto the new bike.

[Cake]

Mmmmmm that sounds nice!  I do like the blue frame / black hubs etc. combination.  The RT or RST decision has plagued many a poor soul i suspect, glad it was (it seems) quite clear cut for you!  My eye caught a stealth black RST when i was ordering my own machine... they are all nice!

Can i ask what sort of a wait you will have until it is in your possession?

What tyres did you opt for?  I am currently thinking that the 1.75" Schwalbes i decided upon may be a little wider than is ideal.  I'm going to wait and see, if they are then i'll just have to keep riding until they wear out and try some 1.5"s!

I'm sure i'm not the only one who is looking forward to seeing pictures...

Gary.

[DavidH]

I did like the idea of stealth black, but decided it's hiding in the shadows appearance would draw attention to it (does that make sense? - its a bit like a stealth bomber attracts attention because unlike other planes, it is trying to be invisible). Racing green was too similar to my current bike (and corporate colours for the firm I work for).

Anyhow - I don't think I will be paid up probably till the end of March, early March if I am on good behaviour. Sadly my record player needs repair before I can capture vinyl onto MP3 and then LP's on eBay (same story as my old tourer really). I was not going to sell LP's without recording them first. Shame as I thought "Rohloff Records" would have been a great personal ID for e-Bay. When are you getting yours? (bike that is, not records sold)

I went for the 1.5" tourguards. I was (like others) persuaded by the Thorn team away from the Schwalbes. I'm not convinced this bit was the right decision - but as said earlier, my reference point is a road focussed sporty tourer. But I did focus most of my upgrade money on things that would be more expensive or awkward to upgrade later: rims, hubs. If you conclude the 1.75" are too wide we might want to swap!

Will post pictures when ready. Meanwhile my current bike is becoming less satisfactory, now that I have articulated what I didn't like about it.

[freddered]

Mmmmmm that sounds nice!  I do like the blue frame / black hubs etc. combination.  The RT or RST decision has plagued many a poor soul i suspect, glad it was (it seems) quite clear cut for you!  My eye caught a stealth black RST when i was ordering my own machine... they are all nice!

Can i ask what sort of a wait you will have until it is in your possession?

What tyres did you opt for?  I am currently thinking that the 1.75" Schwalbes i decided upon may be a little wider than is ideal.  I'm going to wait and see, if they are then i'll just have to keep riding until they wear out and try some 1.5"s!

I'm sure i'm not the only one who is looking forward to seeing pictures...

Gary.

Tyre choice may affect mudguard width.  For example if you shift to 1.5" you may end up with odd looking, wider than normal, mudguards.  Check with SJSC

[ians]

I went for the 1.5" tourguards. I was (like others) persuaded by the Thorn team away from the Schwalbes. I'm not convinced this bit was the right decision - but as said earlier, my reference point is a road focussed sporty tourer.

I initially went for the 1.5" tourguards on my RST (also blue incidently) , and while very good on road (and will give the sporty tourer focus that you want), they caused me problems on towpaths/gravel type cycle paths.  I eventually replaced them with 1.5" Schwalbe Marathons which have been fine on both road and gravel.  They're wider than the the 1.5" tourguards but narrower than the 1.75" tourguards.  The 1.75" marathon's would have been too wide for my needs and I'd have had to change the mudguards as well.

And having been commuting since October I am so glad I have a Rohloff.

Enjoy the bike.

ian

[kwkirby01]

I have Schwalbe Marathon 1.75" (47-559) on one of my bikes and they actually measure around 40mm (the 1.5" equivalents on my other bike measure 37mm!) . It is the older tread, so the newer ones might be a little wider, but Schwalbe tyres widths are often inaccurate.
Kevin

[Cake]

That is one of the reasons i didn't really consider black myself - the robbing scum element.  I can see why you avoided green - who needs a bike that reminds them of work?!

I was also advised that the Schwalbes were not ideal, but i stuck to my guns on that one.  I was forgetting they're the experts...

Tyres (and mudguards - thanks Fred!) are easily changed in the future should that be necessary.  Definately a wait and see situation - especially if the width can vary as dramatically as Kwkirby has experienced.  If the tyres are to wide i'll have to put up with the extra comfort for a while!

I am expecting a phonecall any day now saying it is ready to be delivered - lovely.  I'm pleased you get your slightly sadistic wait until you gets yours David!