Raven Sport Tour and suitability for Audax

[j22jbl]

Hi
I would be interested to hear from anyone with Audax experience on a Raven Sports Tour. How ideal is this bike for a 200 plus event? Could it be a little on the heavy side, albeit with bomb proof reliability?
I need a bike suitable for Audax (as a novice not having yet ridden one!) and touring with a reasonable, but not heavy load for the occasional week to two week holiday.
Would a set of 1.75 or 1.5 tyres offer much difference in feel/performance.
Look forward to having some feedback and thanks in advance.
John

[brummie]

I've not ridden any events over 200km ( yet ! ) on my RST, but I have no doubts the bike is comfortable enough ! - Audax events are ridden on many varieties of machine & although there may be a trend for lightweight & exotic roadbikes being bandied about by the cycling mags as sportif bikes , Audax events ( & touring ) are more about comfort than speed, & although my RST is no lightweight, the low gears enable me to get up ANY hills relatively easily & 26x 1.5" tyres provide a good balance in speed / comfort & are re-assuring on poor road surfaces & night riding - 1.75" tyres would be my preference for loaded touring -The RST makes a great light tourer too !

[j22jbl]

Thanks. Do you suggest that 26 X 1.50 may be preferable to 1.75s on lightweight day rides? I must admit that I have found the 1.75s very comfortable, although I increased the air pressure today and found them less so, but without any obvious performance gain.

[PhilD]

Thanks. Do you suggest that 26 X 1.50 may be preferable to 1.75s on lightweight day rides?

FWIW, after a rash of punctures in the winter I changed the tyres on my Raven Tour (not Sport) to Marathon Plus 26x1.35 (I couldn't find anywhere that sold 26x1.5). Bike handles nicely. I just did a 200km Audax on it yesterday.

[j22jbl]

Are Ravens popular on Audax rides? I have just joined Audax, and have a copy of thier latest magazine. Most of the bikes have drop bars, but must admit I have never used the drops on previous bikes, usually ride on the break hoods.....

Think I might invest in some 1.5s.

[ians]

Hi

I'm using Marathon Supremes (26x1.6) on my RST - very light and fast.

ian

[PhilD]

Are Ravens popular on Audax rides?

No, I have never seen another one, in fact I have only seen one other Rohloff bike. Most people seem to use out-and-out road bikes or "light tourer" type bikes.

[peter jenkins]

Part of the attraction of Audax is that you can ride any roadworthy bike (or trike) at all. I use my Club Tour regularly and this weekend rode a 220km event on my Pashley Moulton TSR30. I also use a lightweight Bianchi for shorter events where I don't need to carry anything. I would think the Raven would be eminently suitable, bearing in mind that the objective is to finish within a specified time rather than to race. I think a regular contributor to this forum recently rode a Super Series (200/300/400/600) on a Raven. Are you there Freddered?

It's more about the rider than the machine.

Cheers,

pj

[j22jbl]

Thanks Peter. That is useful feedback. I have been a little concerned about my first Audax, and it appears that I should have no concern turning up on an RST. I didn't want to be the odd one out, or at best have something regarded by most as  unsuitable!

I recently purchased the RST with a view to touring holidays, previously used a Dawes Galaxy. The Audax was an after purchase interest that has now developed, and I wondered if under the Thorn 100 day money back offer, i had made the right choice, given the significant additional cost of the Rohloff. For same price I could have the entry Thorn Audax and a traditional touring bike. I rather hope the RST will provide dual use. I do have a trek 1500 road bike also but with narrow tyres, light rims and no mud guards, I doubt that would be a strong contender for Audax.

As always, thanks to all for your contributions.

Regards

John

[sbseven]

I do have a trek 1500 road bike also but with narrow tyres, light rims and no mud guards, I doubt that would be a strong contender for Audax.

As people have said, most bikes are suitable for Audax use, including your Trek. I ride most of my audaxes (including 400s and 600s) on a road racing bike with 23mm tyres. I don't have any comfort issues with this set up. I've recently been riding a couple of audaxes on my Raven Nomad. Good fun, but hard work!

Shaun

[Blacksail]

Hi

I ride a RST with 1.5 Panaracer Pasela TG's which are fine and shrug off most of the smaller potholes and gravel traps. I love riding this bike on 200 + rides and don't have any problems keeping up with the more "orthodox" bikes.

The one thing I would recomend is the Thorn comfort handlebar, this has a quite large sweep to it allowing your hands to sit in a much more natural position that completey straight bars provide. I don't get numb hands or feel the need for bar ends to give me another position.

[j22jbl]

Hi

I ride a RST with 1.5 Panaracer Pasela TG's which are fine and shrug off most of the smaller potholes and gravel traps. I love riding this bike on 200 + rides and don't have any problems keeping up with the more "orthodox" bikes.

The one thing I would recomend is the Thorn comfort handlebar, this has a quite large sweep to it allowing your hands to sit in a much more natural position that completey straight bars provide. I don't get numb hands or feel the need for bar ends to give me another position.

Blacksail, I appreciate your input. Have you tried 1.75 Panaracer TGs to compare with the 1.5s? I did wonder about the 1.5s and it would be good to get some advice from someone who has tried both.
My RST has the short straight bars and I have had no problems yet, but haven't been much futher than 30 miles at a time. Plan to increase that distance this weekend. I need to increase fitness to get more out of the bike and have booked some charity rides as a means of increasing the distance in an environment a little less daunting than Audax. Looking forward to clocking up some miles however!

John

[Blacksail]

Yes, I wore out a set of 1,75 Pasela TGs before trying the the 1.5s. I was looking to reduce the weight and swapped my comfort bars for narrow straight bars at the same time. The handle bar experiment didn't last very long as I really missed my old comfort bars and put them back on after a couple of rides. I will however stick with the narrower tyres as they do the job for me.
I did ride for a while with 1.5 on the front and 1.75 at the rear as I assumed the rear was was taking more of a pounding but do prefer the feel of riding on the 1.5s so now use these all the time

Other tyres I have used:
Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick 1.75 beautifully quiet and absolutely lethal on drain covers  , the rear tyre wore out after 2,000km
Schwalbe Winter studded tyres, a lifesaver on ice  :)but heavy, noisy and make the bike feel pretty horrible .

[j22jbl]

Yes, I wore out a set of 1,75 Pasela TGs before trying the the 1.5s. I was looking to reduce the weight and swapped my comfort bars for narrow straight bars at the same time. The handle bar experiment didn't last very long as I really missed my old comfort bars and put them back on after a couple of rides. I will however stick with the narrower tyres as they do the job for me.
I did ride for a while with 1.5 on the front and 1.75 at the rear as I assumed the rear was was taking more of a pounding but do prefer the feel of riding on the 1.5s so now use these all the time

Other tyres I have used:
Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick 1.75 beautifully quiet and absolutely lethal on drain covers  , the rear tyre wore out after 2,000km
Schwalbe Winter studded tyres, a lifesaver on ice  :)but heavy, noisy and make the bike feel pretty horrible .

Thanks, would be interested in your advice on tyre pressure. I have always pumped mine upto the max in the probably mistaken beleif that more has got to be better. Havin said that, I dont treat my car tryes in the same ways wo why over inflate the bike tryes!  I will delfate my 1.75s for the weekend to about half way between the min and max pressures indicated to se how that feels.

[Relayer]

Vik contributed some good advice about tyre pressures on a thread here, but unfortunately I can't find it     Maybe it was slightly off topic?

However, I did take this link from his post at the time  http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/images/TireDrop.pdf  and if memory serves me there was a link to some comments by Sheldon Brown on this subject.  Hope this helps.