A Thorn for xmas

[Neil Jones]

Well I've booked my train tickets and made an appointment at SJS Cycles. After spending many an hour looking through the Thorn brochure I'm 99% certain that the Sherpa Expedition Straight Bar model would suit my needs best. I will be using it for my 19 mile commute and the odd week or two touring (camping). It seems to me that the Sherpa seems to be the most underrated of the Thorns which is surprising as the standard spec is superb. I must admit that I've looked long and hard at the Ravens but the extras such as racks, xtr brakes, Rigida CSS wheels are upgrades whilst standard equipment on the Sherpa plus I"m taking my Schmidt 36 hole dynohub off my current bike (Dawes Super Galaxy) to be built into the new wheels along with my E6 front light and B&M Toplight D.
My question to anyone out there is have you felt the need to upgrade anything since you bought it? and which is the harder wearing frame colour black or red?
Looking forward hearing from you.

[jags]

neil great choice you will enjoy your new sherpa i would go for the black don't like red .
i just bought the frame /fork built it up with shimano xt m770 groupset set sjs made me a great set of wheels bit on the heavy side but bomb proof.
anyway very best of luck with the new baby keep it clean,
cheers
jags.

[Neil Jones]

Thanks for the swift reply Jags.
I think you're right about the black paint job. Which wheels did you go for? and what tyres are you running on them?
Do you find the bike enjoyable to ride unladen or is it a bit stodgy?
Cheers, Neil.

[kwkirby01]

Neil, I have a bright red Sherpa with lovely Gilles Berthoud stainless steel mudguards; I think it looks terrific. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder....

I ride the Sherpa unladen most of the time, and don't find it stodgy at all. It certainly isn't the fastest bike around, but then I'm not the fastest rider either!

Hope this helps, Kevin

[Neil Jones]

Your bike sounds very classy Kevin, I'll have to see both colours in the flesh before I decide I think.
Good to hear that the bike is reasonably responsive to ride, I suppose it will be similar to my Super Galaxy.
Can't wait to order it, my appointment isn't until Dec 1st but if I'm going to spend decent money on my dream bike I want to get everything just right plus £38 return from North Wales is a small price to pay for piece of mind.

[jags]

Thanks for the swift reply Jags.
I think you're right about the black paint job. Which wheels did you go for? and what tyres are you running on them?
Do you find the bike enjoyable to ride unladen or is it a bit stodgy?
Cheers, Neil.

sorry i dident get back a bit quicker but my computer keeps crashing.
wheels i went for sun rhyno 36 hole on m770 shimano xt hubs,i taught i found the perfect touring all round tire im schwalble supreams but i ran over a bit on rough groung and the tire split i could not believe it honest, only about 200 miles on them  i now use the other for a spare.
i think you would be hard pressed to find a better tire than conti city contacts or there top of the range touring tire ,all hand made you know what else did i change for the better,cool stop salmon brake pads/fizik bartape over a nice gel tape brilliant.brooks b17 champion saddle/elite chrome finish bottle cages , on your black bike fantastic .carradice rack bag only brilliant and the nelson camper bit big but if you just doing a weekend tour this is the bag to get.
i can guarantee you the bike is as fast as any road bike on all terraine except hills ,mind you i dont like hills any more since i put on an extra couple stone.,but it's definitly a rock solid bike stick up a few pic's of it when you get it cheers for now.
jags.

[Neil Jones]

You surprised me will your story about the Schwalbe Supremes Jags, I thought they were pretty bombproof and were going to be tyre I was going to specify, I had the same thing happen to my Panaracer Paselas. I'm using Marathon plus 700x38 and they are tough as old boots if a touch heavy.
I've got a couple of choices of saddle, Brooks B17 (honey) or Team Pro (black), I'll take them off my other bikes and use the one I find the most comfortable.
I have a Carradice Super C rack bag too which I find Ideal for commuting and Super C front and rear panniers, I love Carradice and Brooks, superb British companies.
Great to hear that the bike is reasonably sprightly unladen, most of the time I'll be commuting with a rack bag so didn't want to ride a tank but at the same time I like a bike to feel comfortable and predictable.

[jags]

yeah i was loving the tires until that happened probably the nearest thing you will get to slicks for a touring bike.i use ortlieb panniers myself but i do like carradice brilliant bags really well made.the thing i find strange about the sherpa it's heavy but not when your riding it,
when i was touring the cotswolds in the summer we came down a decent at 40mph the bike was rock steady even with my heavy load
cheers
jags.

[philb]

I hate to throw a spanner in the works, but if I were buying a bike for the needs you discribe, I would buy somthing a bit more livlier to ride than a expedition touring bike. Perhapse an Audax MK3 or an RST and I would enjoy the difference and improved performance for 50 weeks of the year. I'm just about to take my MK3 audax on a camping tour so I'll let you know how it performs.

[rualexander]

I hate to throw a spanner in the works, but if I were buying a bike for the needs you discribe, I would buy somthing a bit more livlier to ride than a expedition touring bike. Perhapse an Audax MK3 or an RST and I would enjoy the difference and improved performance for 50 weeks of the year. I'm just about to take my MK3 audax on a camping tour so I'll let you know how it performs.

I've just recently done LEJOG on my Mk3 carrying four panniers and a tent (luggage for two of us as partner would not have made it in time carrying much luggage, see http://www.justgiving.com/ThehareandThetortoiseGoNorth). The Mk3 performed well although it was probably slightly overloaded and could suffer slightly from flex and wobble at slow speeds going up hill but it could be controlled by riding style. It was fine and did the job but for normal fully loaded touring I would still prefer my Sherpa.

[Neil Jones]

Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated. To be honest the more I think about it an RST would probably be more suitable for my needs especially after spending over an hour in a freezing cold garage trying to sort out my gears on my current bike yesterday. Judging by the excellent feedback from rohloff owners who swear by them it sounds like it could be the way to go. I'm looking forward to going down to SJSC to test them out. 

[jags]

a friend of mine was asking me what i taught about the thorn bikes  he said he and his wife were going to do some light touring, i told him about the  bikes and that maybe the raven model might be better suited to them, well he only went and bought two raven tours with rohloff and he loves them .i wonde would sjs give me a discount on my next purchase  for doing the salesman bit

[Blacksail]

My two pennies worth I agree with philb that an Audax or RST sounds a better fit to your needs, unless you want the option to carry a lot.

I have an RST which I do every type of riding on (except time trialing and off road expeditions) and I think everyone should own one 

As far as upgrades go I'd go for the anodized Rohloff, carbide rims and the xt or xtr brakes.

That said, what you should do is try as many of the bikes as you can when you are there and go for the one you heart says it right.

[brummie]

I might be tempting fate, but.... I'm yet to puncture the Schwalbe Marathon Supremes on my RST - must be nearly 12 months of daily commutes. Can't recall EVER having to fix a flat on the Schwalbe Marathon Racers used prior to the Supremes either !

[Neil Jones]

Thanks for all the input everyone, it"s great to get seasoned Thorn riders opinions on the various models and their good/bad points. I must say that I'm leaning heavily towards the RST as a one bike to do everything and looking forward to trying a Rohloff for the first time when I go to SJSC. I am going for flat bars as the reason for me getting a new bike is down to me getting back pain on my Super Galaxy and Mercian (selling both in the spring). I haven't ridden a flat barred bike since my Raleigh Super Burner BMX. One question about the Rohloff, do you have to ease off slightly when changing every gear or just from 7 to 8?