Good morning, and welcome, Miguel! It's great hearing from you on the Forum, and -- yes! -- we've known each other awhile.
what is that stick you're using to hold up the bike?
Ah, that would be a Click-Stand (
www.click-stand.com/ ) "The Only Portable Folding Bicycle Kickstand", handmade by cyclist/machinist Tom Nostrant of Washington State. Mine is the Max model, intended for tandems and heavily-laden touring bikes. They're also available for Bike Fridays, as photos on the Click-Stand site show. I think you might like one.
They are deservedly popular among Forum members because they are compact, lightweight, and avoid any possibility of clamping damage to the chainstays or seatstays, as can sometimes occur with conventionally-mounted kickstands (and they keep the frame warranty intact). It -- along with a SON dynohub, B&M LED lighting, and Tout Terrain The Plug2 charging system -- is one of the most valuable additions I've made to a bicycle. Best of all, it allows me to load and unload the bike solo in a fraction of the time it previously took (~3 minutes, down from ~45+ minutes). That means I'm on the road earlier in the morning, and it takes far less time to set up camp at the end of the day. Best of all, the bike no longer has to be laid-down on gravel, dirt, playa, and mud. Since the bike stays upright, the bags (Ortlieb Packer series) also remain waterproof and clean.
Among the hidden virtues that make the Click-Stand work are little bungee cords that hold the brake levers shut when parked. These immobilize the bike, and prevent it swinging around the stand. I've had no problem with the Click-Stand holding as much as 70kg of bike and load (equipped for extended self-supported solo desert travel with 16.5+kg of water and 2 weeks' food -- usually canned 'cos that's what's available from back-country stores), though it is common to increase the lean angle with extra weight and to place the end of the stand on a bottle cap or rock to prevent it sinking in soft soil. <-- This last detail has caused disappointment for some, but overall, the basic idea of a stick -- wooden, trekking pole, or Click-Stand -- has proven helpful to hold a loaded or bare bike reliably upright in a variety of conditions.
It is important to note that as well as the Click-Stand works for me, there are folks on the Forum who are just as pleased with a double-leg kickstand or one mounted on the left-rear stays -- and those who prefer no kickstand at all or a homemade version of the Click-Stand. Each is a viable approach and has its adherents. It really is down to personal preference and the factors most congruent with individual needs.
Miguel, I've long admired your ultralight approach, and try to emulate it when I can, but the Thorns are built for stout -- they're the patient, even-tempered Draft horses of the bicycle world, but the geometry means they have racehorse pretensions -- with lively low-speed handling and high-speed stability loaded or bare. I've never owned a bike more stable under enormous loads, yet at the same time comfortable picking its way along a rocky goat path at low or high speeds. Unladen (and despite its greater weight), it is proving the equal to my Centurion Pro Tour 15 rando bike, and the times over long distances are comparable, despite the Sherpa's 26 x 2.0 Schwalbe Duremes compared to my rando bike's 700x32C road slicks. If the rando-bike is my lightweight all-'rounder, the Sherpa is the same at the heavier end of the scale, with a healthy overlap in the middle. At first, I was as inclined to grab one as the other for a good, long day ride. Now, I find myself doing most of my riding on Sherpa. I think that says something about it meeting all my needs.
So.
Welcome, Miguel; looking forward to hearing from you. Don't neglect the possibility of a used Thorn as a means to acquire the marque more quickly. There are often remarkable examples that appear in the For Sale sections of the Forum.
All the best from across the years,
Dan.
