Well, this Forum is a good read -- style, substance, courtesy, practical suggestions, what more could a first-time reader ask for? The early reference to Alex' excellent tour of the horizon was really helpful, and the extended discussion has only added to that. So, thanks, guys.
I logged onto the Thorn Forum because I'm seriously considering buying a Rohloff-equipped touring bike in the next 12 months or so, most probably from SJS. This is because I'm fed up with the fiddly-verging-on-seriously-irritating (thankfully, not catastrophic) derailleur problems I've encountered on some longish rides, one from Ottawa to Halifax, another from Amsterdam to Vienna this past Sept/Oct. I'm an admirer of German engineering--one of my two-wheelers is a mid-80's BMW airhead--and fortunately, I can manage the price of the Rohloff. My general approach to these questions has been, "Buy quality or repent at leisure."
BUT, until now my reservation about the Rohloff has been the issue of mating the Rohloff shifter to drop bars. I've finally found very comfortable bars for my touring bike -- a set of Velo Orange Grand Cru randonneur bars--and have been wrestling with the problem of using them with a Rohloff shifter. The folks at my local shop suggested Alex' preferred option in his review -- the 55 mm Thorn accessory bar. Then, I learn that Co-Motion offers a shifter mounted to the bars themselves, ā la GB. Happy coincidence!--I expect to be in Oregon this July so will visit them for a discussion: all else equal, will it fit with the mounts for my Arkel handlebar bag?
So, at the very least there seem to be several routes through the thicket. Will post my experience in sorting all this through in the next year-plus.
Thanks for your help.
