Rohloff options

[jassem99]

I realise this might be rude to ask on the SJS forums, but is there a popular European alternative to the Raven Tour? I can across this here
 http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5155041266
on German ebay. It's not much cheaper at £1200 but it does include a rack and the Schmidt hub. Other options are
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5156813490 and http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=5156862158 . Any obvious Raven Tour alternatives I should know about?

Please don't misunderstand; the Raven Tour is probably good value for money but I just like to do my research before buying expensive toys.

Basil

[ahconway]

I did a lot of research before buying my Adventure Tour, and there don't seem to be a lot of options if you want the Rohloff. Apart from the odd German Fahrrad that's hard to get in England, Cannondale does one (see http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/ce/model-4SS5K.html), but I'm not convinced it's a serious distance machine.

The other one I know of is The T1000by  German company Fahrrad Manufakture (available in London at http://www.bikefix.co.uk/b-fahrrad.html). But this one seems to be more of a city bike. (I've got the T400 for banging around London.)

No other company with a Rohloff-equipped bike seems to have put as much thought into the frame as Thorn, and I couldn't be happier with mine.

[Colin]

I researched about every European manufacturer who offered Rohloff, before I saw the Raven advertised in December 2003. I bought an Adventure Tour (with twin plate fork, Schmidt dynamo, Magura rim brakes and Brooks Conquest saddle). The eccentric bottom bracket & vertical dropouts are neat and simple. Most manufacturers use Rohloff dropouts with fiddly horizontal wheel adjustment and offer "trekking bikes" with suspension forks.

The Raven has done nearly 4000 km since May, with no maintenance except initial adjustments, a loose bottom bracket (in the first 30 km of a weekend tour) and one wash. It's used daily (the car hardly ever comes out now).

Here are a few manufacturers and custom builders to compare:

http://www.hami-mittendorf.de/Beispiele_exclusiver_Reiserad_/beispiele_exclusiver_reiserad_.html

http://www.norwid.de/html/kattegat.html

http://www.wanderer-fahrraeder.de

http://www.marschall-framework.de

http://www.m-gineering.nl/randog.htm

There are more links in Rohloff's bike finder page:
http://www.rohloff.de

[Jitensha]

Hi jassem99,

Have to agree with the above. I don't have a Raven yet and may or may not be gettin one depending on my budget, but from having researched just about every option I could find on the Net as well as looking into doing my own DIY job, there is no doubt that the Raven is the cheapest Rohloff option out there and quite probably the best designed frame for the hub.

Really, I think it comes down to whether you want a Rohloff hub or not. If you want it, the Raven is simply the best value out there. However some things to consider:

The frame is made in Taiwan. Not saying there is anything wrong with this, but when spending pretty big bucks (let's face it over a grand for a bike isn't cheap, that's not to say it's not good value of course) some people like a British made or German made or whatever.

The breaks look pretty average to me. How many people pay the 20 or 50 quid to upgrade to Deore or Deore LX I wonder? Definitly the standard breaks look out of place on a bike that costs over a grand.

The Raven package (like many Thorn bikes) is pretty minimalist. When budgeting it's best to include costs for all the upgrades you'll want, racks, etc.

Best of luck with your purchase. Let the forums know how you get on.

Dave