Thorn Raven Sport Tour in Essex

[JenM]

Prompted by Danneaux, here is a photo of my new RST.  Seconds after this photo was taken a puff of wind blew the bike over....fortunately not into the water.

[Danneaux]

Prompted by Danneaux...

...who is so glad you posted this! My! What a breathtakingly beautiful bike.

Good bike shots are hard to take, but this one has all the "right" elements, including a pretty but undistracting background and excellent lighting that shows all the niceties of a black bike (hard to do!).

So glad it didn't go for a swim. By the way, have you named it yet?

Best,

Dan. (...who thinks the honey-colored Brooks looks especially good)

[jags]

lovely photo great looking bike enjoy.

btw i always meant to ask why is the front brake caliber on backways on the raven

[in4]

What a fabulous photo. Your RST looks wonderful. I'm minded to recall Ted's conversation with Dougal re. perspective,  well paraphrase it a bit anyway: 'No Dougal, this is near, that is large' !

[Danneaux]

...why is the front brake caliber on backways on the raven

...And my Nomad!

I can't speak for Andy Blance, jags, but it likely allows the fork blades to serve as an integral brake booster. With canti-/v-brake posts on the front of the fork, braking forces (pads grabbing the rim) tend to bow the posts outward, causing squeal and judder. Putting them on the rear of the fork means braking forces tend to draw the posts inward...a bit like on rear brakes.

It seems to work for me, as my front brake is quiet as can be and braking is as smooth and powerful as anyone could ask for (I'm running plain Deore v-brakes with Kool-Stop Salmon pad-inserts and Tektro RL520 levers on drop handlebars. Two-finger braking from atop the brake hoods will result in "stoppies" on the unladen bike).

It also has the happy result of placing both adjusters on the same side of the bike (convenient) and give the front of the fork a nice, clean appearance (bonus points for aesthetics).

Best,

Dan.

[JenM]

Glad you like the bike - so do I.

I don't have names for my bike, it is usually referred to as 'the bike'.

[Danneaux]

...usually referred to as 'the bike'

Or perhaps "THE bike". Owning one like this, could there be any other? 

Best,

Dan.

[Matt2matt2002]

Smashing looking bike.
May I ask about the saddle? Brooks?

[JenM]

Yes its a Brooks B17, although I have swapped it for another one for the time being.

[jags]

just noticed a Thorn BLACK seatpost when did this happen.

(man i hate the cheap looking silver ones )
sorry thorn but black is always better.expect to get a few slaps for that comment.maybe i should keep my big mouth shut 

[Cambirder]

Seem to remember it being an option when I ordered my near identical RST. I stuck with a plane seat stem but went with black Rolhoff and Son hub.

I also have a honey B17 saddle which not only looks good but has provided 8000 km of comfort with little breaking in.

[JWestland]

Nice "beastie" as I call my bikes 

The honey hue saddle is a nice touch, all black it would maybe be stealth overload

How does it ride VS the XTC?
Handling etc?

(gearing obv different with the Rohloff)

[JenM]

How does it ride VS the XTC?
Handling etc?

The XTC is an excellent bike as is the RST.  Handling?.........can't say that one handles better than the other.  As you would expect with Thorn both bikes handle very solidly, especially when carrying luggage.

The RST seemed faster etc initially, but I think that this may have been down to the Pasela Tourguard tyres.  After a higher number of punctures than I would have like these have now been changed to Marathons.

[energyman]

Does your front brake "L" cable pipe catch on the down tube when it turns hard left ?
Just wondering as mine does on my RST.

[sg37409]

I have an xtc 1998 and a 2010 rst. I think the xtc is a nicer ride. Both have the same tyres. I think the rst has larger diameter seatstays and chainstays. This contributes to a more unforgiving ride on the rst, but it's still very comfortable, just not quite as nice a ride.