MY NEW NOMAD MK2 FRAME HAS ARRIVED!!!

[Slammin Sammy]

  Yippeee!! 

It's here. And it came quick. Less than a week after placing my order, it was whisked half way around the world, from Bridgwater Somerset to Newcastle New South Wales.

It is a thing of beauty - surprisingly small but perfectly formed. And the most lovely yellow colour... the pikkies don't do it justice. I have taken photos (starting with the unopened carton  ), and will track my build over the coming weeks.

I have lots of choices to make, some of which have been decided (black Rohloff and SON 28, Andra 30 CSS front and rear, Marathon Duremes 2.0, B&M Lumotech IQ2 and Topline Brake Plus, n'lock stem), and others are still pending. For instance, I'm leaning towards Tubus for racks (see separate thread in the Luggage forum), and investigating Magura HS33 hydraulic brakes. (I'm not sure I can get pads suitable for CSS yet. Anyone know?). I'm still considering bars (leaning towards the Flat Track with Ergons, but investigating a few cool options).

I'm going to try Topeak DeFender compact "clip-on" mudguards off of my GT-based commuter. They'll make the bike easier to transport.

I'm still working out gearing too.Our first destination on the European holiday will be Cornwall and Lands End, so I want to be able to pull some hills. From now until our departure in late August, I will be training in the foothills of the Hunter Valley, and testing out loading and camping combinations. (NB - It's winter here in Oz, so conditions should replicate a Cornwall summer perfectly, no?  ) So much to do, and so little time! And then there's work...

Stay tuned, friends! I will share every enthralling moment with you all.

Slammin!

[Danneaux]

Wonderful, wonderful news, Sam; what a thrill to open that box!

Congratulations, and thanks in advance for "taking us along on the ride" as you build and develop the bike. Very much looking forward to it.

Slammin', indeed!

Best,

Dan.

[NZPeterG]

Hi Have Fun building it up 

I know how you are feeling  as My new Frameset can today too 
I have to build up by the morning 

Pete.. Time to go back building again 

[jags]

well done should be some fun building it up,concider routing the wires for lights inside the frame,love to hear about the headlight on how good it is,if you have a video camera handy it would make for a great how to do it.
anyway enjoy every pedal stroke, super bike.

[Andre Jute]

Congratulations, Sammy and Pete. I wish I had a new yellow Nomad to play with...

I have Magura HS 11, the older version, in which the 11 was less strong than the 33, deliberately chosen because I'm a distracted cyclist, often talking, and the 11 is a very forgiving, progressive brake. What you have to keep in mind is that these Magura's are hydraulic disc brakes, using the huge rim as the the disc, so making them more forgiving yet quite as effective as a Shimano Rollerbrake or a Magura Louise centre-disc brake is quite a feat. Modern HS 11 and HS 33 have exactly the same internal components and pressure; they differ merely in the material of the handles, plus the HS 11 has removable trims so you can colour-match the HS 11 to your bike. Magura rim hydraulics are, to my mind, the best brakes for everyone except the mud pluggers. They're totally service free.

Magure has a dedicated compound for the CSS. I can't now remember whether it was on this forum or elsewhere, but someone said he prefers the standard Magura brake block compound with the CSS. First try the standard compound you get free with the brake kit; maybe you like them. The brake blocks last virtually forever, so you don't want to be ordering brake blocks you won't be using.

I have the n'lock security system too. The n'lock by itself makes the bike unrideable, which deters impulse thefts. The optional handlebar with the cable allows you to lock the bike to a pole or a rail. The optional long cable allows you to lock the rear wheel to the steering and the whole to a post. All three units are sold in a most attractively priced kit directly by Franklin Niedrich on the n'lock Swiss site. i no longer carry my Abus Granit 54X u-lock.

Andre Jute

[in4]

I noticed that the Nlock owners are retiring and thus the company is for sale.

[Slammin Sammy]

Congratulations, Sammy and Pete. I wish I had a new yellow Nomad to play with...

Thanks Andre! By the sounds of it, Peter would have built his overnight! It's the Big Dummy, isn't it Pete?

Magure has a dedicated compound for the CSS. I can't now remember whether it was on this forum or elsewhere, but someone said he prefers the standard Magura brake block compound with the CSS. First try the standard compound you get free with the brake kit; maybe you like them. The brake blocks last virtually forever, so you don't want to be ordering brake blocks you won't be using.

Yes, Kool-Stop make an R formulation for the Maguras, but I have been having a hard time finding them online. If needed, I will get my LBS to chase them up, but I had already come to the same conclusion you suggest. I'm going to be getting free blocks with the brakes, so why not check the wear rate before swapping them out? Also, I'm quite prepared to swap blocks more frequently if it means better grip in the wet.

I have the n'lock security system too. The n'lock by itself makes the bike unrideable, which deters impulse thefts. The optional handlebar with the cable allows you to lock the bike to a pole or a rail. The optional long cable allows you to lock the rear wheel to the steering and the whole to a post. All three units are sold in a most attractively priced kit directly by Franklin Niedrich on the n'lock Swiss site.

Yes, I've been in touch with Franklin, who has directed me to their Taiwanese distributor for sales to Australia. But they are nothing short of hopeless at fulfillment. It has taken me the better part of a week of emails to FINALLY get a quote from them on a kit + long cable, and then it was in Swiss francs to be direct-deposited into their bank account, which is a royal pita! (I saw the "For Sale" notice on the n'lock web site, in4, but I guess Franklin hasn't yet found a buyer.) Still, the system seems impressive, and if Andre is happy with the fit and finish, it's good enough for me!   I'll be off to the bank at lunchtime.

Cheers,
Sam

[Andre Jute]

Still, the [n'lock] system seems impressive, and if Andre is happy with the fit and finish, it's good enough for me!   I'll be off to the bank at lunchtime.

We have more n'lock owners here, Julian for one. It's amazing how many ultra-niche components you can find expertise on by just applying at the Thorn Rohloff Forum.

Andre Jute

[NZPeterG]

Thanks Andre! By the sounds of it, Peter would have built his overnight! It's the Big Dummy, isn't it Pete?

Cheers,
Sam

Hi Sam
Yes I'm a the dummy who build up my bike over night (and this morning) I have one finished Big Dummy 
1st Market day in the morning ?

Pete 

[Slammin Sammy]

Hi Sam
Yes I'm a the dummy who build up my bike over night (and this morning) I have one finished Big Dummy 
1st Market day in the morning ?

Pete 

That's so cool! AAMOF, it'd be getting a bit chilly in the shed over your way this time of year, wouldn't it, Pete? Especially overnight in the manger while a new Dummy was born!  Better get your snow studs on her!

Here's an idea I got from one of my old Ulysses motorbike mates. He built a bar into his right pannier, complete with bottle racks, glass holders, shakers and a small ice bucket. You'd pull up alongside him at a rally, and down the lid would come, forming a countertop for pouring a round. The Dummy'd be ideal for that, wouldn't it, Peter? 

BTW, I have two major components left to order - the BB, and the crank. I can't seem to find a good combination, prefferably black, that isn't out-of-stock, or the wrong size. Ideas, anyone?

Regards,
Sam

[Andre Jute]

BTW, I have two major components left to order - the BB, and the crank. I can't seem to find a good combination, prefferably black, that isn't out-of-stock, or the wrong size. Ideas, anyone?

If you don't have a dealer who stocks Sugino cranks nearby, these guys do Stronglight and are reliable mailorder merchants: http://www.xxcycle.com/single-crankset,en.php Stronglight's Impact range is rebranded Sugino (Alpina II style, IIRC), and has a 110 bolt spacing; JIS square taper. They seem to be mostly out of black though. Spa Cycles had, the last time I looked, the same cranks in a lesser stage of polish and without a brand name for a third of the price, but the carriage killed the attraction for me.

By ordering on this page http://www.xxcycle.com/impact-double,,en.php I received a beautiful boutique Sugino Cospea crankset from XXcycles, labelled Stronglight. (I bought a road double and removed the chainrings in favour of a single Surly Stainless 38x110.) If this interests you, write to them to discover what's in the box, because the illustration isn't of the Cospea...

Some of the Stronglight Impact cranks come with guards but you can throw those off too if you want to fit a Hebie Chainglider; there's a Chainglider thread on the forum somewhere, and discussions of less impressive chaincases too. I recommend Chainglider for all uses.

In bottom brackets I like the Kinex from Czechoslovakia, which lasts forever and is cheap, but the carriage normally kills the price. So instead I use a Shimano UN55; it's cheap and good and carriage-free from CRC http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=71369. You need the 118mm axle and a 1mm spacer (buy three to have spares in case you measure differently) to get a perfect Rohloff chainline.

Of course, you can't go wrong with the standard fat Shimano Deore M590 crankset, available in black, and brilliantly priced, sold everywhere; just throw off the rings and fit something good. The M590 may be common but it suits a tough touring bike, I think.

Andre Jute

[Danneaux]

Extremely pleased with my own Shimano Deore M590 on the Nomad, but don't expect the bearings to last long, so I've got a Phil Wood external bearing BB laid-in and ready to mount as soon as the original Shimano shows signs of incipient failure. Meantime, why not get the full life out of the Shimano unit? It has surprised me so far, so perhaps Shimano made some incremental improvement in sealing or added a few balls to the races -- really, the only weak point in the design.

I truly love the crank and design...it has only been let down occasionally in the past by poor bearing design and execution. Failure has been uneven; some seemed to have failed right away, while others churned on and on without incident. It may have much to do with local conditions.

The traditional "Plus One" to second Andre's vote for a better/more appropriate chainring for Rohloff use. I found Thorn's original purpose-built alloy chainring to be excellent, and so too is the Surly stainless version I fitted when revising my gearing. I don't think you'd go wrng with either.

Best,

Dan.

[geocycle]

Great project and really sure you'll finish with a fantastic bike.  What was your main motivation going for a frame and forks rather than a complete bike built to your spec! I'm not criticising just interested as I may go that way for my next thorn...

[Slammin Sammy]

Great project and really sure you'll finish with a fantastic bike.  What was your main motivation going for a frame and forks rather than a complete bike built to your spec! I'm not criticising just interested as I may go that way for my next thorn...

My motivation was simply to build my own bike! Including the wheels. I've been reading and dreaming about Thorns and other Rohloff bikes for several years. I started a new job and got extremely busy, so decided I needed a "project" in the shed to distract me from work. My wife thinks I'm a nutcase - I sit on the boards of three non-profits as well. But I need to create something with my hands. 

Life's just like a bike. You've got to keep moving or you fall over   .

Slammin!

[Slammin Sammy]

well done should be some fun building it up,concider routing the wires for lights inside the frame,love to hear about the headlight on how good it is,if you have a video camera handy it would make for a great how to do it.
anyway enjoy every pedal stroke, super bike.

I missed this post earlier, jags.

Not sure how I'd wire the lights internally (or why I'd want to). The headlight will be mounted on the crown, and has a very short wiring run. I will mount the taillight on the rack, and wire it up with some Schmidt coaxial cable running underneath the top tube with the brake line (I guess... I haven't really gotten that far in my thinking.) But I won't be taking a drill to the frame, you can be sure of that! 

You're idea of filming the headlight ops for the assembled Thornoids is a brilliant one. (Is there a pun in there?  ) So shall I do. My GoPro is at the service of the realm!

Sam (Lighting the way, as it were. Apparently... )