my Raven Tour is going round the world (not with me though)

[ians]

Things happen quickly.  Just 2 weeks ago I mention to my wife that I'm considering selling my beloved Raven Tour - for reasons to do with health rather than dissatisfaction with the bike - and now it's gone.

Yesterday afternoon, a young man named Thomas came to check it out and took it for a test ride.  He returned with an enormous grin on his face and there was really nothing else for me to do - the bike sold itself.  He shoved an envelope of used notes in my hand and that was it. 

Thomas is planning a world tour next year and I'm sure he'll drop into this forum to take advantage of the wealth of expertise here.  I wish him luck.  And I'm pleased my beautiful bike has gone to someone who'll make better use of it than I did.

Now what to do? 

Andre and Dan gave me some food for thought in a recent post concerning the number of gears needed for an electric assist bike.  I had a front hub motor system on the RT but decided I wanted a crank-drive system.  Andre suggested a retro-fit to the RT.  I've found an interesting crank drive motor that can be fitted to virtually any bike - except one with an eccentric BB.  Hence the decision to let the RT go.

Possible candidates; a cheap hybrid?  The Giant Escape 3 at £300 looks good - but like lots of manufacturers - the steerer tube is cut short.  Or too short for me.  I'm used to keeping the steerer long until I decide where to cut it.  I could put a pair of Surly LHT forks on it (350mm steerer) and it would make a decent electric assist for considerably less than a good pedelec.

Looking at the Surly site then made me think about a Long Haul Trucker but I'm not sure about the horizontal top tube.  So I'm drifting back to Thorn and the Mk3 Sherpa.  If I stick with 26" wheels, I have enough bits lying around to put a bike together for just the cost of the frame, forks and a new rear wheel.  The crank drive motor I'm looking at comes with its own Chainset and BB so don't need that.  Andre's assessment shows that 7/8 gears is probably enough and I have the parts for that.

The only thing I'm not sure about is the tyre clearance; I've been using Schwalbe Big Apples (26x2") and I've seen one or two posts about having to deflate the front wheel to get 2" tyres out of the Sherpa forks.  Which would be a pain.

So it's back to that stage of pouring over website images of bike frames and reading and re-reading specs.

Before Thomas came to see my RT I took off the motor system, battery case, rack etc and got it back to its original configuration.  I took it up the road for a last spin and I'd forgotten what an amazing bike it is to ride unencumbered.  Thomas was not the only one with a grin on his face.

ians





   

[jags]

Ah Ian its like loosing one of the kids i know exactly how you feel.
very best of luck on the new build I'm sure Dan and Andre will sort you out on all things technical sounds like a plan to me.
the sherpa is a great bike you wont be disappointed .
all the best.
anto.

[lewis noble]

Hello ians

My RT went the same way - I sold it to a guy who rode it to the Far East.  He is fine, and back in UK - quite where the bike is I am not sure, but whatever, it earned its keep with him and me and I was delighted that it was used to its full potential.

I cannot help you much on your plans for the future - all I can say is that I have come to realise that posture, riding position etc is far more important than many people, and pretty well all bike sellers / bikeshops, realise.  My Ripio suits me well because it feels right.

Best wishes

Lewis

[Danneaux]

Hi Ian!

Always hard to "lose a friend" in selling a bicycle (one reason why I've not been able to part with one since childhood), but the good news is this opens opportunities for a future ride that better suits your needs. It also made Thomas very, very happy and it is nice to bring a bit of joy to the lives of others. Though you may not be on your beloved RT, you'll still be cycling and that's a wonderful thing.

I can address a few of the points you mention...

I ran 26x2.0 (actually 47mm inflated to my needs) Duremes on my Mk2 Sherpa and as I recall I did indeed have to deflate the tire to clear the front pads. I believe the fork on the Mk3 Sherpas may be marginally wider, so perhaps this would not be an issue on the current frames. Best to check with SJSC/Thorn to be sure. Do you have to frequently remove the front wheel? If not, I found I only had to let out a bit of air to clear, and didn't have to pump it back up from flat.

Andre is far more expert in this realm than I, but I wonder if it might be possible to employ an 8- or 11-speed Nexus/Alfine hub with your BB-mounted motor and come out with a pretty ideal motorized IGH setup. Certainly, there have now been a couple very nice Sherpa-to-Rohloff conversions and this would not be so different. The bike even includes a derailleur hanger in the event a chain tensioner is needed. Of course, there's always the option to go with derailleur gears, and this is not a bad thing by any means.

There is one other possibility I'll toss out there for consideration, Ian. Given Andre's success with an open frame, might one also be worthy of consideration for this application? Looking to the future, it would make mounting and dismounting even easier than the Sherpa's sloping top tube and if one isn't planning to carry heavy touring loads, there aren't (m)any disadvantages.

Please keep us posted as things move toward a decision. Know good wishes go with you for finding the perfect combination for your needs.

All the best,

Dan.

[ians]

Hi folks and thanks for the comments.

Funnily enough I have been thinking about an open frame but it's probably a step(through) too far right now.  I'm 6'2" and most such frames are not designed for people as tall as me.

The front wheel in/out thing is not really a deal-breaker - I tend to transport bikes in the back of my car with the front wheel removed (rear-mounted carriers are not possible).  I used to carry them on the roof, but getting them up there now (especially with a motor on board) would require me to lie down for a few days.

At the moment the Sherpa frame is top of my list.  Another consideration is that the BB width needs to be 68mm for the drive unit I have in mind.  So that rules out some MTB frames.

I'll keep you posted.

ians

[il padrone]

The reasoning for not using a front-wheel motor??

Gazelle do some very fine e-bikes, and they generally use front-wheel motors. You could consider somethng like the Orange Plus Innergy XT.




It enables a friend of mine, who is well into his 70s, continue doing rides of up to 70kms

[jags]

that is one smart looking bike.

[ians]

The reasoning for not using a front-wheel motor??

You're right - there are some nice front wheel motor bikes around.  But I found that I want the weight - motor and battery - as low down as possible.  But that's just me.  I tried a nice Giant pedelec in my LBS - front-wheel motor built into an alu-framed hybrid.  If you took a passing glance you wouldn't know it was an electric bike (like my old RT).  Not too heavy either.  But - only 2 sizes and the largest size was far too small for me.  Sizes are limited at the cheaper end of the market - pay £2.5K+ and you start to get bikes that will fit the taller end of the market.

I also like the idea of converting a bike of my own rather than buying a pedelec.  So if it doesn't work out for me, then I still have a great bike which I can sell (as I just did).     

[il padrone]

Some interesting things about that Gazelle.

It has pedal-assist, so no throttle. My friend much prefers this as there is no conflict between your power input and the throttle level you might choose. He describes it as like riding a tandem with a very well-matched, strong stoker, as you hit a climb you just get a nice push from the rear.

The battery is lithium and very light in weight. He rode it the first time and the battery cut out after 30kms. He took it back to the shop, rather unsatisfied and found out that they had not registered it with Gazelle. Each battery needs to be registered to the owner and the bike. This is an anti-theft measure, so if the battery is whipped off the bike by a thief it will not work in any other bike. He carried a spare battery (also registered to the bike) but in a 70+km ride did not neeed to swap it over at all.

So in terms of building up your own e-bike, there are some definite advantages in the battery of a bought one.