The Right Choice.

[jags]

ok lads i need to get my head around what is the right bike for me,
top of my list is the Thorn Audax closly followed by bob jackson world tour then i have my eye on velo orange campaur, also in the line up is Lee Cooper who used to make the bikes for thorn.
All great bike i'm certain of than but what i want to know is this,
will the thorn audax carry 2 rear panniers and barbag will it take 28mm tyres ,is it a nippy bike,good climber good decender.
i'll only get one shot at buying this new frameset and i want to be certain i'm not buying a pup.all new bikes look fantastic with a fresh coat of paint All Shiny and New but are they any good when you put them to there limits.
i have no intentions of doing fully loaded tours across deserts or off road stuff,as smooth tarmac as i can find 3 maybe 5 days tops overnighters that kinda touring.
so what do you guys reckon, i'm not interested in a rohloff bike or 600 wheels.

cheers
anto.

[Swislon]

Hi Jags,

The Bob Jackson World Tour is touring bike that can take up to 32mm tyres and guards.
Velo Orange Campeur is a touring bike that can take 38mm tyres and guards.

The Thorn Audax can take up to 28mm with guards. This is a fast tourer or audax bike.

The Thorn will be the nippier as it is designed for fast day rides or long distance rides. Everyone who has one seem to love them and I am sure they are good climbers but I haven't tried one myself. It will take a rear rack but the chainstays are not as long as the others on your list. This means you will have to be careful the panniers can be mounted far enough back not to clip your heels when riding. Though some racks are designed to put the panniers that extra bit rearward. I would discuss this with Thorn if you don't know the measurements you need. Some have ridden these bikes on Lejog over 10 days so they do work for this kind of touring.

I am going for the new Club Tour myself as I want at least 32mm tyres and guards but I expect it to be nippy with the right wheels though the geometry is more tourer than audax.

If you just buy the frameset then you have 100 days to return it if you don't like it. A full bike only 10 days I think, though that is 10 days more than any other LBS/manufacturer.

Steve

 

[jags]

Excellent Steve thanks a million,as i said it is my first choice but i just need to know it will work.
i did think about the heel clearence hopefully that can be sorted.
great to hear the folks that have them are well happy with them.

jags.

[dc]

Hi Jags have a look at Spa cycles website.  They do a nice Reynolds 725 touring frame for about £300 very good value.  The Bob Jackson world tour is an excellent frame and is silver soldered but you have to pay extra to get Reynolds 725 tubing. Also have a look at Hewitt cycles touring frame cheviot 725 tubing and stainless steel front and rear dropouts but more expensive.  All the best, Dermot

[jags]

Thanks Dermot yeah some great choices there,would you believe spa cycles don't do paypal  i know that may sound daft i tried ordering stuff from them before but they wanted to phone my credit card details, should have said the wife's credit card and she wont have that doesn't trust talking to a stranger with her credit card details   
anyway its well within my price range i can't afford to go spending 7or8 hundred on a frame i reckon 500 would be my limit.
love the look of Bob Jackson ;)ass act.
cheers
jags.

[honesty]

Hi Jags. If you look at my photo thread you'll see my audax with 2 panniers and a bar bag, so it definitely does it. Also Thorn say with the 853 fork anyway you can fit some 32mm tyres in there with guards (those who lie about their size anyway). That being said, the load limit on the audax is lower than a full tourer and the handling does get compromised at higher rear loads. Again thorn recommend the use of a  large saddle bag. It is nippy though and very chuckable. Its amazingly stable defending. I've done 40+ mph on mine and started the scratch my nose without really thinking about it..

For 3 to 5 day tours its fantastic.

Saying all that, the frame weight + 853 forks is somewhere around 3.1 kg. A club tour is the same weight. A club tour also has the benefit of larger tyre clearences and a third water bottle mount, and if you want disc brakes. Its only a slightly more relaxed riding position, can be specced for light touring and still morph into a fully loaded tourer...

[6527richardm]

I bought a Bob Jackson Audax End to End last year (and that may suit your needs) and have been really pleased with it. I also liked the fact that I could pick my own colour and design which makes it more individual and would say you could not go wrong with either a Thorn or Bob Jackson

[jags]

Thanks lads whats putting me off buying a full tourer is a sluggish ride,long wheel base doen't make for a good climbing  bike. my sherpa was  brilliant  for all day cycling but i hated it when it came to climbing steep hills ,btw i aint no Marco Pantani  .

didn't see bob jackson end to end will take a look at that.

thanks lads

jags.

[brummie]

Of course another aspect to take into account is customer service. Thorn have always been exemplary IME.

[jags]

True enough Brummi and that does count for a lot

[Donerol]

I have an Audax Mk3 and love it. I wouldn't put a camping load on but it is fine for B&B style touring. If I ever find the time to do LeJog it is the bike I will use.

Not only is it lively and fun to ride, but it is VERY comfortable - the forks just soak up poor surfaces and I happily ride it on tow paths and forest roads (though not with the original Paselas with their fragile sidewalls). I can chuck it around yet at the same time it feels really glued to the road (in a good way) - I can take my hands off the bars at 40mph down a hill without the slightest qualm. (I have my bus pass and would describe myself as a conservative rider )

[jags]

Wow you sure make my choice very hard,bike looks fantastic and its my colour as well .it's great to get the views of people that actually ride the Audax.
you obviously don't have a problem with heel clearence .i would have no idea what overall weight i would carrying on a weeks tour,only  thing i can say is all my gear is lightweigh and packs pretty small.i can get almost everything into the carradice camper but its a struggle to be honest and very unstable on my Raleigh 753 which was never built fo touring or carrying loads .
thanks for the photo .
i can't buy anything this month as my daughter is getting married end of month,
i'll be in big trouble if i'm stone broke on the day.

[JimK]

I keep drooling over the Audax too. I figure though the easiest way to improve climbing hills with my Nomad is if I can take some of the blubber off my own frame! If I can lop off about 25 pounds and keep it off for a year... maybe I will take that next step & shave some pounds off the bike!

[jags]

Hi Jim yeah i know what you mean i sure could do with loosing a few pounds  ::)actually i tried on my suit tonight for the upcoming wedding ,just about squeezed into it.
but even loosing weight my raleigh climbs a lot more quickly that the sherpa

[jp06]

Thorn Audax mk3 definitely gets my vote.  I have owned mine for about 5 years and found it to be fast and sporty when unloaded (with 28mm tyres) yet more than capable of moderate weight touring.  Last September I did W2W on it with about 8kg load and flew along the off road section just beyond Tan Hill Inn at high speed.  My opinion would be that if you plan to mostly ride unladen but wish to do some moderate weight touring - the audax can not be beaten for the money.  The frame still looks great (see my images in gallery).

I liked it so much I got one for my wife!

John