Which Thorn Raven.

[fossala]

I'm in the lucky position of buying a Thorn Raven within the next few months. If they still have them in stock is there any benefit of me getting a RST or RT over the "new" raven?

90% of the time it will be used for commuting, 8% for 100 mile plus rides (12mph average is what we have been doing I'm on a 20 year old Raleigh Randonneur and he is on a Kona Sutra) and last 2% is touring (tent/sleeping bag/food (little bit)/cooking equipment) nothing too heavy.

My thought is that if the RST is "nippier" I could be better off with that rather than a new raven model.

Cheers for the advise.

[Swislon]

Welcome to the Forum Fossala!

I would check what is in stock first otherwise you might be disappointed.
The RST is the nippier of the three.
The Raven Tour is the beast of burden.
The new Raven is a mix of both.

All three will be good at commuting, no doubt about that.
All three will manage 100 mile plus rides.
I would say as far as camping is concerned The Raven Tour and Raven will be better than the RST.

I had no heel clearance on my RST so large panniers were out.
My wife's is better in this regard but then she will not go camping so light credit card touring for us. But i will be on a Club Tour as I've sold the RST.

If I bought again for what you want I'd go with the new Raven with the 853 fork choice. then i feel you have the best of all threee bikes.
Just my opinion.
Enjoy the decision making process.
Steve
 

[geocycle]

Welcome to the Forum Fossala!

I would check what is in stock first otherwise you might be disappointed.
The RST is the nippier of the three.
The Raven Tour is the beast of burden.
The new Raven is a mix of both.

All three will be good at commuting, no doubt about that.
All three will manage 100 mile plus rides.
I would say as far as camping is concerned The Raven Tour and Raven will be better than the RST.

I had no heel clearance on my RST so large panniers were out.
My wife's is better in this regard but then she will not go camping so light credit card touring for us. But i will be on a Club Tour as I've sold the RST.

If I bought again for what you want I'd go with the new Raven with the 853 fork choice. then i feel you have the best of all threee bikes.
Just my opinion.
Enjoy the decision making process.
Steve
 

Hi Steve, that's the first time I've heard issues about heel clearance and panniers on the RST what rack and panniers were you using?  Do you have v large feet? I ask as I may well be acquiring an RST...

[fossala]

I should be fine with large panniers. I use altura 56ltr and my chainstay on my current bike is 44cm, the RST is 42.8cm in my size. We are only talking a cm. The new Raven has a 43.8cm. What I love about the RST is the matt black without any decals (they do have some left in my size).

Does anyone know the weight difference between all the frames? I don't think I'll go with the Raven Tour so it's only a toss up between the RST and the Raven.

[geocycle]

Fossala, Not sure of the weight difference with the new raven, but I've just bought an RST 10 mins ago!  The weight difference between the RT and RST frames was only 200g and 120g for the forks according to the 2011 brochure.  I'd imagine the new raven would be less rather than more.  The difference between the RT and RST is in the geometry, 853 steel and forks.

[Swislon]

Hi geocycle,

A Blackburn carrier and size 11 (46 Eur). I had size 461L RST 425 mm chainstays.

I tried our Altura, not particularly large panniers, and they would always catch my heels.
Different panniers and a different rack that puts panniers further back might have worked, but I wasn't going to experiment.
425 mm chainstays are usually on fast touring bikes. I just felt "crowded" if that makes sense.
By the way that was not the reason I sold the RST.

Steve

[geocycle]

Hi Steve,
Thanks, I've got smaller feet and a Tubus rack so I'll hope I get away with it.  I've really enjoyed my RT since 2006 but decided I needed a change.  I wasn't doing cycle camping anymore so the load carrying wasn't an issue.  I did consider the mercury very seriously but the cost and more limited offroad abilities put me off.  For the next few weeks I'll have an RT and RST to compare...  The RST I bought is one of the alfine versions - I'll move the rohloff etc across at some point and will then probably be selling lots of shiny new parts and RT frame.

[Swislon]

Hi geocycle,

Exciting times and it will be good to hear a report from someone who has owned and ridden both.
I've just bought the new Club Tour this morning so we are both expecting!!

Steve

[geocycle]

Hi geocycle,

Exciting times and it will be good to hear a report from someone who has owned and ridden both.
I've just bought the new Club Tour this morning so we are both expecting!!

Steve

Excellent, they've had a good day in Bridgewater!

[Peddrov]

When I compared the brochures for the RT/RST and the new Raven, it seemed to me that the latter combined with the ST1 fork comes very close to a RT, while it sits somewhere in between the RST and RT with a C2 fork. I have been riding a new Raven with C2 fork for almost a year now and I love it. That being said, with your expected use, I think the RST might be the better choice.

[Neil Jones]

Hi Fossala,
I bought an RST 3 years ago with exactly the same intentions as you ie mainly commuting with the possibility of using it for some touring duties too. Personally I don't think you can get a better bike for your needs, mine has proved totally reliable after covering over 9000 miles in all weathers. I average about 13 mph on my 18.5 mile commute which involves some hills although nothing too strenuous, no doubt you would be faster on something like an audax but I save time on maintenance so it equals out in the end. Mine is kitted out with a Son Dynohub and a Thorn Expedition Rear Rack which is probably overkill for carrying my rack bag but I wanted something sturdy in case I ever wanted to go touring. As for touring I'm sure the RST would cope admirably with the exception of expeditions. I've heard that spreading the weight using front low riders is preferable due to the relative twitchy front end compared to the Raven Tour. Regarding heel clearances I just position by Carradice Super C's a little further back on my rack and it's been fine (I have size 8 shoes).
Hope this is of some help, good luck and welcome to the forum.
Neil.

[phopwood]

Fossala,

Did you decide between the two.

Geocycle,

How are you finding you new RST.

I have been toying with the idea of buying an RST frame, to replace my Sherpa frame.  Light and sporty is appealing to me.

Peter.

[geocycle]

Fossala,

Did you decide between the two.

Geocycle,

How are you finding you new RST.

I have been toying with the idea of buying an RST frame, to replace my Sherpa frame.  Light and sporty is appealing to me.

Peter.

Early days on the RST, and the weather has restricted riding to wet weather commuting, so difficult to say.  The RST 'feels'  significantly lighter than the RT it replaced, yet is almost exactly the same build in terms of components.  Some folk have reported heel clearance issues but fortunately I am fine on that score.  I also find the steering nice and true without any twitchiness which was the other concern reported.  I'd describe it as a light and sprightly bike within the general steel tourer class although its not going to win you races.  I still love the sure-footed ride of the RT especially when loaded and I've yet to see what the RST feels like with more than a single pannier on the back.  More will follow!

[fossala]

I think I've changed my mind completely. I'm going to get a mercury with disc forks when the come in stock. Now the only question is what I should build it up with (not going to use SJS as it seems they have priced it by adding up the RRP of all the items, I can get the whole lot quite a bit cheaper doing it myself) and what colour pewter or matt "stealth" black.

[geocycle]

I think I've changed my mind completely. I'm going to get a mercury with disc forks when the come in stock. Now the only question is what I should build it up with (not going to use SJS as it seems they have priced it by adding up the RRP of all the items, I can get the whole lot quite a bit cheaper doing it myself) and what colour pewter or matt "stealth" black.

The mercury looks fantastic and is probably the best light tourer, day riding rolhoff bike out there. For me it was about £1000 more than I could justify. already owning a 26" rolhoff and Schmidt dynamo, the sensible move was to the discounted RST frame. I like the black mercury frames.  I thoroughly enjoyed building the new bike and you might be able to save a bit if you are confident the numbers add up.