New Sport Tour

[Swislon]

I've been lurking and reading for a while and with some help from Fred Adams (Fred A-M), thanks Fred, have finally ordered a Sport Tour. The spec is:
Stealth black, 561L,
Straight bars
Ergon grips and Cane Creek bar ends
XC 717 rims
Black Rohloff, 44*16
1.5" Tourguards, silver mudguards
Blackburn Mtn carrier
Brooks B17 honey
Chainset and brakes standard.

Intended use is well, everything, a Jack of all trades. Winter training, shopping, visiting clients, some off roading, forest trails & bridleways, 'cos i do like the look of what the Rough Stuff guys get up to. A bike to stick on top of the car when we go away and is ready for anything. No heavy touring, No adreneline rush mountain biking.

I would welcome any comments about my chosen spec. given my intended usage 'cos I still have time to make adjustments (lead time is 3 weeks). I have ordered standard brakes and chainset and am wondering whether I should upgrade or whether I would notice the difference.
All input welcome. []  

Cheers
Steve

[goosander]

Hi Steve,

The spec you have chosen sounds fine to me for what you intend to use it for, indeed quite similar to the Sport Tour I am hoping to order soon.  

Mine will also be a 561L in Stealth black (though I am tempted by green) with straight bars, ergon grips and XC717's.  I will upgrade to LX brakes to get the convenience of cartridge pads, and may go for different tyres, possibly Conti Sport Contacts.

I also want the bike to be a jack of all trades, used mainly for commuting and leisure rides but it won't be going further off road than cycle paths & tow paths as I have a mountain bike for real off road stuff (great fun BTW, definately give it a go).
 
I don't know about you but I am finding the hardest part of specifying my bike is deciding on colour - thankfully most components only come in black or silver, goodness knows what I'd be like with more choices.

[Swislon]

Thanks for the reply goosander. I agree about the colour. I'm not keen on any of the standard ones and have chosen Stealth black as a default really. I would consider the upgrade to LX brakes if I understood the benefits versus cost a bit more. Will they stop me quicker or with more confidence or is it only the convenience of cartridge pads ?
I have a mountain bike but have decided the RST is the way to go and will probably give the mb away to a mate of mine who needs to lose some weight and I'm trying to encourage into cycling. Though when I lent it to him last time he fell off going round a very gentle corner! He really needs a Raven Tour but doesn't know it yet.
Cheers

[PH]

All looks good to me, you’ve obviously been dreaming and planning for some time.
I’d be interested in how you get on with that grip/bar end combo, I’m considering it.
It was mentioned in an early review (C+?) that the standard brakes are fiddly to set up, so I went for the Shimano Deore upgrade.  I don’t think anyone suggested a difference in stopping power, which has more to do with pads anyway (I prefer Kool Stop when I can find them and BBB triple compound as a close second choice.) I’ve got the standard chainset, unless you’re counting grams I see no need to upgrade.
My Raven Tour gets used for all sorts, anything from Audax to off roading, to get the best out of it I like to use different tires.  1.5” slicks in the summer, 1.75 Tourguards in the winter and a cheap set of narrow knobblies for snow and off roading.  Be aware that SJS fit mudguards with quite close clearances and neatly trim the stays.  Using a 1.5” tyre in a mudguard set for 1.75” means it’ll catch slightly less water but won’t clog so easily if you go anywhere muddy.  It’s probably not possible and defiantly not safe to fit a 1.75” tyre under mudguards set for 1.5”.  If you want the option SJS will fit them higher if you ask.  While on the subject, do yourself and your chain a favour and fit a deep mudflap to the front mudguard.
Your gearing looks a bit high for me, it’s a personal thing, but worth checking you’ve done the calculations right. Blackburn racks have a good reputation, but I have a thing about ugly racks, I think they can spoil the look of a bike, so I went for Tubus.
I’m also a fan of hub dynamos, with your list of things you’re going to use the bike for some night riding looks inevitable.  I know it’s a big upgrade pricewise, but a lot cheaper than adding one at a later date, I got a Schmidt but the new Shimano have had good reviews and are half the price.  I wouldn’t be without, it means the bike is ready to use anytime without thinking about lighting.
Have fun when you get it[]

[davefife]

I agree with the tyres and dynohub comment as i have the Schmidt (in black to match the Rohloff)and its faultless with a great output, plenty for my commuting using some unlit paths.  Panaracer Hi Road were fitted when it left Thorn and in my opinion are poor, i now have Schwalbe Marathon which are better; everyone has a different opinion on tyres and its a great topic to read on.  Its a 1.75" on the rear and i was able to adjust in the necessary clearance for the guards.
I have the 44*16 gearing as well but was originally unsure and specified a 42 front, when the shop considered my main use (very similar to yourself) "we" changed to 44, no regrets on this, mine has just turned 2000 miles since it hatched 1/3/06.
I am confident you will get on well with your RST - good luck and keep posting.

[Swislon]

I considered the Schmidt a while back for my audax bike but decided to invest in a Dinotte front LED with rechargeable batteries.A "brilliant" option for dark lanes. The reason being that I could switch to any bike 700C/26" when I need to. Also I don't commute as I work from home, so although I would like a Schmidt for the convenience I can't justify the cost at the moment. If in the furture I start being out regularly in the dark I'll invest in one.

Good point about tyres and mudguard clearance. Thorn and I discussed this because I want a good roller on the roads but with some grip when off road. We settled for the 1.5" Tourguard for the winter with the P45 mudguards set as high as possible. I have no experience with Tourguards but am happy to give them a go and replace if I don't like them.

As far as the bars are concerned, I like drops for road riding. However I don't want drops with a Rohloff so this is my biggest area of concern and experimentation. Like alot of others I think. I did about 80 miles on a Moulton once with straight bars/bar ends and got on OK and have read good things about Cane Creek. I'll keep you posted.

44*16 I am guessing this will be about right. Plenty of low gears and sufficently high. I know what they say about gear 11 should be the most used but round here (very hilly)I use them all! so I've gone for a good spread. Chainring easily changed though if I've got it wrong.
Thanks for comments.

Cheers
 

[simonsydney]

Hi Steve, my RST looks spec'd very similar to yours (I got green frame with silver blackburn rack and black rohloff). I got the cane creek bar ends and love them. I also got the Thorn carbon bar ends (inboard), which while good, probably aren't that useful. I thought long and hard re: gearing and went 40*16, I mainly ride on bike paths, credit card touring, commuting and shopping runs and decided that a few lower gears were better than more higher gears. My highest gear is 96" which gives me over 40km/hr peddling, fastest downhill so far with peddling and assisted gravity is 67.4km/hr so I don't need any higher gears. I find 8th is around 18-20km/hr which is what I ride at on the bike paths (gotta watch those pedestrians!), and I do use down to 2nd and 3rd when touring up hills (have yet to really use 1st, other than initially trying it out, but good to know it is there for my Tassie trip (lots of big hills and long slow assests).
cheers,
Simon
ps: I got rid of my other touring bike (a cannondale T2000) as this bike does it all for me
pps: if you change your chainring you'll need to drop a few chain links as well
ppps: I got a rohloff chain, pretty impressive and no mudguards

forgot to mention I use this site http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/internal.html to calculate my gear inches, just plug in chainring size, etc. and you can enter 40, 42 & 44 and compare them at the same time.

[goosander]

Hi Simon,

Any chance you could post a photo of your bike as I'd like to see what one looks like in green?

[Swislon]

Hi Simon, Thorn are saying there isn't enough room "to fit inboard and outboard bar ends on any bar with a Rohloff shifter" quote from the order form. This obviously wasn't always the case. I thought inboard bar ends could be a good solution to try and replicate riding on hoods but probably not so good for climbing. So I thought I would try the Cane Creek and see how I get on and see how much space there actually is when I get the RST.
I'm interested in other peoples experience and solutions for comfort with flat bars over distance. I've seen various photos on this site of a multitude of "horns" sticking out from some bars and although they don't look very nice to me they may be functional.

As for gears, I used the "Living with a Rohloff" article on the Thorn website to guestimate. I can't see when I might need a gear below 20" so went for a fair spread.

What do you like about the Rohloff Chain Simon ?
Cheers

[geocycle]

I got inboard bar ends on flat (comfort) bars with ergon grips.  I've not really used the inboard bar ends as much as I thought I would -they are not much use when climbing unlike normal bar ends and I don't feel they are spaced wide enough for decent steering.  They are good on straight downhills when you want to tuck in.  I measured a 0.8 mph increase due to the improved aerodynamics on one long constant downhill.  I find the ergon grips with the comfort bars very good and have had no fatigue problems on long distances.

[john28july]

Hello all,
In respect of some points mentioned, I have a Raven Tour presently fitted with chainset 42 teeth and 16 tooth cog at the rear. I did not take SJSC comments and chose the ratios related to the gear ranges on my other bikes (Thorn). After a couple of weeks use I yesterday ordered....a 38 tooth chainwheel to replace the 42! Good old Thorn, correct again. I was using gear 9 and 10 the most. I hope to be now using gear 11 the most.
The bars. I am used to drop bars and admit the upright MTB style bars take some getting used to. I have very short (now cut down) bar ends. I cut the bars down narrower and find them OK but not anywhere as good as drops. The angle of my wrist is not the same. I think with time and further adjustment I may get comfortable with them. I could fit drops as I have the correct short top tube but do not think that the Rohloff shifter works to its best fitted this way.
John.
www.pbase.com/john28july

[Swislon]

I went out on my audax bike today for a couple of hours. A very strong westerly wind was blowing and I found that into the wind I spent most of my time in the granny ring with my head down. But going with the wind I was flying along. I'm not a strong rider who could push a 100 inch gear very long unless it is down hill or with the wind behind me, but I do like to do it when I can, it puts a big grin on my face. I'm not going to load up with a mountain of luggage and I'm not going up the side of a cliff off road. I thought if I had a good spread of gears, 19.9" to 104.9" it would be 99.9% OK for all my riding with the RST. If I end up in the noisiest gears all the time and my ears can't stand it I will go lower on the chainring (within the 100 days hopefully).

My ride today reminded me how much I like drop bars, all the different hand positions and getting your head down into the wind. But the RST will be more mixed riding road/off road and I'll experiment with different ideas 'til its acceptable most of the time.

Cheers

[simonsydney]

Hi Swislon, I only ordered my bike a few months ago, and Thorn recommended both bars (inboard and outboard). I'll try and post a picture (can anyone advise how ?) of my bar ends. I find there is plenty of room for both, but the inboard one is onl really useful when riding on a straight road, as they are close togethor and your hands are away from the brakes.

re: the gears, with the rohloff having a 13.5% increase in gear inches, the larger the gear inch, the larger the 'gap' or 'jump' between gears, so when I worked out my gears I decided on the highest gear inch that I really would use (for me this was 95") and worked from there. The difference between a 40tooth and 44tooth in the lowest gear is 18.1" and 19",  so less than 1", but at the top end, the differences is 94" and 105", so I reckoned by going with the 40tooth I had less jumps in the gears in the larger gear range (if any of that makes sense), and had gears that I would use. Also I worked out that 10th and 11th were going to be my most used gears on the road.

re: the chain, I am no chain expert, but the rohloff just seems a substantial chain. I compared it to my mates 27speed and his looked like dental floss!

[simonsydney]

Photos of the bar ends and the green frame
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r250/simonsydney/RST-BARS.jpg
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r250/simonsydney/RST-1.jpg

ps: looking at those photos my chain needs adjusting !!
pps: the green is quite dark and in shadow looks almost black, but a very nice colour, not real obvious, understated

[Fred A-M]

Steve

Thanks for the acknowledgement and congratulations again on your choice: just to testify to others following this thread, Steve's decision was the culmination of at least a couple of months of thorough research, having had access to some pretty decent bikes to trial in the process by the sounds of it.  My decision to purchase on the otherhand was simply based on spotting the RST in a Thorn C+ advert, looking around for any equivalents and deciding pretty impulsively "I want that one".  So I'm most interested to hear your eventual verdict.  

I'd say your choice of gearing is about right for the Yorkshire Dales and Moors (assuming a degree of fitness from regular cycling which from all accounts you have).  My first proper sortie on the RST (with 44 front 16 rear, SJS kindly having accomodated an initial error of judgement in having asked for 38) was from Harrogate to Gunnerside via Grassington, Buckden and Askrigg (entailing lengthy 25% gradients in climbing onto Askrigg Common). I found that this gearing range was pretty much perfect in accomodating extreme gradients, even trail climbing to 11,000ft in Andalucia.  If you're not bothered about being being able to pedal to a max speed on more than gentle descents, the gearing should be perfect.

Such is the extent that I've been impressed with braking responsiveness I'd say that the upgrade to LX brakes is probably worth it, but have to admit that I don't really know how this compares with the standard deore option.