Cycling UK Forum

Lovely looking bike. As others have said, they'd build whatever the customer wanted so putting a model name on it might not be simple. But to me the lack of luggage provision on the front fork and the tyre clearances would put it close to the Audax model in the current range, in purpose if not in detail.
https://www.merciancycles.co.uk/frames/audax-special/

Worth giving Mercian a ring, they used to have some pretty comprehensive records, but the shop has closed and they've changed ownership since then, so I don't know.

Then there's luck, as discouraging as a run of punctures can be, it isn't data. I had twelve punctures in 2023 over 8,400 miles, three different bikes, seven different tyres. In 2022, for similar mileage and comparable rides, same bikes and mostly same tyres, I had two.
Brucey asks the culprit, it's this that should direct you towards change, if needed, and that change might be something other than tyres. Frustrating as my bad year was, I made no changes, past experience and the variety of causes gave me faith it would pass.

Thorn are one of the few manufacturers that offer frames in a long version for flat bars and a short version for drops. In my size, 61cm, the TT difference is 30mm, the seat tube is half a degree steeper on the short and although they don't publish the head angle that's likely to be half a degree as well (The forks have 5mm offset difference). You could probably use one of the CAD Bike apps to work out the reach, I doubt it's any more than 20mm. Does it matter? Unless the stem was already at the end of an acceptable range, then I can't imagine I'd even notice. There's so many variables, not least the huge variation of straight bars, also the height of bars in relation to saddle changes reach. I've never not been able to get the bars, drops or flats, in a comfortable position, including on a few bikes designed for the other. Others may be more sensitive, but for me if I'm sat comfortable on the bike, I can get the bars where I want them.

Nearholmer wrote: ↑11 Feb 2025, 9:53am It has occurred to me that maybe a specialist could take one of the bikes I have, and alter it to accept a Rohloff …… I wonder how much that would actually cost?

If you don't mind the aesthetics of a dangly chain tensioner and zip ties holding cables, most frames with a 135mm QR will accept a Rohloff. I have a tensioner on my folder, where it's the only option, the Koga that Mark Beaumont gained his first Round the World record on used one, as did the Croix de Fer Vin Cox beat that record on (Tensioner and Alfine 8 ). So although not ideal, I don't think they're the deal breaker some think they are.

I think rareposter has it right, but first thing I'd do is restore factory settings:
System > Device Reset > Reset Default Settings

I always do this before any updates, it's the most likely to be bug free and it doesn't take long to re-set how I like it.

Sweep wrote: ↑10 Feb 2025, 10:22pm ah such is "progress".
I well remember (didn't seem too too long ago) thinking of buying a Thorn Rohloff bike when they weren't much over a grand.

My Thorn Raven Rohloff bike, with a few of the option boxes ticked, cost the same in 2003 as the Rohloff hub I bought in 2021, so your memory is correct. I don't think that's all hub inflation, I suspect Thorn had some deal with Rohloff to establish the hubs in the UK where they were relatively unknown. The Raven was several hundred pounds cheaper than the nearest rival Rohloff bike and that used a sprung tensioner compared to Thorn's neater EBB. Those prices didn't last for long, but long enough to make a lot of noise and get noticed. Kudos to Thorn, it was a bold thing to do and they did but a lot of their eggs in the one basket.
I still have the original hub, though it's had some changes over the years, it's in its third bike, passed the 100,000 mile mark a couple of years ago but hasn't seen huge use since. If I stuck it on eBay I'd still expect to get £500 back. Undoubtedly expensive to buy and not everyone likes using them, but if you do and are likely to get the use from it, they's excellent value even at the current price.

geomannie wrote: ↑9 Feb 2025, 12:05pm That is a point of view. However, Shimano have replaced the UN55 with the inferior UN300 which retails at at similar price point. In other words Shimano recognise that there is a strong market in square taper BB's, strong enough that they retooled a production line.

I think that's a bit too cynical, I'd question that a UN55 produced today would be the same price as the price they were when discontinued, it was some years ago. Once manufacturing stopped, the price pretty much froze. Shimano only use ST on the lower priced chainsets, it's hardly surprising the BB's are aimed at a similar market segment. There's no XTR chainset to fit on a UN55. Neither is it really surprising they have little interest in those trying to maintain 20+ year old kit, it's just not a big enough market segment. So, even if they were interested, they couldn't do it at mass market prices.. Lastly, rumour is that Shimano outsourced the manufacture of the current BB's, possibly to a manufacturer already making similar, with the cost saving that offers.
Basically, you follow the crowd or it costs more, either in cash or time and effort.

AllRides wrote: ↑7 Feb 2025, 9:43pm It’s too afraid to question what the relationship is with the local club organisations (where most of the members are).

If by that you mean that most of the members are involved with the local groups, it's incorrect. I'm not sure it's ever been that way, but certainly not in the last thirty years. Last time I saw any national figures, involvement was around 15%, which reflects my experience, with the most successful local groups getting into the low 20%'s.

djnotts wrote: ↑8 Feb 2025, 9:04am Not sure why differential tariff treatment for folders v non-folders (other than to benefit Brompton!), but cheap end of e-bike market about to get even "cheaper".

I don't know if it'll make much difference at the cheap end of the market, how much are those sub £1,000 bikes being imported for? Considering £170 of a £1,000 sale is VAT and the retailer has costs and hopes to make a profit, I'd be surprised in the import price was more than £500. So dropping the 25% tariff reduces the retail price on a £1,000 bike by £125. I don't see that as a deal maker or breaker.
I haven't seen the detail, but I'd be surprised if the trade agreement was an open door that permitted dumping at below cost. The EU has such a clause in their agreement, the tariff can increase to 70% where dumping is evident.

Nearholmer wrote: ↑8 Feb 2025, 12:02am No, those small cutters don’t work on, for instance, steerers. Even if they have the nominal capacity for the tube size, the construction isn’t rigid enough to hold a good cut line.

Here's my cheap pipe cutter, and a section of steel steerer it cut. As I said upthread it's been used for that purpose several times. The technique is not to wind the blade in too tight, which also minimises the lip NickJP mentions.


https://www.toolstation.com/dickie-dyer ... ter/p78737

Chris Jeggo wrote: ↑7 Feb 2025, 5:49pm

531colin wrote: ↑7 Feb 2025, 4:50pm There was one outfit (can’t remember a name) used to get frames made in the Far East and supply them to several shops which sold them as “their own”. The only one of these shops where I can remember the name was Hewitt; which is awkward, because although I never came across Hewitt, they had a good reputation for wheel building and bike fitting.

I bought a Paul Hewitt 'Cheviot' touring bike in 2010 and am still pleased with it. He made no secret of the fact that the frame was built in Taiwan. The Reynolds tubesets were shipped to Taiwan by container and the completed frames returned the same way.

The touring and audax models were imported by Mike Kowal's company Autostrada. Some frames were available in a limited range of colours and badged as Aravis. Some were offered in the same limited range of colours and without branding, so decals could be added on top of the paint. Lastly from Hewitt, Pearsons and possibly others, you could choose the braze on fittings and the colour, with the decals under the lacquer.
I chose the Hewitt, with a couple of extra braze ons and a custom colour, even though an Aravis from Byercycles would have been a few quid cheaper.

I've used a cheap pipe cutter for several aluminium bars and a couple of steel steerer tubes, plus some other no cycling pipes. It's a neat finish and easy to use as long as you don't rush it.

Badge engineering can be dishonest,when what is fundamentally the same product is sold by several different brands as their own. The branding can change the perception of value and such products often have considerably different prices. That isn't the same IMO as a brand using a contractor to do the manufacturing, where it is still essentially the brands product, their design and specification. There's nothing wrong with that, I don't consider it to be dirty and it certainly hasn't been a secret. Did anyone think Spa or Thorn had their own factory manufacturing frames? Does it matter? When you buy a Shimano part is it any less a Shimano part if it's made by a third party, which it often is?

peetee wrote: ↑6 Feb 2025, 9:19am I like my Elan. It has met my expectations in every way. However, it is extraordinarily heavy in comparison to all my other steel bikes.

Is this the frameset or the build? it's only a fair comparison if built up in the same way. I have two steel bikes, the weight difference between them is 2.7kg, that's certainly noticeable, but if I swapped all the components over the difference would be 800g. These are bikes built for different purposes, so even with the same build there's still be a noticeable difference in the way they feel, a bigger difference than the scales would indicate. Unless one is built from the cheapest gas pipe and the other from the most exotic, the weight difference between any two steel framesets, intended for similar purposes, if going to be g's not kg's.
I'm always a bit wary of manufacturers published weights, both accuracy and weather they're comparing like with like (For example whether a seat clamp is included) but Spa and Temple do list their frame and fork weights.

Why not another Genesis Croix de Fer? The answer to that might be a good pointer to the next.