Serious Info Please

[Brian]

Hi,I'm in the market for a long tour/expedition bike,the one i'm leaning to is a Thorn Raven tour with a Rohloff hub,is this hub as good as the reports, the fact that you can use over all types of terrain is a bonus and if you do need to get in the back of a lorry/bus/train thers no parts to get bent but is there any problems?

[Stuart]

Thorn make a nice 26" wheel expedition bike and the derailleur gearing is tried and tested over time, where as the Rohloff........

[bikerdave]

Hi Brian

I had my commuting/touring bike handbuilt with a Rohloff hub by Bob Jackson cycles of Leeds at the beginning of the year. So far i've commuted 14 miles 5 days a week and done several long day rides but no tours.

It's excellent for hard use there are no mechs to go out of adjustment or sieze up with roadsalt and maintenance is minimal. Travelling by plane, train or bus should be less stressfull as there's not much to break with rough handling. The Thorn Raven is tougher still with mountain bike components but maybe heavy and with a higher rolling resistance than a road bike?

Where do you live? If you're near leeds have a spin on mine and see what you think.
MBR magazine tested the Thorn Raven a few issues back , try their back issues dept.
dave

[bikerdave]

Hi Brian

I had my commuting/touring bike handbuilt with a Rohloff hub by Bob Jackson cycles of Leeds at the beginning of the year. So far i've commuted 14 miles 5 days a week and done several long day rides but no tours.

It's excellent for hard use there are no mechs to go out of adjustment or sieze up with roadsalt and maintenance is minimal. Travelling by plane, train or bus should be less stressfull as there's not much to break with rough handling. The Thorn Raven is tougher still with mountain bike components but maybe heavy and with a higher rolling resistance than a road bike?

Where do you live? If you're near leeds have a spin on mine and see what you think.
MBR magazine tested the Thorn Raven a few issues back , try their back issues dept.
dave

[PH]

"the derailleur gearing is tried and tested over time, where as the Rohloff........ "

Hub gearing has been around since 1902, the Rohloff for ten years. How much testing do you want?

I’ve had a Thorn Raven for four months, 3000+ miles mostly commuting, two Audax and a bit of off-road. If you do a lot of high mileage on-road days with little luggage you’d maybe be better off with a more traditional tourer, but for a go anywhere bike a Raven would be ideal, for the reasons you’ve outlined. You would need to take a few specific tools and spares, but these pack small and aren’t heavy.
The Rohloff does take a bit of getting used to, probably why Thorn has a 100 day money back offer. It is noisy in certain gears, how much this bothers you is a personal thing, I can live with it and it’s considerably quieter now than when new.

[Tony Smith]

I've had a raven for 16 months and I wouldn't go back to a jumping chain machine. It's used for touring, commuting, load hauling, child carrying etc. and takes it all in it's stride. So far it's only cost me bulbs, brake pads and oil. I measure the chain every 500 miles and it hardly wears, despite being used year round...and even when I've got through a few and worn the chainwheel and sprocket they're reversible for another few thousand miles!
Reliablility aside it handles well and the quick, precise gear change is fantastic. If I win the lottery on Saturday I'll order the tandem version...and a Rohloff mod for the brompton...and an ICE trike with Rohloff spec....