S America Expedition - Thorn Raven?

[hubbike]

I am seriously considering buying a Thorn Raven Tour for a year of cycling in South America. It seems a lot of money (£2000-ish). Can anyone offer me reassurance, or suggest that I change my mind for some other (cheaper) option?​

 

[andym]

Why not check out the On-One 456 or Inbred frames. A very tough durable steel frame with all of the fittings you need for racks. They come in vertical dropout or slidey dropout so you have the option of fitting a Rohloff if you want. Team it up with a rigid steel fork (from On-One or elsewhere) or refurbish some old oil-filled Marzocchi forks.

I'd have thought you could build a decent expedition bike for a grand or so.

I can't remember whether any of the On-One frames have the option of fitting v-brakes but IMO Avid BB7 cable discs are a better option anyway.

 

[climo]

Thorn Sherpa?

 

[P.H]

It'd be the perfect application for the Raven, just what it's designed for. Comfortable, reliable, robust and you get a 3 month trial period to make adjustments or decide it's not what you want. The only reason not to buy would be if spending that much on the bike compromised another part of your tour. There's no need to spend two grand though, the basic spec is more than good enough. Going for the carbide rims is an economical option in the long run, apart from that I wouldn't change anything.
Having said that, you don't need such a good bike, it's possible to tour on just about anything. But if you are going to buy quality, you may as well go the full hog.
Have a great trip.

 

[Brains]

I spent 4 months touring in S.America (in a 4 x4 Merc truck) so I know what the roads are like. (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile)

I own a Thorn Nomad

If I was cycle touring in S.America I would take a Thorn, for me the question would be can I upgrade to an EXP ?

A lesser bike will do, but why take it ?

 

[hubbike]

i'll give the on-one another think andym.

P.H, these were the upgrades I was considering:

Basic price1699LX v-brakes+15andra 30 CSS rims+55marathon xr's+15mudguards+3front carrier+70rear carrier+70chain lube+4.99oil change kit+25torx screwdriver+7cable change kit+33Total1996.99

Is there anything I could do without?

What abou the Fahrrad Manufaktur T400 rohloff at £1850, worth considering?

also could I still get hold of a Koga Miyata World Traveller if so how much are they now and who sells them?

 

[Brains]

One advantage of getting a Thorn is that they do world wide delivery, so if you need a new wheel in the middle of Patagonoia, one e-mail will get it.

 

[vorsprung]

I would get an old steel framed MTB with a rigid fork, put a rack and marathon plusses on it and spend the 1500 quid I've saved on the holiday

 

[hubbike]

vorsprung: that was my origional plan (see here) but now i'm not so sure.

There are the extra difficulties in repairing it when it inevitably breaks, whereas the Thorn would probably manage a couple more tours, perhaps for the rest of my life.

 

[andym]

I'm a bit confused about the pricing of the Thorn. The overview brochure says from £2045 while the model-specific brochure says £1699 with a frameset at £499. If you did decide to go down the Thorn route I'd spend some time pricing up a DIY build - £2000 for the level of components you describe sounds a lot to me (although it looks like you've decide to go down the Rohloff route).

Apart from the pricing I'd also talk to independent wheelbuilders (eg Spa or Harry Rowland) about the choice of wheel - I'm very surprised for example that Thorn don't offer 36-hole Rigida Sputniks as an option.

And carbide rims? Why? I can see the reason why some people go for v-brakes as opposed to discs on the basis that the parts are almost universally obtainable, but this advantage seems to be entirely negated by getting carbide rims that require special brake blocks. Seems to me like the he worst of both worlds: the disadvantages of discs without the advantages.

And lastly to comment on the comparison with the On-One frames. Both the On-One and Thorn are made of 4130 steel tubing, both are made in Taiwan, both are powdercoated. I'm not sure how much of a premium Thorn are asking, but I'd ask some hard questions about whether it's worth the extra.

 

[hubbike]

thanks for that andym, if I order from on-one and go for a rohloff do I have to buy the hub separately, or get the wheel builder to buy it? and do I then have to send them in a

I can still change my mind but I need to get it sorted soon!!!

 

[hubbike]

if I went down the inbred & rohloff route, would disc brakes be an option? could I get someone to build the wheels and assemble the bike for me? any suggested person?

 

[hubbike]

just seen this is that the kind of thing?

 

[andym]

You might also want to look at this thread from CGOAB:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/forum/board/message/?o=3Tzut&thread_id=73508&v=16&page=1&nested=0

Rohloff hub and disc brakes.

I'd definitely recommend getting an experienced wheelbuilder to build the wheels (I notice that the Thorn site talks about the drilling for the rims needing to be specific to the Rohloff). People (eg Mark Beaumont on the first part of his world tour) have come a cropper because their Rohloff wheels weren't built right. I'd have thought Spa Cycles would have experience with them although I don't know whether they can supply the hubs.

I have heard of bike shops that will put together bikes for customers (it probably helps if you buy the components through them). But I think there's a lot to be said for putting the bike together yourself - it isn't that hard (get the LBS to do things like fitt the headset and face and chase the BB shell) and gives you the confidence that if the worst comes to the worst you know how it all fits together.

EDIT - I should note that one disadvantage of the On-One frames is that they only have one pair of bottle bosses. You could get a framebuilder to put in more (at about £12-£15 a pair) but that will of course whittle down their cost advantage a bit.

 

[stewie griffin]

I should note that one disadvantage of the On-One frames is that they only have one pair of bottle bosses. You could get a framebuilder to put in more (at about £12-£15 a pair) but that will of course whittle down their cost advantage a bit.

Or- http://nordicgroup.us/cageboss/