Which Raven Model? (and other questions!)

[jonnystv]

Hello all,

I will be cycling, loaded and unsupported, from Edinburgh to Kenya, setting off around April or May next year. I need an appropriate steed for the job and have settled on a model from Thorn Cycles. I was initially considering a Sherpa but, after much research and deliberation, have decided to go down the Rohloff route. I need to decide between a Raven Tour and a Raven Nomad. I’m not finding this an easy decision.

The route will take in lots of sealed roads. However, the further south I travel in East Africa the worse the roads will become. In particular there will be some very bad tarmac in Ethiopia and a good chunk of unsealed road in northern Kenya. I’ve had the (dis)pleasure of traversing some of this, albeit in a Toyota HiLux, and it’s not pleasant.  A fair amount of this particular stretch of road will have been sealed by the time I get there but I’m still expecting 150 to 200 miles of ‘the worst road in Africa.’
I’d be grateful for some suggestions, opinions and advice from owners of the above two bikes, and others, to guide my choice in this matter.

I’m leaning towards the Raven Tour due to its versatility but would go for the Raven Nomad if it was considered that its toughness was more important than the more multi-purpose nature of the Raven Tour.

Just to make this more involved I’m also looking for some advice as to the value of various upgrades offered by Thorn when speccing the build. In particular:

Are there significant benefits to be had from spending £200 on XTR brakes?

Shoud I get XT, or even Phil Wood front hubs?

Should I be thinking of ordering better chainset/crank/bottom bracket combinations than those offered as standard?

I know this is a long post with many questions and lots of scope for subjectivity, so thanks for your patience and I look forward to some valuable advice and opinion.

Cheers
Jonny

[geocycle]

Just to make this more involved I’m also looking for some advice as to the value of various upgrades offered by Thorn when speccing the build. In particular:

Are there significant benefits to be had from spending £200 on XTR brakes?

Shoud I get XT, or even Phil Wood front hubs?

Should I be thinking of ordering better chainset/crank/bottom bracket combinations than those offered as standard?

I know this is a long post with many questions and lots of scope for subjectivity, so thanks for your patience and I look forward to some valuable advice and opinion.

Cheers
Jonny

I cannot really comment on the nomad but I know it is specifically designed for this kind of journey, especially if you are carrying very large loads.  However the tour is more than capable of shifting a large cargo.  You need to ride both at SJS to decide whether the 'slightly' lighter build of the tour is preferable to the bomb-proof build of the nomad.

Whichever you go for the important part will be the wheels, get the strongest you can.  I'd recommend the carbon coated rims.   In answer to your other questions:  No, I don't think XTR brakes offer significant advantages over XT, certainly not worth £200 IMO.  I have XTR shifters and avid ultimate brakes and they work very well but in hindsight this was an extravagance. 

I don't think you'll better the standard BB and crank set up for your trip.  There are lighter combo's but these are not really relevant to you, whereas strength and simplicity are.

There are two current blogs you might find relevant:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=RrzKj&page_id=143297&v=9a
http://takeonafrica.com/

[julk]

Jonny,
You have PM.