Raleigh Randoneur vs Dawes Galaxy?
Simon Ward
Mike Ellwood (m...@unixfe.cc.rl.ac.uk) wrote:
: Have we had a Raleigh Randonneur vs Dawes Super Galaxy thread
: recently? I vaguely remember one, but not the outcome.
Sort of.
Well, it was more of a `Galaxy vs. Super Galaxy' thread.
: I am prompted by the full page ad by Raleigh in the new CTC comic.
Raleigh are advertising their touring bikes now? Wow!
I saw a Randonneur `in the flesh' in one of the bike shops in York, and it's
still a wonderful piece of machinery ...
: I also vaguely remember people commenting that neither
: bike was quite what it used to be, or am I imagining this?
IMO, by putting compact-drive transmission on the Super Galaxy, Dawes really
shot themselves in the foot (or could it be that I hate compact drive on
touring bikes? I dunno). OTOH, I love the Randonneur to pieces. Problem was,
when I was in the market for a touring bike, I couldn't afford the Randonneur
and ended up with a bog-standard Galaxy instead, and set about rectifying the
`cost-cutting' measures which differentiate the Galaxy from the SG (rebuilding
wheels, front racks etc.etc.)
: All academic really as I probably can't afford either, but
: if people feel like a natter on the subject..
Bank loans were made for things like this :-)
If I had my time again, it'd be a toss-up between either the Randonneur or
something like a Thorn Expedition - in the face of competition from the
latter, the SG is nowhere, IMO. Of course, if I didn't have quite so much
money to throw around, I'd still buy a Galaxy ...
Then again, if I had enough money to buy another bike, I'd be happier :-)
Simon
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Mike Ellwood
Have we had a Raleigh Randonneur vs Dawes Super Galaxy thread
recently? I vaguely remember one, but not the outcome.
I am prompted by the full page ad by Raleigh in the new
CTC comic.
I also vaguely remember people commenting that neither
bike was quite what it used to be, or am I imagining this?
All academic really as I probably can't afford either, but
if people feel like a natter on the subject..
Mike Ellwood
Simon Ward (s...@halibut.york.ac.uk) wrote:
: Mike Ellwood (m...@unixfe.cc.rl.ac.uk) wrote:
: IMO, by putting compact-drive transmission on the Super Galaxy, Dawes really
: shot themselves in the foot (or could it be that I hate compact drive on
: touring bikes? I dunno). OTOH, I love the Randonneur to pieces. Problem was,
: when I was in the market for a touring bike, I couldn't afford the Randonneur
: and ended up with a bog-standard Galaxy instead, and set about rectifying the
: `cost-cutting' measures which differentiate the Galaxy from the SG (rebuilding
: wheels, front racks etc.etc.)
What is compact-drive transmission?
: If I had my time again, it'd be a toss-up between either the Randonneur or
: something like a Thorn Expedition - in the face of competition from the
: latter, the SG is nowhere, IMO. Of course, if I didn't have quite so much
: money to throw around, I'd still buy a Galaxy ...
What sort of price is the Randonneur?
Thanks,
--
Mike.E...@rl.ac.uk
Andrew Henry
In article <5i06v6$11...@newton.cc.rl.ac.uk>,
Mike Ellwood (m...@unixfe.cc.rl.ac.uk) wrote:
>Simon Ward (s...@halibut.york.ac.uk) wrote:
>:IMO, by putting compact-drive transmission on the Super Galaxy, Dawes really
>:shot themselves in the foot (or could it be that I hate compact drive on
>:touring bikes? I dunno). OTOH, I love the Randonneur to pieces. Problem was,
>:when I was in the market for a touring bike, I couldn't afford the Randonneur
>:and ended up with a bog-standard Galaxy instead, and set about rectifying the
>:`cost-cutting' measures which differentiate the Galaxy from the SG (rebuilding
>:wheels, front racks etc.etc.)
>What is compact-drive transmission?
Its where the sprockets and chainrings are all a bit smaller than was the
norm a few years ago. It was introduced by Suntour 6 or 7 years ago
as Microdrive, but Shimano have taken it on with enthusiasm.
The advantages are that you save a little weight and get better clearance
between the bottom of the chainring and the ground, which might help if
you want to hop over rocks and logs.
The disadvantages are that the distances between the chain ring bolts are
a lot more variable. Instead of having chain rings with 74mm and 110mm
bolt circle diameter (BCD), bike shops now have to stock a bewildering array
of sizes. Compact drive chain rings tend to be more expensive than
the older ones, which are available from more third party manufacturers.
Smaller sprockets and chainrings are less efficient and wear more
rapidly. The granny chainrings with compact drive chainsets are
more likely to be made from steel, whereas aluminium was more
common a few years ago, which I suspect is to offset the increased
wear, although this then eliminates some of the weight loss.
If you have a compact drive chainset and you want to ride reasonably
quickly on the road, then you need to use an 11 tooth sprocket.
These cassettes won't fit onto an older hub, which might be a problem
if you wanted to be able to swap wheels around between different bikes.
A wheel with an 11 tooth sprocket would fit on a bike with a non-compact
drive chainset, but you would get gearing set for Graham Obree.
The optimum shape of a front derailleur is dependent on the size of the
chain rings, so its best to match this to the type of chainset you are
using.
You can still get some chainsets from Shimano with 110mm and 74mm BCD chain
rings, but they tend to be from the cheap and grotty end of their range.
Sachs and Sugino make better quality stuff.
>: If I had my time again, it'd be a toss-up between either the Randonneur or
>: something like a Thorn Expedition - in the face of competition from the
>: latter, the SG is nowhere, IMO. Of course, if I didn't have quite so much
>: money to throw around, I'd still buy a Galaxy ...
>What sort of price is the Randonneur?
I think its about 700-800 quid.
I've bought a Trek 520 which is a nice enough bike. However, they
stopped importing them a couple of years ago, although they will
get one on special order. In the US, there is a more limited
selection of touring bikes around, but the ones which are available
seem to be good value. Sheldon Brown's bike shop sells a Bianchi
Volpe for $700 and a Bruce Gordon Basic Loaded Touring bike is ~
$1000. I daresay the Customs people might have something to say to
you if you walked through the green channel with a gleaming new
bike, but you might be OK if it had been used a bit.
--
Andrew Henry
ahe...@dircon.co.uk
Mike Ellwood
Simon Ward (s...@halibut.york.ac.uk) wrote:
: Raleigh are advertising their touring bikes now? Wow!
Yes, but like a lot of modern magazine advertising,
it is a triumph of presentation over readability.
The spec is printed in pseudo handriting - blue on a blue/white
background.
Don't they know that the old fogies like me who are interested in
touring bikes are likely to be Presbypic??
*sigh*
--
Mike.E...@rl.ac.uk
James D Annan
ahe...@dircon.co.uk (Andrew Henry) wrote:
[..]
>If you have a compact drive chainset and you want to ride reasonably
>quickly on the road, then you need to use an 11 tooth sprocket.
>These cassettes won't fit onto an older hub, which might be a problem
>if you wanted to be able to swap wheels around between different bikes.
>A wheel with an 11 tooth sprocket would fit on a bike with a non-compact
>drive chainset, but you would get gearing set for Graham Obree.
..or a tandem.
I used to also think there was this incompatibility problem between
compact drive cassettes (ie 11T cog) and non-compact hubs. However,
it is relatively straightforward to modify a non-compact freehub body
to accept a compact cassette. All you have to do is file off a bit from
the end of the splines on the non-compact hub body. The end section of
the splines is threaded and a single thread diameter chunk should be
enough. This modified hub will still accept standard cassettes.
--
James Annan jd...@pol.ac.uk
Proudman Oceanographic Lab
Bidston, Merseyside, L43 7RA
Paul Smee
In article <5hu8s8$2ol$1...@netty.york.ac.uk>,
Simon Ward <s...@halibut.york.ac.uk> wrote:
> IMO, by putting compact-drive transmission on the Super Galaxy, Dawes really
>shot themselves in the foot (or could it be that I hate compact drive on
>touring bikes? I dunno). OTOH, I love the Randonneur to pieces. Problem was,
>when I was in the market for a touring bike, I couldn't afford the Randonneur
Both are nice bikes; I ride an SG, and Ann has a Randonneur. Both are
old enough to be large-ring front, and 7-speed rear.
If you compute the gear-inches for our older models (both geared
identically) and for the new Super Galaxy and Randonneur, you'll find
that the new SG has the same high gear as the two older models (due to
the 8-speed rear having a smaller small sprocket which makes up for the
smaller chainring, near as makes no difference) but adds a couple of
more gears at the low-gear end. Raleigh opted to stick with large
front rings, so *that* bike has the same low gear as the two older
models, but adds a couple gears at the high end.
My own (humble? naw :-) opinion is that if you are going to use the
bike for heavily-loaded touring (which is, after all, what both the
Dawes and the Raleigh are designed for) then the Dawes choice of
gearing makes more sense - you'll welcome those lower gears when you're
humping all your luggage up a hill at the end of a long day. If you're
going to use the bike mostly for (relatively) unloaded 'sports' riding
(which both are good for, and which I suspect is what most folk do with
them) then the Raleigh gearing is probably more sensible.
In response to someone else's question, both the Super Galaxy and the
Randonneur now run about 800 pounds. Due to differing policies of the
manufacturers, you're a *little* more likely to be able to negotiate a
discount on the Dawes than on the Raleigh. Their little brothers, the
Dawes Galaxy and the Raleigh Royal, list for about 200 pounds less.
James D Annan
eas...@rd.bbc.co.uk (Jim Easterbrook) wrote:
>
>I think you mean "grind". None of the files in my tool kit would make
>the slightest impression on a Shimano freehub I tried this on.
Only took me a few minutes, a couple of nights ago. This was on an LX hub
from around 1993. Maybe you need a better file? Not that mine is anything
special. You only need to remove a very small amount of metal.
Mike Ellwood
Thanks for all the interesting and useful info folks.
When I re-read the Raleigh ad in a good light ( :-) ),
I discovered that both the Randonneur and the Royal were
shimano-geared.
(Rand: Deore, LX with bar-end shifters)
(Royal: Alivo with down-tube shifters)
I had thought that the upper end Raleigh and
Dawes used to offer Campag, or am I mistaken?
--
Mike.E...@rl.ac.uk
Jim Easterbrook
In article <5i0cq9$1...@kwuz.nerc-keyworth.ac.uk>, James D Annan (jd...@pol.ac.uk) wrote:
# I used to also think there was this incompatibility problem between
# compact drive cassettes (ie 11T cog) and non-compact hubs. However,
# it is relatively straightforward to modify a non-compact freehub body
# to accept a compact cassette. All you have to do is file off a bit from
^^^^
# the end of the splines on the non-compact hub body. The end section of
# the splines is threaded and a single thread diameter chunk should be
# enough. This modified hub will still accept standard cassettes.
I think you mean "grind". None of the files in my tool kit would make
the slightest impression on a Shimano freehub I tried this on.
--
Jim Easterbrook
BBC Research & Development <http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/>
*** All opinions are mine and might not be shared by the BBC ***
Paul Smith
In article <5i0m7a$n...@bbcnews.rd.bbc.co.uk>,
eas...@rd.bbc.co.uk (Jim Easterbrook) wrote:
>In article <5i0cq9$1...@kwuz.nerc-keyworth.ac.uk>, James D Annan
(jd...@pol.ac.uk) wrote:
># I used to also think there was this incompatibility problem between
># compact drive cassettes (ie 11T cog) and non-compact hubs. However,
># it is relatively straightforward to modify a non-compact freehub body
># to accept a compact cassette. All you have to do is file off a bit from
> ^^^^
># the end of the splines on the non-compact hub body. The end section of
># the splines is threaded and a single thread diameter chunk should be
># enough. This modified hub will still accept standard cassettes.
>
>I think you mean "grind". None of the files in my tool kit would make
>the slightest impression on a Shimano freehub I tried this on.
Probably a more satisfactory way is to make up (or buy) a 1mm spacer to fit
behind the compact cassette. Decent bike shops should have them, or ID sell
them for a quid. Saves tampering with the hub.
Paul
James D Annan
EAX...@ean1.nott.ac.uk (Paul Smith) wrote:
>Probably a more satisfactory way is to make up (or buy) a 1mm spacer to fit
>behind the compact cassette. Decent bike shops should have them, or ID sell
>them for a quid. Saves tampering with the hub.
That would work for some, but it means you'd have to readjust the
deraillleur wheneven you swapped to a standard cassette. Some bikes
(certainly mine) would also have problems with chain clearance on
the stays, especially if you tried to keep the spacer on with a
standard cassette to avoid the readjusting.
But in any case, the point is that compact and non-compact cassettes are
not all that incompatible. The `tampering' I suggested is not something
that would risk any damage, and it's a lot cheaper than a new freehub
body.
Paul Smith
In article <5i2s2c$5...@kwuz.nerc-keyworth.ac.uk>,
James D Annan <jd...@pol.ac.uk> wrote:
>EAX...@ean1.nott.ac.uk (Paul Smith) wrote:
>
>>Probably a more satisfactory way is to make up (or buy) a 1mm spacer to fit
>>behind the compact cassette. Decent bike shops should have them, or ID sell
>>them for a quid. Saves tampering with the hub.
>
>That would work for some, but it means you'd have to readjust the
>deraillleur wheneven you swapped to a standard cassette. Some bikes
>(certainly mine) would also have problems with chain clearance on
>the stays, especially if you tried to keep the spacer on with a
>standard cassette to avoid the readjusting.
>
>But in any case, the point is that compact and non-compact cassettes are
>not all that incompatible. The `tampering' I suggested is not something
>that would risk any damage, and it's a lot cheaper than a new freehub
>body.
>
I agree. I use a 1992 XT 7spd rear hub, complete with greaseport and lovely
smooth bearings. I have been changing between a 13-30 non-compact and a 11-28
compact cassette for road riding/downhilling and offroading. I've found a
Hypercracker is essential for this, I had enough of messing with a chain whip!
Cheers,
Paul
James D Annan
EAX...@ean1.nott.ac.uk (Paul Smith) wrote:
>I agree. I use a 1992 XT 7spd rear hub, complete with greaseport and lovely
>smooth bearings. I have been changing between a 13-30 non-compact and a 11-28
>compact cassette for road riding/downhilling and offroading. I've found a
>Hypercracker is essential for this, I had enough of messing with a chain whip!
That's odd. I gave up using a hypercracker after taking a couple of gouges
out of my chainstay/seatstay with one. However, this was a slightly
unusual case since the tubes were particularly large bore (Cannondale
tandem) and the cassette locknut had been installed stupidly tight by guess
who. Now I find a chainwhip and wrench much easier, and it also makes it
much easier to judge a reasonable torque since I'm using my hands directly
on the thing versus using my feet through gearing. The hypercracker goes
on tour but hasn't been needed (since the above episode).
Paul Smee
In article <5i10vr$11...@newton.cc.rl.ac.uk>,
Mike Ellwood <m...@unixfe.cc.rl.ac.uk> wrote:
>When I re-read the Raleigh ad in a good light ( :-) ),
>I discovered that both the Randonneur and the Royal were
>shimano-geared.
>(Rand: Deore, LX with bar-end shifters)
>(Royal: Alivo with down-tube shifters)
The Raleighs have basically Shimano transmissions, but (for the last
couple years, since the chainring changes) they use Sugino cranksets so
that they can keep the large chainrings. (Certainly true of the
Randonneur; I haven't looked at a Royal for ages, so...) Dawes use the
Shimano cranksets and microdrive chainrings. I don't believe either
make uses the Shimano headset (certainly didn't last time I looked) but
other than that they're pretty much all Shimano.
>I had thought that the upper end Raleigh and
>Dawes used to offer Campag, or am I mistaken?
I couldn't say for sure, but I don't believe that that was ever true of
the Raleighs. Certainly, not since I started paying attention to
serious touring bikes. Dawes used to make a third model, the Super
Galaxy Plus, which was essentially a Super Galaxy but with Campag
components rather than Shimano/whatever. They were always pretty rare,
and the last new one I saw was about 4-5 years ago, so I suspect
they've stopped doing them. They cost (at that time) about another 200
pounds over the vanilla Super Galaxy's price.
Of course, if that's what you really wanted, you could get either Dawes
or Raleigh to sell you the appropriate frame, and build it up
yourself. On the other hand, once you start talking that kind of
money, having a bespoke made-to-measure frame begins to be a reasonable
alternative. (I sort of suspect that's why the SG+ didn't sell well.
It was competing on price with the lower end of the custom-built market.)
Simon Ward
Paul Smee (cc...@sun.cse.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
[snip]
: The Raleighs have basically Shimano transmissions, but (for the last
: couple years, since the chainring changes) they use Sugino cranksets so
: that they can keep the large chainrings. (Certainly true of the
: Randonneur; I haven't looked at a Royal for ages, so...) Dawes use the
: Shimano cranksets and microdrive chainrings. I don't believe either
: make uses the Shimano headset (certainly didn't last time I looked) but
: other than that they're pretty much all Shimano.
I may be wrong, but my '95/'96 transition model Galaxy has a Shimano
cartridge headset fitted (they're very good - I'm having an STX h'set fitted
to my fixed gear bike). AFAIK, the Raleighs use Sugino cranksets with Shimano
drivetrain parts and the Super Galaxy has compact drive whereas the Galaxy
doesn't (still uses the RSX road triple, I believe). The best way, IMO, to
improve the gearing on the plain vanilla Galaxy is to replace the 26T inner
ring with a 24T inner ....
[snip]
: I couldn't say for sure, but I don't believe that that was ever true of
: the Raleighs. Certainly, not since I started paying attention to
: serious touring bikes. Dawes used to make a third model, the Super
: Galaxy Plus, which was essentially a Super Galaxy but with Campag
: components rather than Shimano/whatever. They were always pretty rare,
: and the last new one I saw was about 4-5 years ago, so I suspect
: they've stopped doing them. They cost (at that time) about another 200
: pounds over the vanilla Super Galaxy's price.
I think the SG+ was fitted with the Campag Centaur groupset - these machines
appear to be very rare, I've never seen one but I'd dearly love to get my
hands on one. They've been out of production for a goodly while. My desire to
get hold of an SG+ has led me to considering contacting Dawes themselves to
see how rare (or not) they are ...
: Of course, if that's what you really wanted, you could get either Dawes
: or Raleigh to sell you the appropriate frame, and build it up
: yourself. On the other hand, once you start talking that kind of
: money, having a bespoke made-to-measure frame begins to be a reasonable
: alternative. (I sort of suspect that's why the SG+ didn't sell well.
: It was competing on price with the lower end of the custom-built market.)
Raleigh sell the Royal/Randonneur 708 frameset as the `Gran Tour' and I
think the cost is in the 300-350 pound ballpark (I don't have an address for
Raleigh, but will be putting contact info for Raleigh, Dawes etc. in the FAQ
at some point). You can probably get a 531ST frameset built for around 250
pounds (I've been quoted 200-250 pounds for 531 with o/s head and seat tubes,
for example).
On the other hand, for added pose value, you could by a Thorn frame :-) (end
gratuitous plug for SJSC bikes ...)
Simon
Paul Smee
In article <5i382p$b05$1...@netty.york.ac.uk>,
Simon Ward <s...@halibut.york.ac.uk> wrote:
> I may be wrong, but my '95/'96 transition model Galaxy has a Shimano
>cartridge headset fitted (they're very good - I'm having an STX h'set fitted
Could be, though the few recemt ones I've looked at in detail used
someone elses. They do tend to change things like this often, and even
within 'model' years, without mentioning it. :-)
> I think the SG+ was fitted with the Campag Centaur groupset - these machines
>appear to be very rare, I've never seen one but I'd dearly love to get my
>hands on one.
When I bought my original (don't ask) SG about 5 years ago, my LBS
tried to convince me to move up to the SG+ which they had on display.
Don't remember anything about it other than that it was Campag. It was
'new' in the sense that it was in their stock as received from the
factory, but I don't have any idea how long they'd been trying to flog
it off. It was outside my price range, and besides I didn't think that
my riding abilities at the time warranted Campag.
> On the other hand, for added pose value, you could by a Thorn frame :-) (end
>gratuitous plug for SJSC bikes ...)
I know a few people with Thorn frames (house brand of SJSC) and they all
speak very highly of their bikes. Never tried one myself. They look
impressive from the spec sheets...
Mike Ellwood
Paul Smee (cc...@sun.cse.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
: I know a few people with Thorn frames (house brand of SJSC) and they all
What is SJSC? Where are Thorn frames made?
Thanks,
--
Mike.E...@rl.ac.uk
James D Annan
s...@halibut.york.ac.uk (Simon Ward) wrote:
>:Where are Thorn frames made?
> See above.
Are you sure the frames are actually made there?
Andrew Henry
In article <5iana5$r...@newton.cc.rl.ac.uk>,
Mike Ellwood <m...@unixfe.cc.rl.ac.uk> wrote:
>Paul Smee (cc...@sun.cse.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>
>: I know a few people with Thorn frames (house brand of SJSC) and they all
>
St John Street Cycles started their Thorn range of bikes
about 3 years ago. Initially, they got Argos cycles
in Bristol (framebuilders - not the other Argos),
but now they have their own framebuilder.
Their WWW site is http://www.sjscycles.com/index.html
Technically, their bikes do seem to be pretty well thought
out. They do save money by not offering the same service
as you would get from some bike shops. For instance with
their tandems, they don't allow you to have a test ride,
although they will give a complete refund if you are
unhappy with it after the first week. On the other hand,
they do know an awful lot about the stuff they do sell,
which probably gets around a lot of the problems which less
specialised bike shops would run into. As mail order
companies go, they are very good. When I have ordered
stuff from them, it has often arrived on the next working
day. Apparently, when you buy a bike from them, all you
have to do is remove the packaging, and straighten the
handlebars. Everything else is set up properly.
Their shop in Bridgewater has wide range of stock, but it
isn't set up for browsing. A lot of it is kept in store rooms
and you need to ask if you want to be shown stuff.
--
Andrew Henry
ahe...@cyberpass.net
Robert Saunders
Mike Ellwood wrote:
>
> Paul Smee (cc...@sun.cse.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
>
> : I know a few people with Thorn frames (house brand of SJSC) and they all
>
> What is SJSC? Where are Thorn frames made?
>
> --
> Mike.E...@rl.ac.uk
An excellent mail order shop for bikes and components.
http://www.sjscycles.com/index.html#top
Robert
Paul Smee
In article <5i382p$b05$1...@netty.york.ac.uk>,
Simon Ward <s...@halibut.york.ac.uk> wrote:
> I may be wrong, but my '95/'96 transition model Galaxy has a Shimano
>cartridge headset fitted (they're very good - I'm having an STX h'set fitted
My several-years-old SG, and a new one on the stand at the Bike Show,
both have Stronglight headsets. I neglected to look closely at the
Galaxy. Ann's Randonneur (couple years old) has a Campag headset.
Don't know if I've ever looked closely at a Royal's headset. :-)
Basically, though, these are all 'Shimano' bikes (Dawes Galaxy/Super
Galaxy and Raleigh Randonneur/Royal) with deviations. Most obvious
deviation is Raleigh's use of Sugino cranks and rings in their recent
models. (Believe they still use the Shimano bottom bracket, though.)
Nigel Chow
On Thu, 3 Apr 1997 14:14:44 GMT, cc...@sun.cse.bris.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
wrote:
>In article <5hu8s8$2ol$1...@netty.york.ac.uk>,
>Simon Ward <s...@halibut.york.ac.uk> wrote:
>
>In response to someone else's question, both the Super Galaxy and the
>Randonneur now run about 800 pounds. Due to differing policies of the
>manufacturers, you're a *little* more likely to be able to negotiate a
>discount on the Dawes than on the Raleigh. Their little brothers, the
>Dawes Galaxy and the Raleigh Royal, list for about 200 pounds less.
I am on the verge of buying a Randonneur (having been swayed from the
SG by this news group). The current retail price is 850 pounds,
anyone know what sort of discount I can expect?
Would it be cheaper to get it mail order somewhere, I have no
particular loyalty to the Raleigh Shops in the Edinburgh area.
Nigel
Simon Ward
: : I know a few people with Thorn frames (house brand of SJSC) and they all
: What is SJSC?
St. John Street Cycles - address in the FAQ.
:Where are Thorn frames made?
See above.
Simon Ward
Nigel Chow (nc...@ed.ac.uk) wrote:
[snip]
: I am on the verge of buying a Randonneur (having been swayed from the
: SG by this news group). The current retail price is 850 pounds,
: anyone know what sort of discount I can expect?
Discount? May vary from none to around 10% (if you're lucky). I bought my
Galaxy from my local bike shop, and got discount by virtue of being a regular
customer - I paid the 1995 RRP for my bike (560 pounds) instead of the '96 RRP
(600 pounds) - not a fantastic reduction, but better than nothing.
: Would it be cheaper to get it mail order somewhere, I have no
: particular loyalty to the Raleigh Shops in the Edinburgh area.
You may find it worthwhile to wait until around August, when the 1998 models
of various bikes will hit the shops - by doing this, you can often get the
previous years bikes at ridiculous discount as the shop will have to clear old
stock. Whilst mail order has its strong points, I'd be more tempted to buy an
expensive bike locally, as it makes after-sales service so much easier.
Michael Hoath
In message <5i0a2o$9...@tdc.dircon.co.uk>
ahe...@dircon.co.uk (Andrew Henry) writes:
> >: If I had my time again, it'd be a toss-up between either the
Randonneur or
> >: something like a Thorn Expedition - in the face of competition from the
> >: latter, the SG is nowhere, IMO. Of course, if I didn't have quite so much
> >: money to throw around, I'd still buy a Galaxy ...
Does anyone have a Thorn Audax? What's it like?
Mike.
Tom Barrance
In article <199704072...@zetnet.co.uk>,
Michael Hoath <by...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote:
>Does anyone have a Thorn Audax? What's it like?
I met someone riding one on an event last year. He thought it was great,
and a distinct improvement on the Super Galaxy it had replaced.
I'd like one, mainly because they suit my idea of an Audax bike (light and
stiff but with all the brazings you're likely to need, triple chainset,
relaxed frame geometry, 135mm rear dropouts) rather than the 73 degree
parallel 'racing bike with mudguards' approach adopted by many builders.
However, they're no longer quite the bargain they used to be: the price has
gone up since they've been building their own, and they're now four hundred
quid for the frame. You might like to consider the Thorn Brevet, which has
the same tube spec and geometry but fewer brazings and less choice of frame
size, for a hundred quid less.
Tom
Colin Scott
In article <5iari5$c...@rigel.cyberpass.net>, ahe...@cyberpass.net (Andrew
Henry) wrote:
> specialised bike shops would run into. As mail order
> companies go, they are very good. When I have ordered
> stuff from them, it has often arrived on the next working
> day. Apparently, when you buy a bike from them, all you
> have to do is remove the packaging, and straighten the
> handlebars. Everything else is set up properly.
I can confirm this; I bought a Galaxy from them over the telephone last
year, at the best price I could find by a good margin, carriage included.
The order was placed at 4.30pm, and arrived before 10.00am the following
day. All I had to do was fit the pedals, straighten the handlebars and
set the saddle to the correct height; everything else was spot-on. If I
wanted to be hyper-picky, I might suggest that they could have done up the
cranks a little tighter (I had to re-tighten them several times in the
first 2-3 weeks), but otherwise I was - and remain - very impressed.
Colin Scott
Julian Beach
On Mon, 7 Apr 1997 22:24:13 +0100, Michael Hoath <by...@zetnet.co.uk>
wrote:
>
>Does anyone have a Thorn Audax? What's it like?
>
I have had a Thorn audax for 18 months. I bought just the frame (with
seatpin and headset) and made up the rest of the bike). I had intended
thus to end up with a cheap bike, but with all that shiny new cycle gear in
the bike shop it cost rather more than the ready made bike in the end!
The bike itself is very good. It is light and responsive without being
"twitchy", and is ideal for fast(ish) long distance events, being a good
compromise between the heavy comfort of a touring bike, and the light rough
ride of a racing frame. It carries plenty of weight in saddlebag or
panniers, has plenty of room for mudguards and reasonable width tires, as
well as plenty of water bottle space. In fact the only thing that it is
lacking is a dynamo brazing on the front fork for my Basil/LumoTech
combination lighting.
Recommended!
Julian
--
-> Julian Beach, Sheffield, UK <-
-> jul...@dircon.co.uk <-
-> *PGP Public Key on request* <-
Michael Hoath
In message <5iana5$r...@newton.cc.rl.ac.uk>
m...@unixfe.cc.rl.ac.uk (Mike Ellwood) writes:
> Paul Smee (cc...@sun.cse.bris.ac.uk) wrote:
> : I know a few people with Thorn frames (house brand of SJSC) and they all
> What is SJSC? Where are Thorn frames made?
> Thanks,
> --
> Mike.E...@rl.ac.uk
Thorn frames are made 'on site' in Bridgwater.
SJSC is a mail order bike shop.
Mike.