Thorn Nomads (and one or two other 26" wheeled touring machines) are nicely put together bikes that are designed and built for the task in hand using good quality parts and materials. A lot of riders would, if they had to choose, (and were not speed obsessed) have something like that as their only bike.
Now a cynic might say 'how much different is it to (another/another type) of bike' and that is what this thread is about I suppose.
So vs the following
- gas pipe framed bike (whatever that is exactly) - the Nomad is stronger, lighter and designed to carry a load - a conventional touring bike - when the load gets heavy (or the frame size gets large IME) the Nomad will often be more suitable - a converted steel-framed MTB -here it can be pretty close, but the Nomad has longer chainstays/wheelbase than most MTBs and carries the load a lot better as a consequence.
Machines with skinnier tubes and shorter wheelbases are doubtless more involving to ride when unladen, but every bike will start to do things you don't want when you put enough load on it; most conventional touring bikes will start to handle badly if you load them up enough (and that point varies with the bike, the load, the frame size, and the rider) and well before then there may be little or no difference in the riding experience (vs a 26" wheeled machine) anyway.
I think the OP could choose either a conventional touring bike or the Nomad and either could be preferred by different riders. Coming from a sporting background, I suspect that a 700C wheeled machine might feel most familiar, but if there is a Nomad that is the right size available for the same price, I'd be tempted to try it out if I hadn't used one before; if it is not all that is desired, I'm sure it can be sold on without great loss.
I agree. If I was in the market for a bike that would "do everything and go everywhere", I would buy one. If I were in the market to buy a bike at all, I would buy one.
As I'm not and I'm not, I'll stick with what I've got ................... for now.
I agree. If I was in the market for a bike that would "do everything and go everywhere", I would buy one. If I were in the market to buy a bike at all, I would buy one.
As I'm not and I'm not, I'll stick with what I've got ................... for now.
You surprise me Mick. Rohloff,Thorn,flat bars.....
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
You and me are getting to that stage in life ................
When I get further into my life, I no doubt will have problems with a dropped 'bar bike and Campag gearing. If I want to carry on riding here and abouts, I'll maybe need something different to my faithful Mercian. Maybe I'll not ride a bike in the future, but if I do, I may want something different.
I'm 62 pushing 63 and as fit as a flea. Could be when I'm 92 pushing 93, I may need a Thorn Nomad to get me to 102 pushing 103 ............. or 112 pushing 113.
BTW, I have no intention of dying and no expectation of it either. Anyone who has the intention of dying or the expectation of dying is a quitter.
Mick F wrote:You and me are getting to that stage in life ................
When I get further into my life, I no doubt will have problems with a dropped 'bar bike and Campag gearing. If I want to carry on riding here and abouts, I'll maybe need something different to my faithful Mercian. Maybe I'll not ride a bike in the future, but if I do, I may want something different.
That's why I bought the Vaya's
I'm 62 pushing 63 and as fit as a flea.
I hope you remain so
Could be when I'm 92 pushing 93, I may need a Thorn Nomad to get me to 102 pushing 103 ............. or 112 pushing 113.
BTW, I have no intention of dying and no expectation of it either. Anyone who has the intention of dying or the expectation of dying is a quitter.
I don't like to burst anyone's bubble but,this life thing's a one way trip,no one gets out alive.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
reohn2 wrote:I don't like to burst anyone's bubble but,this life thing's a one way trip,no one gets out alive.
I fully intend to be the first person to live forever. Trouble is, I will be spending the huge majority of my life being an old codger, so I may need a different bike ............. eventually.
Just a general question. How reliable / maintainable are Rohloff's? Last thing you want is to be stuck in some 3rd world backwater with a broken hub and no way of fixing it. Dérailleur might be less desirable, less robust etc, but it is fixable / replaceable pretty much anywhere in the world...
the idea is that they don't need much (internal) maintenance when on the road, and generally this works out OK.
Trouble of any kind is pretty rare and loss of all gears is almost unheard of.
I have heard of hubs that went underwater and then went another 1000 miles or so before the hub began to get rather noisy. I think if you might get water inside the hub, it would be wise to give the hub an oil flush and then a second oil change shortly afterwards. in an emergency almost any clean oil is better than nothing, or badly contaminated oil.
I would estimate that the chances of a Rohloff stopping you in your tracks as being similar to the chances of a shimano freehub body clapping out mid-tour. Maybe less.
