From a fellow Saffa Nomad owner: I bought a Nomad Mk2 last year and cycled across Ireland with my 16 year old son. It's a great bike - built like a tank - reliable and comfortable. I hope to cycle down West Africa back to South Africa one day too - if things work out. In the meantime, I'll work and save up the funds while occasionally exploring some of Europe on my Nomad... let me know if you ever decide to cycle around Ireland - we're in Dublin.
Howzit Johan, so lekker to hear from a fellow Saffa, and with a Nomad too! Made my day. Built like a tank - haha, so true. Thanks for the invite, will definitely keep it mind - and the offer is extended this way too, for both you and your son, if you´re ever here and about to enter Africa! There´s so much good cycling in Europe too, Spain is one of my favourites - reminds me a lot of SA, it is so big and the regions are so different.
My Nomad Mk3 turned up last month & after the floods/snow/ice I've begun to use it. I already have a Thorn tandem with Rohloff & went for that again, Rohloff is great & My Hope hydraulic discs are also fantastic with great stopping power, but plenty of feel in their action. Scwalbe tyres did the same as my last bike in that they punctured immediately, but I only realised the next morning as they got me home nonetheless & that's happened on both bikes ! I also have Ortleib panniers which are guaranteed totally waterproof & a Carradice traditional looking saddle bag for day rides. Brooks B17 saddle is fine so far & set to get better & better with use & application of leather treatment. I also got the dedicated waterproof brooks saddle cover, it rolls up to a tiny ball & fits better than a plastic bag. My other bike was built for me by M. Steel cycles of Gosforth in 1982 & that's still going strong too, even though the shop just closed down after trading since 1894. Thorn are highly reputable, extremely helpful & give good hones advice, often suggesting cheaper components if they think it's right for you, no sales pressure at all. The experience shared by their staff is an incredible testament to the business.
@@kvbcycles I'm exactly the same height as you & with the bike saddle set up for me I realised I can't put my feet on the ground, not even one ! I'll speak to Thorn as I also have the largest frame ( MK3). I ordered the zefal spy mirror on your recommendation, thanks. I have Hope hydraulic discs front & rear & they are superb, but require different forks. My tandem had disc brake forks, but this MK3 has dead straight disc compatible forks which have no "feel" to them, but the bike rides fine, including downhill round bends with no hands, so they must be OK I suppose. Still early days for me, but no problems so far. Thanks for your efforts.
Hey Ashley, thanks for the update. Same here - if I am seated in the saddle, I cannot touch the ground with my feet (well maybe my tippy toes)...but this is good for me as I am after all going to be in the saddle riding the bike and my long legs need that room to pedal comfortably :) I can stop next to a curb or rock for example and I can put my foot on there, otherwise I just dismount and stand over the top bar.
Maybe you have the wrong model of Schwalbe tyres. Never heard of *anyone* having punctures so early in the use of any Schwalbe Marathon model tyres. Get the Marathon Mondials, or the Marathon Plus if you do not mind the weight.
Hi all here, does anyone know what "mk3" stands for? "3rd make" or something different? Thanks from the Italian Alps... looking to get a Thorn some day soon... :)
I have the same bike and most kit. I have Tubes racks (Cargo and Duo) as they are equally tough in tubular CroMoly, but I prefer their appearance, and the Duo is much lighter than the Thorn front racks. I used the Rigida (Ryde) Andra 30 rims with CSS and Swissstop Blue pads for 55,000km. Only had to replace the pads ONCE. But after the CSS began to wear off, the Swissstop pads became poor performers in wet and at speed. I swapped to normal Koolstop Salmon pads and that was much better on the now bare aluminium. However once Thorn introduce a disc-fork I bit the bullet; did the whole change-over to hydraulic disc brakes and they are now really wonderful! It cost me quite a bit ($2000) as I had to get a new SON28 dynohub, and a new Rohloff hubcap for disc. The disc-fork alone was $1100. But as I said, I am thoroughly happy with the results. The bike has done over 60,000km now in 11 years.
Hey Peter! Thanks for watching and for commenting! Lots to get stuck into, love what you have done with your Thorn though :) I am definitely going to look into those racks -. my next exercise is looking at how to reduce weight, bike and pack weight. I have done 30k km on my CSS rims and I am yet to change the brake pad. I do have a slight dent in my rear rim (not sure from where), nothing serious, recently had spokes checked/tightened, all good, but I might be factoring in a replacement if I decide to replace rim brakes with disc on the back - my Rohloff is equipped, it is just an expense I cannot justify atm. I will go with mechanical brakes though - I think they are much easier to repair in the event of failure (I think anyway). Yowch, that is pricey to replace forks - I don´t think I will be doing that anytime soon! They are brilliant bikes, excellent value overall. You are based in Aus - is that right?
@@kevindean9613 sure, they are ortlieb water cages. When you buy one it comes with a mounting kit. You have to put holes into the bag to mount them, however, I’ve had no problems with water leakage. Once the mounting strips are attached, you can mount other ortlieb accessories like the small 4l ortlieb utility bags
Good review. Your thoughts on power generation reflect mine. I got a Son 28 dynamo hub as well and also have several Anker 26,800mAh and smaller Anker power banks and their 21W solar panels as well. The solar panels are far better at generating power even on cloudy days than the SON dynamo hub. I can easily go for 7 days powering my stuff from the power banks alone before needing to recharge them. Using the solar panels keeps them topped up. In contrast the front SON dynamo hub as you say delivers a pretty low output as you maybe riding slowly up a steep long gradient for many hours. A dynamo hub is only really worth it if you want lights on the whole time or have to ride through a lot of long tunnels, but not so good for charging other devices. If I knew now what I knew before I bought the SON I wouldn't have bothered. It is a very expensive option. Power banks and solar panels are a much more cost effective and efficient solution. Modern LED lights are very bright and have much lower power consumption than they used to. The Surly Front Nice rack is good but it is really heavy. I have one. I found another much lighter and cheaper front rack, the Specialised Pizza rack to be better as it has a larger area top shelf and you can still mount panniers on the sides with lots of ground clearance. It has thick 13mm aluminium tubing which is very robust. It can carry a lot of weight if you need to. It is rated to 15kg I think but could easily take more if you really wanted to load up. I chose 42 x 16 gearing for my Rohloff so I could use a Hebie Chainglider cover which has been brilliant at keeping the chain clean. My first chain lasted about 15,000 miles / 25,000 km until it reached the 1.0 marker on the Park chain tool checker. The Thorn front chain ring and Rohloff sprocket are still like new. For me disc brakes are a necessity on any bike now. They are tried and tested, not only on bicycles, but cars and motorcycles. Rim brakes are primitive Flintstones technology. The Schwalbe Marathon Mondials are good tyres and my choice for touring as well. I have thought of getting a Thorn Nomad frame from time to time, but I don't see any real benefit over my Surly Troll. I think maybe the Mk3 has a split rear triangle so a belt drive could be used which is attractive. Thorn frames have a very good rep. You obviously like yours. Hopefully with a vaccine for CV we can start touring again soon.
Alex, thanks for the brilliant comment. Nice to hear some really good feedback and input. Sounds like we have similar thoughts re dynamo´s! That pizza rack looks pretty neat, and lighter by 400grams, not bad at all. I also thought about getting the chainglider but decided against it and re MK3 frame I´ve heard it gives a rider loads of different options, which is never bad, but yes, Surly´s are very well known and good too, both frames for life.
I would agree 100% on this viewpoint about charging from the SON28. I have found the SON28 with Ewerk to give about as much top-up to a battery as from my old (small) PowerMonkey Extreme panel. Not very much; about 30% charge of a 9,000mAh battery after a whole day of riding. Reduced by slow speed on climbs or rough gravel roads. I have been using a 14W Goal Zero Nomad to charge the big cache battery (now a 17,000mAh) though most times anywhere in settled districts it will be charged by mains power first off and last me 3-5 days. For really remote tours I now have a Big Blue 28W panel. Still yet to fully test it out but it will rock the socks off the SON28 (which no longer has any charger connected now). However I would still rate the SON28 as by far the better choice for bicycle lights. I use the excellent Busch & Muller IQ-X with a Hermanns H-track tail-light and I run these 24/7. This use makes a huge difference in traffic for driver sighting and safe reactions, especially from the headlight. At night the headlight has a *much* better optically-correct beam which will light the road very well but will not dazzle or blind other road users. Most of the high-powered battery LED lights are power-wasters, lighting up the trees as well as the road and blinding oncoming traffic. AND they will not last the distance for 24/7 use.
I did a wheel removal and refit on a friend's Surly Ogre (fitted with derailleurs) to change his cassette, and it was horribly difficult. The rear-facing drop-out makes the wheel removal to be hindered by the chain.The Thorn is *SO* much easier by comparison.
Excellent presentation!!!!!! Well done Karl. At the age of 84 maybe I should follow your advice and maybe we will meet up on the road one day. Auntie Peggy
With all the hype these days about lightweight bike packing bikes and gear , it is refreshing to see someone extolling the virtues of the original expedition bike. About 8 years ago while researching a trip to Patagonia , two items kept appearing in the accounts I read.... Hilleberg tents and Thorn bikes. Well a few months later I had both packed in a large bike box heading for Santiago Chile. 4,000 Kms just scratched the surface and have been scheming to get back one day. One of the great pleasures was working through the excellent Thorn website and designing my ideal bike. As it turned out , my bike is almost identical to yours (except it is yellow),, andra rims, deore brakes, Rohloff hub and Brooks saddle, although even after 4,000 kms, the saddle and my butt never quite reconciled and it now belongs to a friend. One item i chose that was different was the S and S coupling that has saved the day on a few occasions. After 12,000 kms , I still have the original Schwalbe Marathon 2.25's and only one puncture and that happened miraculously right outside a bike shop. I have other touring bikes, a folding Bike Friday and a Trek cross rip. All time favourite and hard to beat is of course the Thorn Nomad
Simon, thank you for watching and the comments. You had me at Patagonia, and honestly, that South American continent is the dream destination...my belly tingles just thinking about it, fingers crossed, one day! My Brookes saddle almost went the same way haha! I think bikepacking is very much in fashion and seems a natural branching off of traditional heavy duty bike touring, it appeals to a younger generation, the bikes look really cool etc and weight is a factor so I can see the appeal. I don´t think I´ll be changing to a bike packing setup anytime soon, but I am always open to ideas on how to streamline, improve or even lighten my setup. I´ve already seen 1or 2 Nomad MK3s on Instagram setup bikepacking style so the force is strong :)
Once you have ridden with a Rohloff hub you appreciate that derailleur gears are the work of the Devil imho. The linear gear shift of the Rohloff makes so much more sense when riding. OK, it's going to be heavier, but the advantages outweigh that every day.
How apposite! I have just bought a very old Thorn (decaled as Nomad eXp but not really the same as present-day Nomads) and am currently replacing most of the moving parts. I won't be going as far afield on it (from UK) as you have though.
Very cool, what nice project! I had a look on the Thorn Forums to see if I could find any info on the eXp and came across a post this month from a "jeweller" who had just bought one and then subsequently received it - wondering if that may be you! :)
What shoe size do you have? I have been thinking about buying this bike and I know it has long chain stays but still I am a bit worried I might strike the panniers with my heels as I have size 48 EU. I see in some of your videos your heels are quite close to the panniers. The alternative bike for me would be the new Koga WorldTraveller with model year 2023, it has 477mm chain stays and the rack is a part of the frame so maybe it will be better to move the panniers all the way back on that bike?
Hey Andre, I wear size 43 and there is not a lot of space between my heel and the panniers…not at all, as you’ve seen. I once tried putting the bags as far back as they could go on the back rack but I felt the balance of the bike was upset with the bags being off center so moved them back so the center was directly above the hub…if that makes sense. The best thing of course would be to test the bikes with a pannier bag attached.
Hey Reuben, yes and no, it depends. In London I had a 20km (1 way) commute from E17 to NW6, which I tried on the Thorn once and yeah, it´s a bit heavy and slow going, preferred my lighter bike at the time. Since I left London I have lived in Northern Spain where I used my Thorn to commute everyday, but shorter distances, then again in south Spain, and in both cases a life saver, so absolutely yes, it did the job perfectly. I often ride without load here in Madrid for pleasure and it is a dream bike to ride honestly, the Rohloff in particular was a game changer for me. So, ultimately I would say she´s perfectly fine being a day to day bike too.
Hey Kevin, thanks for watching and I hope you find what you are looking for! Regarding the tyres, nothing apart from the normal stuff to be honest. I had problems with the rim tape on my rear wheel at the end of my Spain tour. It had moved somehow and I started getting cuts on the inside of the tube. Now I carry either spare rim tape or electrical tape to tide me over until I find 26 inch rim tape. As for the tyres themselves, a got a cut in the sidewall in Morocco which cut the tube too. I was still able to use the tyre but has been replaced. I do not see myself going tubeless, not with the Nomad anyway. I guess if I went bikepacking style with a new bike with bigger and wider tyres I might go tubeless and carry a spare tube, but unlikely.
@@kevindean9613 :) interesting perspective! I always felt I fell into the touring category as opposed to the bike packing category as I have the traditional touring setup with 4 sometimes 5 bags mounted on the sides with a rack pack over the back, plus I am sure I am a few kilograms heavier than a typical bike packer (I think!) and also, I am quite slow compared to the quicker bike packers...if I get 50km per day I am happy. I have been tinkering with the setup and one of the best things I did was ditch the handlebar bag. I replaced it with 2 small feed bags in it´s place, and added a small top bar bag.
@@kvbcycles I prefer panniers , I find them a lot more practical , I also use a full frame bag & a front rack for panniers & a Restrap Rando bag on top .At the moment I'm using a Surly Ogre as It's bit lighter than my Nomad & It's a easier to lift when I have to . However I've just found a company "Velocity " they make a lighter Rim "The CliffHanger " That can also go Tubeless .I may look into these as I think the Nomad build quality is better. Are your Mudguards 65mm ?
@@kevindean9613 had a quick look at those cliffhangers - 600g, think thats a 200g saving per wheel, if I remember the Ryde Andra comes in at 800g or so. To be honest, I have no idea what size my mudguards are...I just know that when I replaced the pair that came with the bike (as they were too small for 2.15inch tyres) I got the biggest or ones that would fit the wider tyre. When I ordered the bike I ordered it with 2.0inch tyres, but bought 2x 2.15inch tyres as spares. When I tried to replace the old 2.0 inch tyre for the wider one in North Spain I found it did not fit the mud guard. SJS Cycles kindly paid for a replacement.
Thanks for that excellent review. You said you got the largest size available. What height are you? I am 6'6" tall so finding a bike that fits me is a trial.
Hey man, I do not remember and I cannot check for you atm as I am touring with the bike now, however, if you go to their website, download the pdf, all that information is in there. There may be two pdf files, one for the Nomad and the “bible” I think they both have the information you are after
Hey mate, did you get a short frame or a long frame ? Or maybe the nomad mk2 offered a medium frame im not sure But anyway, I think you are riding in more of a relaxed type position so wondered if Thorn recommended you get a shorter frame to accommodate that riding position Here is what I just posted on the thorn forums On page 26 of the Thorn bible where it gives options for riding positions, I have a query For example Under the VERY RELAXED option it says “Most men and all women will need a SHORT club tour, Mercury or Nomad Mk3 to achieve this position with straight bars” Does it mean you will have to have short nomad mk3 ? It only says short next to club tour, but I’m thinking it is grouping all 3 frames together . I see they make both a L(long) and S(short) version of the Nomad mk3, so it would seem likely It also says a similar thing under the RELAXED and FAIRLY RELAXED choices This is a bit of a shock as I would like VERY RELAXED position or close to it , but never expected I would have to have a short frame . No big deal I suppose. I guess I’m just used to the aesthetic of seeing the longer frames , but I can see why a shorter frame would be needed for that position.
Hey again! Ok - so I found your posts on the forum and I see the guys have responded, and, it seems like you are putting in a call to Thorn about an MK3 :) like Dan suggests, get yourself measured and speak to Thorn re measurements. I remember looking at this sizing chart and man, I struggled to understand it so I went in to get measured and do a few test rides, if you can do that I would recommend. I admit I haven´t looked at any of the info on the MK3 so I am not sure how they compare exactly, however, I thought that flat bar setups, with a relaxed position, meant a long top tube...it was the drop bars that required the shorter top tube. If you want to compare, my MK2 frame is the 620L with a virtual TT measurement of 635mm.
@@kvbcycles ok, heard from Thorn and they have no 26” forks left for nomad mk3 builds until March 2022 !! so looks like my only choice is a mk2 in 620M or 620L I do “just” fit into the height measurement for this frame which Thorn says is the equivalent of a 21” mountain bike frame. So hmmm 🤔 need to ponder this one
@@kvbcycles I’m not too sure, I think the last batch of forks they got had to be rejected or something, so probably Corona has slowed all this down I’m in Scotland and would have to travel to England once travel rules between countries change. If they will allow test rides I suppose I could test ride sizes that I can’t currently buy ! As I don’t think they have a 620M or 620L available for test ride, think they just use more common sizes. Hmmmm
Guten morgen! On the back I use 2 back rollers - 20l each. I have also used a 31l rack pack which I carry on the back clipped into the back rollers. On the front, I use 2 smaller front rollers, which are 12l each if I remember correctly. I have also fitted mounting brackets to all four pannier bag - I use 2 with the bottle cage attachment, and 2 for the Ortlieb outer pocket attachments which are about 2l each. I used to have a handlebar bag to but have sold it as I did not like it flapping around. Also an exercise in reducing weight :)
Thanks Iain much appreciated! Lovely build - I think if I could I also would have gone for 27.5 wheels, and maybe the belt drive too haha :) Sure it is going to treat you very well!
@@kvbcycles fab! No, nothing significant planned just yet. A few shorter UK trips. Bought as a bike for life though. I've gone for 27.5 and hydraulic discs. Very excited to collect. All the best.
That’s right. The first chain had about 12000km in when I changed it. It reached the point where the eccentric had reached its limit and it was too loose. I had the links measured and they were stretched a lot. The same for the other 2, they stretched too, just replaced them sooner.
@@kvbcycles So once you had rotated the EBB as far as it could go , do you you just put it back to the start and put on a new chain ? I will assume yes but you can correct me if I’m wrong So second chain , you have to start moving the EBB again to tighten the chain, are you trying to find the original indentations you made from the first time round so as not to make new ones? Or do you just get the chain where you want it and just tighten it up hoping you don’t land near old indentations ? Hope that makes sense ! Cheers
@@ourclarioncall kinda. I counted the links in the old chain, counted the links in the new chain and cut the new chain so they were the same (number of links). Then fitted to bike and set the eccentric as close to zero as possible so I can tension as chain stretches. For the first chain change I rotated the front chainring only. I wasn’t worried about indentations...I think you mean how the drive chain and chain wear together like on a derailleur. I don’t think they compare in this way. Either way, I had no problems with the new chains, they ran perfectly and still are.
@@kvbcycles sorry, when i say indentations , I mean the grooves/marks that the two bolts make when they bite into the bottom bracket to keep it in place I’m just wondering what I would do if I got a new chain and rest the bottom bracket back to it’s original starting position . Once the chain gets a bit loose would i try and find those old indentations I made the first time round or would I just tighten it where the chain needs and hope I land on a good spot on the bracket where I’m not too close to old indentations so it doesn’t slip into them
@@ourclarioncall :) ok sorry with you now. No I wasn’t worried about that. In fact it lined up exactly where I had it previously and I just tightened up there again. It is recommended to not over tighten those two bolts as it can damage the eccentric. The only thing I worried about was the bolts dropping out so I regularly check them with my fingers. Only once did I need to give it a small turn to tighten.
Not any more. In the beginning I did, but for touring I would not recommend. For day trips from home they are fine, you can wash them after the ride, but when touring, it is not easy to wash them everyday and this can cause problems. Since ditching the padded shorts for loose fitting normal underwear and some loose fitting, quick dry shorts, I am a lot more comfortable, no problems at all.
Hey Gary thanks for watching. Not sure about other hubs but Rohloff I don’t believe that’s true. Rohloffs website states that both 8 and 9 speed chains are compatible but recommend the 8 speed chain because of its slightly thicker plates. I don’t remember ever being advised that I must use a single speed chain. The first chain that came with the bike was the KMC X1 which is a single speed chain, however, incredibly pricey compared to an 8 speed KMC chain. I have used 8 speed chains ever since the first chain without any issue.
@@kvbcycles In my experience single-speed have the thicker plates and are chunkier overall so last longer. A chain for a derailleur moves so it needs to be thinner and lighter. But whatever you think is best.
