Why follow tradition when it doesn’t make sense? Thorn have confounded the old truism that all serious road bikes need 700C wheels. They’ve made a superlative range of 26"-wheeled touring bikes, taking full advantage of the world’s most popular tyre size. Only for certain racing applications, they say, do the relatively fragile larger wheels offer an advantage: for general use, the robust and easy-rolling 26" is supreme. As well as simply making taller frames for taller riders, Thorn offer different top tube lengths, too – many bikes come in an impressive 18 sizes, each size with its own proportional geometry, to fit riders with a wide range of leg, arm and back lengths. Thorn now specify individuallycommissioned heat-treated Reynolds 725 tapergauge (conical) tubesets for each of the EXP, XTC and Nemesis bikes. Details such as a bottombracket drain plug and thoughtful component selection make a big difference to reliability in the long haul. All Thorn bikes use brazed fork crowns rather than the welded unicrown MTB design, for a more supple ride. The EXP expedition tourer is a true workhorse, perfectly balanced even with a full load of luggage. Its frame is painstakingly constructed: it has extremely heavy-duty dropouts, the luglessbrazed frame tubes are completely sealed – even the bottle bosses are closed off. This frame will never corrode from inside. Thorn’s own extremely robust tubular steel carrier racks are the ideal accompaniment.
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The Thorn XTC is a light all-round tourer, suitable for long day-rides, moderate off-road use and lightweight cycle camping. The tubes are lowtemperature brazed into cast lugs, joints are carefully filed, and the frames are treated internally with Waxoyl preservative. The Nemesis is an ultralightweight sports tourer for those who want a quickhandling, multi-function machine. With a short wheelbase lugless sealed-tube frame, it responds with lightning-quick, road-racer handling – yet it’s tough enough to perform manoeuvres you’d never think of attempting on a racer. Couriers, apparently, love it! Other models in Thorn’s range include the Nomad, Audax, Brevet, the Club Tour, no fewer than six tandems, and a pair of triplets.
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In the 17 years since St John Street Cycles opened, it’s grown from a small town cycle shop into a large specialist business. Via mail order, telephone and the web, St John Street offer an unusually wide range of components, accessories, clothing and cycles. Robin Thorn is co-owner of the company and puts his success down to hard work, ethical trading and a talented workforce of nearly 30 dedicated cyclists. It’s their experience, together with feedback from thousands of customers, that goes into the design of the Thorn range of touring cycles, tandems and frames. Top end models are manufactured in St John Street’s own frameshop on their large site at Bridgwater, Somerset. The workshop can also add S+S couplings to almost any frame, new or old. They advise that this operation be performed on existing frames in the off-season – rather than waste riding time in the summer! Full details of the bikes are on the SJSC website – there are 18 pages on the solo bikes alone! There’s also online shopping, full details of paint finishes available, and more. St John Street Cycles, 91-93 St John Street, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 5HX, UK Tel +44 1278 441500 Fax +44 1278 431107 Email sales@sjscycles.com Website www.sjscycles.com In the UK, framesets for the new solo range cost from £349 to £899, and complete bikes from £599 (ClubTour), through £1099 (XTC) to around £1349 (EXP) – prices will vary according to specification. See the SJSC website for more details.
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