1. sports
2. trekking

Sherpa
Please read and note.
Prices are rising all the time and
we do not wish to waste resources;
consequently the prices, in
printed copies of this brochure,
may no longer be correct.
The current prices, given in the
on line brochure, are correct
and will always be honoured.
Issue 33
A stunning, derailleur geared, rugged 26” wheel touring bike
AUTUMN
2014
May also be built into a 26” wheel hybrid trekking bike or a bike for general-purpose commuting and day rides.
Available in a choice of 2 colours and 10 sizes
Size shown
Sherpa
500L
30 speed
Straight bars
or
Drops from
£1299
With ST 26
Fork
This is what you get
for £1299, except the
bike shown is 27
speed and you’ll get
30speed!
SORRY, this is a temporary, not yet fully stripped-out brochure.
There’s much detail which is duplicated in the new THORN MEGA BROCHURE.
CLICK HERE
For
THORN MEGA BROCHURE
PARTS 1, 2 and 3
This is a very large file (20Mb) it may take a
considerable time to open, please be patient.
To ORDER:- Phone 01278 441505
or email
sales@thorncycles.co.uk
Stealth
Black
Size shown
565S
With ST 26 Fork
or
Blood
Red
This is also what you get for
£1299, except the bike
shown is 27 speed and you’ll
get 30 speed and, for some
weird reason, this bike has
RED HOPE HUBS, which are
not included.
St John Street Cycles - Thorn Cycles Ltd. 91-93 St John Street - Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 5HX
01278 441 505 - sales@thorncycles.co.uk - www.thorncycles.co.uk - www.thorncycles.co.uk ©Copyright 2014 all rights reserved
Thorn Sherpa
Issue 33 - AUTUMN 2014
We offer the THORN SHERPA 30Sp with a
choice of either dropped or straight bars:SPECIFICATIONS
The THORN 30 speed Specs have been chosen specifically to be the longestlasting, most reliable specification possible, with due regard to cost!
You can choose to have the spread of your gears to be greater than anything currently
offered by other manufacturers.
We had to “think outside the box” and add mountain bike transmission to our Sherpa
because we know how essential it is have really low gears, in severe terrain...especially
when you have a touring load and more especially, when you are really tired!
We fit Sherpa specs A, B and C with Shimano Deore V brakes. In the
case of option C (with bar end shifters) we use Tektro V brake specific drop bar levers.
These Tektro levers, unlike other manufacturer’s previous attempts to marry drops with
V’s, actually work and have great “feel”.
IMPORTANT NOTE;- The 2 drop bar STI options (D and E) have to use cantilever
brakes - using V brakes with these STI levers is dangerous - the levers will hit the
bars before full braking effort can be applied.
Why use bar end levers or thumb shifters?
Transmission.
The transmission we have selected, whilst not being expensive, is really rather nice.
You have 4 choices of gearing, each of which is available with either 170 or 175
cranks, the choices are:[1] Our exclusive Shimano Deore quality 10sp 26/36/48 chainset with an 11-36 10sp
MTB cassette. We call this ULTRA WIDE RANGE GEARING.
[2] The above 10sp 26/36/48 chainset with a 12-28 Tiagra 10sp cassette,
we call this WIDE RANGE GEARING.
[3] You can choose a 10sp Deore 24/32/42 chainset with the 11-36 cassette, we call
this EXTRA LOW ULTRA WIDE RANGE GEARING.
[4] Or you can choose the above chainset with the 12-28 cassette,
We call this EXTRA LOW WIDE RANGE GEARING.
You can choose either DROP
Brakes.
BARS or STRAIGHT BARS
There are several reasons to choose bar end shifters or thumbies for your Sherpa,
instead of STI or Rapidfire integrated shifter and brake lever; these reasons are:[1] Bar end shifters are more reliable than STI in shifting performance, particularly
between chainrings, they can always be relied upon to change gear in difficult situations.
[2] Bar end shifters will continue to shift nicely with part-worn chains, cassettes and rings
that wouldn’t stand a chance of working with STI.
[3] Bar end shifters are easy to set up and don’t require much maintenance.
[4] Bar end shifters are less vulnerable to damage.
[5] It is far easier to change from one extreme of the gear range to the other (such as
when cresting a summit) with bar end shifters.
[6] Bar end shifters have the longest service life of any component we use on a
derailleur touring bike.
[7] Bar ends work with MTB front mechs, which work with 22/32/44 chainsets.
[8] Tektro brake levers may be used with bar end shifters, these brake levers actually
work properly with V brakes and V brakes are much more powerful and easier to
maintain than cantilever brakes.
Wheels and tyres.
The beauty of 26” wheels is that very strong and reliable, yet not excessively
heavy wheels can be built economically.
We equip the THORN SHERPA 30Sp with a set of “proper wheels”, hand built by a
master wheel-builder. We can use black
Rigida grizzly rims, with 36 top quality
stainless spokes to promise long-term
reliability. We have specified the very
durable and reliable Shimano Deore sealed
MTB hubs with 135mm axle spacing, to
reduce wheel dish. We fit 1.75mm
Panaracer Pasela tyres, which have a
great reputation for grip, reliability, long life
and, most importantly, comfort! Paselas
don’t pick up many punctures either! We
also know that the 1.75” Pasela is
adequately fast…almost certainly the
quickest 1.75”, puncture-resisting, non
folding tyre ever made. Having sold literally
thousands; we also know for certain that, for
the money, this 500g tyre is the most
reliable.
Size Shown is
475M
With upgrade
RAV853VC Fork
2
Thorn Sherpa
ALTERNATIVE TYRES
If you have more specific duties in mind for your Sherpa you can
choose alternative tyres please see the THORN MEGA BROCHURE.
The Sherpa frame can easily accommodate 2.1” tyres and
mudguards, with enough clearance for them to be an asset, rather than
a liability!
.
Finishing kit items specific to THORN Drop
Bar spec.
Good quality alloy, anatomical drop handlebars and a front loading,
threadless, 1.125” forged stem are fitted to the THORN spec Sherpa,
these are wrapped with black cork tape.
For information on recommended and desirable upgrades,
please look at the THORN MEGA BROCHURE
Finishing kit items specific to THORN
Straight bar spec.
The Straight bar spec bikes can be equipped with a choice of several
different handlebars.
At the start price your bike can be equipped with either Ergon GP1
grips or Herrmans DD08B Dual Density ergonomic grips and SJSC
Ergo control bar ends
For information on recommended and desirable upgrades,
please see the THORN MEGA BROCHURE.
Size Shown is
Checkout the standard Ergon grips
500L
With ST 26 fork
3
Thorn Sherpa
Issue 33 - AUTUMN 2014
Size shown
565S
With ST 26 fork
Touring accessories and upgrades to your Sherpa
spec, to make it an even more special bike.
The Standard specs
of a Sherpa use very
good quality items
but you can specify
even higher quality
items at the time of
purchase.
XT V brakes are
slightly more
expensive and highly
desirable.
If you are planning a
really long trip, it’s
probably cost-effective to pay the
extra for XT derailleurs.
Hope hubs have an excellent
reputation and having the best
4
quality wheels you can get, is often
the best advice. Please note that
the pawls in Hope hubs are very
audible, when freewheeling.
We do know beyond doubt that our
carriers are the best you can buy
and that the Profile bottle cage has
no equal. You will need to add
these to your bike to make it
suitable for fairly serious touring.
Thorn Sherpa
The ultimate derailleur geared touring bike.
Size shown
500S
With ST 26 fork
On straight bar Sherpas, you have the
opportunity to make some very desirable
changes to handlebar grips and bar ends. In
our opinion, these items result in a far better
bike for extended touring and we prefer this
option to a drop bar bike on such a tour.
bar end shifter conversion allows us to mount a
Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifter, in such a
way, that it becomes a top quality (index
geared) Thumbie.
I’ve no doubt that your transmission would
function for considerably longer than would be
possible with STI shifters.
The Straight bar spec Sherpas can use either
Rapidfire or Thumbies. To specify a straight
handlebar Sherpa for use as a serious,
derailleur-geared expedition cycle, we seriously
recommend that you use thumbshifters.
Thumbies were always the preferred long
distance option but they were not as
fashionable as STI and nowadays nobody
makes a thumbie of suitable quality. Our Thorn
5
Thorn Sherpa
Issue 33 - AUTUMN 2014
The Mk3
frames now
have a cast
stainless
seat clamp.
Size shown
420S-T
with
ST 26 FORK
6
RAV853VC
FORK
Probable height of
cyclist, for whom this
is likely to be a suitably
sized frame.
THORN
FRAME
SIZE
FORK
offset
Reqd.
Frame
tube
diameters
1490-1570mm
475M
52
Standard
33Kg
17Kg
1525-1660mm
500S
52
Standard
33Kg
1525-1660mm
500L
52
Oversize
1600-1770mm
530S
52
1600-1770mm
530L
1700-1820mm
Max Load
Using Front
and Rear
Panniers, 3Kg
bar bag + 3
cages.
Max Load
Using
REAR ONLY
Panniers with
2Kg bar bag
+ 3 cages.
Seat
Tube
C to C
Virtual
top
tube
Seat
Angle
Chain
Stay
Mid-Tube
(Standover
height)
Height of
top tube @
junction
with head
tube
60
415
550
74
432
715
750
17Kg
55
445
540
73.5
432
740
770
36Kg
21Kg
55
445
575
73
438
740
770
Oversize
36Kg
21Kg
50
480
550
73.5
438
780
805
46
Oversize
35Kg
20Kg
50
480
590
73
445
780
805
565S
52
Oversize
36Kg
21Kg
45
520
560
73
438
815
835
1700-1820mm
565L
46
EXTRA
Oversize
40Kg
24Kg
45
520
605
72.5
445
815
835
1780-1920mm
600S
46
EXTRA
Oversize
40Kg
24Kg
40
560
575
72.5
445
850
870
1780-1920mm
600L
46
EXTRA
38Kg
23Kg
40
560
620
72
451
850
870
1565-1790mm
420S-T
52
Step
Through
33Kg
17Kg
N/A
450
555
73.5
438
N/A
N/A
Oversize
Sherpa size matrix
Finish
The Sherpa frames and forks have
a multi stage finish. The frames are treated
internally, with a rust inhibitor. The outside
surfaces are sprayed, with a rust-inhibiting
primer. The frames are then coated, with a super
tough and environmentally friendly powder coat
finish, the decals are applied and the frames are
given a second coat of powder, this time it’s clear
powder “lacquer”. The decals are effectively
“sealed into the finish” and you couldn’t pick
them off if you wanted to.
Colour options
The Sherpa
frames are available in a choice of two colours…
a very bold red, which we call “blood red”, with
silver decals or you can choose “satin black”
with silver decals.
The red is completely “in your face”, whilst the
satin black is cool, sophisticated and melts into the
background. I can’t advise you on colour, other
than to repeat, what is surely common
knowledge, “red bikes are invariably the
quickest”.
Slope
S/O
Important notes on Sherpa Mk3 frames.
The smallest frames now use standard size
tubing, which is 1" Top tube and 1⅛" down
tube. The small to medium size frames use
oversize tubes 1⅛" top tube and 1¼" down
tube. The larger frames use extra oversize
tubes 1¼" top tubes and 1⅜" down tubes. I
believe that this makes good sense. Small
frames are inevitably stronger than large
frames and riders of small frames are
usually lighter than riders of large frames.
The Mk3 frames now have a cast stainless
seat clamp.
The Short S frames are intended
primarily for use with drop bars, or with
butterfly bars.
The Long L frames are intended
primarily for use with straight or comfort
bars.
Another significant change is that the
Mk3 Sherpa frames now have the choice
of 2 different steel forks.
FORK CHOICE
We have Reynolds Super Tourist Cro-Mo
forks, which we call ST 26, these forks
have cast crowns, safety drop outs and
provision for Lo-Loader carriers, as well as
our trademark provision for directly
mounting the mudguards. The ST 26 forks
will carry up to 6Kg on each side!
We also have forks made from Competition
weight Reynolds 853, which we call
RAV853VC These forks have safety
dropouts and stainless bosses for the
direct fitting of mudguards but they don’t
have provision for Lo-Loader carriers.
The RAV853VC fork must not be
modified to take such carriers.
The RAV853VC fork is an option.
This fork is exceptionally
comfortable, the Reynolds 853
blades are the most comfortable
I’ve ever ridden. RAVVC forks will suit
riders who wish to use a Sherpa for
commuting, or for lighter touring.
Both the ST 26 and RAV853VC forks
will take a 2.0” tyre if required.
I’ve also introduced a step-through
Sherpa frame, which is strong enough
for serious touring.
We believe that the Sherpa is the finest off the shelf, “go anywhere, derailleur
geared touring bike” on the market today - irrespective of price!
We also believe that it’s the most durable.
Phone: 01278 441505
Or email :
sales@thorncycles.co.uk
7