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St John Street Cycles - Thorn Cycles Ltd. Company no. 123142 VAT no. 406 7053 70

Sherpa Mk3

A stunning, derailleur geared, rugged 26” wheel touring bike

May also be built into a 26” wheel hybrid trekking bike or a bike for general-purpose commuting and day rides.

Issue 40 WINTER

2018

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.

Available in a choice of 2 colours and 10 sizes

Blood Red

Stealth Black

#We’ve HUNDREDS

of DELIGHTED

Sherpa Owners -

some have

cycled around the world -

others have simply enjoyed

reliable day to day transport.

Size shown

500L With ST 26

Fork

Size shown

565S

With ST 26 Fork

This is what you get for £1299, except the bike shown is 27 speed and you’ll get 30speed!

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 a charged upgrade.

Sherpa

30 speed

Straight bars

or Drops

Straights from:-

£1368

or

CLICK HERE For

THORN MEGA BROCHURE

PARTS 1, 2, 3 and 4

This is a very large file (30Mb) it may take a

considerable time to open, please be patient.

Phone: 01278 441505

or email:

sales@thorncycles.co.uk

Or complete an order form - this can be

found in Part 3 of the Mega Brochure

To ORDER:-

You can now have NEW Schwalbe

Marathon

Supreme

(HS 469) or a variety of Schwalbe Tyres at no extra cost.

You can now have NEW Schwalbe

Marathon Supreme

(HS 469) or a variety of Schwalbe Tyres at no extra cost.

2

Thorn Sherpa Issue 40 - WINTER 2018

SPECIFICATIONS

The THORN 30 speed Specs have been chosen specifically to be the longest-

lasting, 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!

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.

Brakes. 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.

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’ve specified the very durable and reliable Shimano Deore sealed MTB hubs with 135mm axle spacing, to reduce wheel dish. We NOW fit the NEW 1.6" Schwalbe Supreme tyres at the START PRICE. You can have a variety of Schwalbe Tyres fitted for no extra charge. Please see page 99 of the MEGA BROCHURE 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.

We offer the THORN SHERPA 30Sp with a choice of either dropped or straight bars:-

Thorn Sherpa Mk3

22 years have passed since we first introduced our original innovative 26" wheel tourer. Over this period, the bike has evolved into the superbly refined Thorn Sherpa Mk3 which we’re able to offer to you today. You can choose to have your Sherpa Mk3 built with drop bars, or with straight bars - either option can be built up with key components, which are heavy duty enough to be reliable on genuine around the world trips. At the other extreme, the Mk3 can be built with reasonably lightweight components, to create a superbly responsive, yet reliable bike, for assertive and athletic commuting through broken city streets. However, most customers tend to have their Sherpas built up as general purpose bikes - such bikes spend most of their time acting as reliable personal transport but are always ready for a long (or short!) cycle camping (or shopping) trip.

At the heart of every Sherpa is a superb steel frame, with perfect geometry, which is designed for a lifetime of service. Unlike its imitators, every tube in a Sherpa’s frame is seamless, cold drawn, double butted and heat treated Cro-Mo - this gives a wonderfully comfortable and compliant ride - with precise handling, whilst efficiently transforming the riders’ efforts into forward motion. We then fit good quality, reliable components, a super pair of hand-built wheels and we encourage you to choose the best possible tyres for your Sherpa’s intended purpose. The Sherpa ethos is high quality, comfort and reliability achieved through the old school virtues of simplicity, durability and longevity - these are nice qualities to have in a day to day bike and, in my opinion, essential qualities in an expedition bike. I like to think that the Sherpa stands out as a supremely sensible choice, in a world awash with eye candy and bling. Andy B. May 2016

Ergon GP5-L grips

Shimano

TIAGRA

10sp STI

Many bar and shifter options are available on your Sherpa - please see the Mega Brochure - You’ll find the link on page 1 of this brochure.

3

Thorn Sherpa

Size Shown 560S

This bike has many upgrades

and is ready for a Sunday ride, a

week in France

or a World Tour!

Size shown

420S-T

with

ST 26 FORK

Size shown

500S

With ST 26 fork

Size Shown is

475M With upgrade

RAV853VC Fork

Size shown

500L

With ST 26 fork

Size shown

600L

With ST 26 fork

Size shown

530S

With ST 26 fork

On this page you can see 7

of the 10 sizes of Sherpa

that we offer.

Above and on the Left you

can see 2 Sherpas that

have been built up for

loaded touring.

You’ll find lots of

helpful

advice and

all the

upgrade

options and

prices, in

the MEGA

BROCHURE.

See the link

on page 1

4

Issue 13 - Jan 2011

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”.

Probable height of cyclist, for whom this is likely to be a suitably sized frame.

THORN

FRAME

SIZE

FORK

offset Reqd.

Frame tube diameters

Max Load

Using Front and Rear Panniers, 3kg bar bag + 3 cages.

Max Load

Using REAR ONLY

Panniers with 2kg bar bag + 3 cages.

Slope Seat Tube C to C

Virtual top tube

Seat Angle

Chain Stay

Mid-Tube S/O (Standover height)

Height of top tube @ junction with head tube

1490-1570mm 475M 52 Standard 33kg 17kg 60 415 550 74 432 715 750

1525-1660mm 500S 52 Standard 33kg 17kg 55 445 540 73.5 432 740 770

1525-1660mm 500L 52 Oversize 36kg 21kg 55 445 575 73 438 740 770

1600-1770mm 530S 52 Oversize 36kg 21kg 50 480 550 73.5 438 780 805

1600-1770mm 530L 46 Oversize 35kg 20kg 50 480 590 73 445 780 805

1700-1820mm 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

Oversize 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

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 majority of customers choosing drop

bars need one of the Short S frames.

Most male customers choosing straight

bars need one of the Long L frames.

Many female customers, most male customers seeking very relaxed positions and some male customers seeking relaxed positions, probably need one of the short S frames.

Mk3 Sherpa frames have the choice of 2 different steel forks.

FORK CHOICE see page 89 of

the Mega Brochure

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 an optional fork 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. This fork is exceptionally comfortable, the Reynolds 853 blades are the most comfortable I’ve ever ridden. RAV853VC 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.

Gearing...a personal

view.

Most bikes, in most bike shops, are geared too high. Pushing hard on the pedals at low revs is another sure way of damaging your knees. There are touring bikes available, off the shelf, which have significantly higher gears than the 110” gear (53/13) that Eddy Merckx occasionally used...when he was sprinting for the line - at 50mph! This is silly - but when such bikes lay claim to being touring bikes and also don’t have sufficiently low gears, it’s more than silly - it’s reprehensible! Some cycle tourists, of course, are strong

enough not to need low gears, especially if

they have come from a racing background.

However many cyclists, contemplating loaded touring for the first time, grossly underestimate just how low their gearing needs to be, in order to haul a heavy load over a big climb, especially after a hard day in the saddle. Believe me, if you also factor in altitude and sickness, most people simply can’t gear too low - with derailleur gears!

We give you 4 gearing options on

the Sherpa.

ULTRA WIDE RANGE GEARING: 11-36

cassette with the 26/36/48 chainset . Choose this and you’ll have gears from 19” to 113”. The top gear is probably higher than you need, with a load but at least you have plenty of really low gears for hauling big loads over steep hills, when you are tired.

WIDE RANGE GEARING: 12-28 cassette with

the 26/36/48 chainset . Choose this and you’ll have gears from 24” to 104” with a superb choice of fairly close ratio gears within this range. In my opinion, this range is ideally suited to fast touring, with moderately heavy loads, over rolling terrain...which of course may be just what you’re planning!

EXTRA LOW ULTRA WIDE RANGE

GEARING: 11-36 cassette with the 22/32/42

chainset . Choose this and you’ll have a fantastic

range of gears from 16” to 99”. This is what

I’d use for expedition touring.

EXTRA LOW WIDE RANGE GEARING: 12-28

cassette with the 22/32/42 chainset . Choose this and you’ll have gears from 20” to 91” with a superb choice of fairly close ratio gears within this range. These ratios are ideal for experienced, moderately loaded cyclists, who ride with a high cadence*. (*They spin at high RPM)

RAV853VC

FORK

Sherpa size matrix

See page 67 of the

Mega Brochure for details of

our LIFETIME frame warranty

and 14 day money back guarantee of satisfaction.