THE TOUGH GET GOING

So you’ve made the decision: it’s time for the BigTrip. You’ve saved your cash. You know whereyou want to go. Now it’s just a matter of

deciding what bike’s going to get you there. Of course,there’s nothing to stop you setting off with your triedand trusted Mtb hardtail. But experienced touristsgenerally agree that nothing beats the comfort andstrength of a purpose built tourer, especially when thegoing gets tough, the road gets rough and you’recarrying everything but the kitchen sink.

This month’s test features three long haulcontenders, all of which have benefited from years ofmanufacturing experience and are firmly establishedon every expedition wish list. Not that this meansblowing half a year’s budget before you even set off.As know-how, geometry and improved build qualityhave filtered down the ranges, prices are moreaffordable than ever. First is Orbit’s XT-equipped Cr-Moly Romany, a budget £895 expedition bike basedon the hand-built Romany Nivacrom frames.Likewise, the latest incarnation of Thorn’s Nomad, at£1210, has benefited from the experience of its bigbrother, the EXP. Lastly, we’ve included a custombuilt, made to measure Chas Roberts Roughstuff,carefully specced to weigh in at an affordable £1400.

FRAMEORBIT 7 THORN 9 ROBERTS 9 The main difference between an expedition frameand that of a traditional steel mountain bike is theemphasis on strength, comfort and its ability to carryloads. The Orbit Romany uses a TIG weldedTaiwanese frame with Reynolds 520 double buttedtubing – identical to Reynolds British made 525 –and it’s here that Orbit have managed to trimcosts. However, it’s not at the expense of itsdesign, similar in geometry to their ownNivacrom frameset used on the higher endExpedition model. Welds are neat andalignment is perfect. Available in five sizes,the head tube is sufficiently long to give anupright riding position. Top and down tubesare 0.9-0.6-0.9mm thick and the fork is asingle butted cromo unicrown design. Lessresilient to being slung on the roof of a Kyrgyzbus, it’s a perfectly adequate frame for a budgetexpedition bike. Nothing fancy, it does the joband includes a full complement of braze-onsfor three water bottles, mudguards, racks, adynamo and pump peg. The frame isavailable in one colour and the stoveenamel paint finish is fine, though thedecals are rather cheap looking – peelthem off and the frame looks muchbetter. Rather misleadingly, Orbit havebranded the frame: ‘Handmade in

60 CYCLING PLUS

A big expedition requires a strong bike. Cycling Plus’s Round the world rider Cass Gilbert tests three of the toughest…

Jona

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Orbit Romany Cr-moly £895 Roberts Roughstuff £1400Thorn Nomad £1210

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December 200262 CYCLING PLUS

Sheffield’ – when it’s only assembled there.Thorn’s Nomad is built from Reynolds

531 double butted tubeset, a classic touringchoice, with a lifetime warranty, sealed tubes toprevent internal corrosion and a draining capunder the bottom bracket. The frame isbeautifully fillet brazed, with a lug on the seattube for extra strength. Tube thickness is 1mm-0.7-1mm thick, which ensures the frame is bothstrong and resilient to denting. Chainstays are1.1mm thick at the dropouts, beefing them upfor loaded use. The frame is available in 12sizes, including two lengths of top tube – shortand medium/long. What’s more, geometry isdesigned specifically for each particular size.This means for an off the peg frame, you shouldbe getting as close as you’ll get to the perfectframe size – one that will suit both male andfemale riders. Forks are 531SC, specific to eachframe with a long rake to maximise comfortand chunky ‘double’ braze-ons to take dualarmed low riders. The frame itself is alsocomplete with all the braze-ons needed – threewater bottles, front and rear mudguards, rack,dynamo and pump peg. Finished in Cobalt blue,one in a range of colours, the Nomad iscomplete with Thorn’s traditional headbadge.Looking on the C+ forum reveals severalcomplaints about soft, easily chipped paint. Ifyou go for the standard black finish – £50 less –you can always touch it up. Otherwise, the blacksatin is probably the toughest, most

understated option of the lot.In frame design and finish, the Roberts

Roughstuff is a breed apart. Immediately noticeableis the fantastic quality of the fillet brazing. Every frameis individually designed, depending on the purpose ofthe bike as well as the weight and build of the rider,and should fit you like a tailor made suit. Allow anhour to be measured up – if you’re planning onhanding over £1400 enjoy the pampering! The bikemade for me used an 853 Reynolds top tube –0.8mm to 0.5mm to 0.8mm in thickness – and a 725tapered down tube and a Colombus Nivacrom bulgebutted seat tube, with Reynolds 531 forks. Chainstayswere around 0.9mm thick, thicker towards theRitchey dropouts. It’s a great all round frame, thoughlighter and less dent proof than the Thorn. With itsmountain bike-like sloping top tube, it’s an appealingdesign, right down to the beautifully minimal CRheadbadge. Disc mount options are also possible, asare thicker tube specs if you’re planning a pan-continental odyssey. Forks are identical to the Thorn,with chunky front braze-ons to take strong low riders,while the rest of the frame benefits from the sameattention to detail – three water bottles, mudguards,rack, dynamo and pump peg. The red finish isperhaps a little too eye-catching for touring andseemed to chip fairly easily, though there are plentyof other colours to choose from. It’s worth noting thatunless unusually proportioned, a custom framemight not fit you any better than a well chosen off thepeg frame. However, there’s a definite appeal tohaving your own, unique, tourer.

Reynolds 520Taiwaneseframe is thesame as 525 inBritain. Weldsare neat, andalignmentperfect

Handbuiltwheels: XThubs and atwo yearguarantee onrims andspokes. Niceone, Orbit

Avid’s ArchRival brakesare excellentas is the rearrack, thoughthe front cancatch onuneven terrain

AT A GLANCE: FRAME 7THORN 9 ROBERTS 9

HANDLING LOADED 7 UNLOADED 9THORN 9/7 ROBERTS 8/9

EQUIPMENT 9THORN 7 ROBERTS 8

WHEELS 8THORN 9 ROBERTS 7

ORBIT ROMANY CR-MOLY£895“a great bike for everythingbut extreme use”Orbit Cycles ☎ 0114 275 6567www.orbit-cycles.co.uk

biketest

WHEELSORBIT 8 THORN 9 ROBERTS 7Along with the frame, wheels are the most crucialfactor to consider when setting up an expeditionbike, particularly if riding with heavy loads inremote regions. Nowadays, parts subject to wearand tear can be expressed out via one of thecourier firms that inhabit every capital city in eventhe furthest corners for the world. A set ofreplacement wheels or rims, however, is largeand expensive to send. Shimano parts that willtide you over can be found everywhere – a goodset of rims is another matter.

All three bikes rely on XT hubs – 36 holes inthe cases of the Romany and the Nomad, and 32for the Roberts. Durable and well-sealed units,they should prove maintenance free on all butthe longest and most extreme tours. What’s more,cones and axles are non-specific if you do runinto problems – mine lasted 25,000km and arestill going strong. Choice of rims, spokes and tyresvaried between manufacturers. Orbit has chosenZac 2000 Rigida rims, with butted stainlessspokes and a machined breaking surface. At1980g and 2400g respectively for the front andrear, the rims strike a good balance in weight andstrength and should cope well with most on andoff-road touring. Hand-built by Orbit, a two-yearguarantee on rims and spokes is also included.Wheels remained true during testing and Rigidahave a good reputation for long-term survival.Teamed with Schwalbe’s excellent Marathon XR

1.75, a favourite among tourers, Orbit havechosen a good wheelset for general travelling.

Thorn has opted for the no-compromiseapproach. Built up with stainless straight gaugespokes, Sun Rhynos are probably the heaviestduty touring rims around. The Nomad comeswith Schwalbe Marathon XRs, this time the26x1.90 model, which should be good for up to10,000kms, and they have very robust sidewalls. Awide and giving tyre, they soak up bumps in theroad, roll well for their weight and are good all-rounders for tarmac and trail. Handbuilt by Thorn,rims also stayed true during testing. Rememberthough that the choice of rim should really bedictated also by the kind of riding you intend todo and how much load you plan to carry. Fromthe experience of breaking conventional rims inthe back of beyond, Rhynos are definitely theones I would choose on a long tour. As a riderwith an average weight (75kg) and a bike that canweigh 50kg, they offer peace of mind and have abraking surface that should outlast most trips.Rhynos have the best reputation among extremetourers, who agree that the extra weight is a morethan worthwhile trade-off for their superlativestrength. Both Thorn and Roberts can providedifferent rims depending on customer preferenceand intended use of the bikes.

While the Roughstuff also uses Sun rims,Roberts have opted instead for Rhyno Lites,similar in weight to the Rigidas and a popularchoice for general touring. A generous 27.5mm

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December 2002 CYCLING PLUS 63

Wide 46cmhandlebars area sensiblechoice, but thestem wasswapped for ashorter one

Despite beingdearer than theOrbit, the Thornonly has an LXrear mech,though the 11-32 block offers agood gear range

Stoppingpower isprovided byAvid Shorty 6cantis – not asstrong as theOrbit’s AvidArch Rivals

AT A GLANCE: FRAME 9ORBIT 7 ROBERTS 9

HANDLING LOADED 9 UNLOADED 7ORBIT 7/9 ROBERTS 8/9

EQUIPMENT 7ORBIT 9 ROBERTS 8

WHEELS 9ORBIT 8 ROBERTS 7

THORN NOMAD£1210“A Rugged overlander, idealfor long term use”Saint John Street Cycles ☎ 01278 441502www.sjscycles.com

wide, they can take wider tyres well and are stiffer thannarrower rims of the same weight. However, the RhynoLites aren’t a versatile rim and won’t take a tyre like the1.3 Vredestein S-licks, a handy set of spares that foldfor packing and roll well on good tarmac. They arethough are well suited to the Roughstuff’s ContinentalGoliaths – wider and more giving than their 1.6in sizesuggests. With their smooth central tread and grippysides, Goliaths are a well-respected choice for ridingon mixed terrain. The only real disappointment in thiswheelset is Roberts’ surprising choice of fitting 32-holehubs. For the small increase in weight of a few buttedspokes, I’d have much preferred to have seen the 36-hole version, which is definitely recommended for anylong distance touring – particularly on the rear wheel.

HANDLINGLOADED ORBIT 7 THORN 9 ROBERTS 8UNLOADED ORBIT 9 THORN 7 ROBERTS 9First and foremost, we’ve tested the bikes fully laden,both on and off-road seeing as that’s really whatthey’re built for. Of course, different tours will demanddifferent payloads. Equally, some cyclists travelminimally, whilst others are less fanatical aboutpacking. To get an overall picture of what the bikes arecapable of, we loaded them up with panniers bothfront and rear, with loads from 20-35kg – the kind ofweight you might well haul about on a self sufficienttour. However, seeing as most cyclists will also want tomaximise the use of their bikes once they’re backhome, we’ve also marked them on how they’ve faredunloaded. Bear in mind though that these bikes are

built with long haul expeditions in mind. To transformthem into robust commuting bikes, for example, you’llreally need to fit lighter wheelsets and racks.

At just over 15.2kg, the Orbit Romany was theheaviest on test. But with its steeper head tube andshort chainstays, it handled excellently unloaded, morelively than would be expected for its weight. Ridingposition was upright and comfortable, ideal for morerelaxed touring, largely due to a short top tube and asteep 40° stem. Loaded moderately for generaltouring, it continued to handle well, becoming a littlejittery only on fast descents when weighed down witha full complement of equipment. Off-road, the Orbitpowered its way through sandy trails with surprisingassurance, helped in part by a stiff frame that hardlyflexed. This said, a stiff frame can also induce morerider fatigue over longer distances, which is perhapswhy Orbit have opted for a suspension seat post. Anexcellent idea in theory, the Tranz-X model fitted asstandard proved difficult to adjust effectively, and Iwould question its long-term reliability. On the sizetested, the bottom bracket was around a centimetrelower than the Thorn and the Roberts, making the bikethat bit more manageable with your feet down. For thesame reason, it’s also less suited to rougher terrain.

At 15kg, the Thorn had a reassuringly solid feel toit. Unloaded, it actually felt heavier and less sprightly toride than the Orbit. However, it’s worth rememberingthat handling is also greatly dictated by wheel choice.Sun Rhyno’s are real heavyweights – 2kg on the frontand 2.74kg on the back. Ideal for an expedition, they’reoverkill for day to day use, as the gyroscopic effect of

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December 200264 CYCLING PLUS

Sugino XDcranks, a UN52bottom bracketand CampagCentaur frontmech shows awillingness tomix and match

All three bikescame with XThubs, but theRobertssurprisinglyhad 32 ratherthan 36-spokewheels

A classic Rollssaddle, XTcantilevers andexcellent Tubusracks finish offthe Roughstuff’scomponentry

AT A GLANCE: FRAME 9ORBIT 7 THORN 9

HANDLING LOADED 8 UNLOADED 9ORBIT 7/9 THORN 9/7

EQUIPMENT 8ORBIT 9 THORN 7

WHEELS 7ORBIT 8 THORN 9

ROBERTS ROUGHSTUFF£1400“individual in design andguaranteed to last…”Chas Roberts ☎ 0208 684 3370www.robertscycles.com

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December 2002 CYCLING PLUS 65

an increase in wheel weight will always be mostnoticeable when unladen. Indeed, when thewheelset was switched to the lighter cross-country Sun CR18s, handling improvedsignificantly. Back with the Rhynos and amoderate load, the Thorn remained assured andpredictable, though less nimble than the Orbit.Pile on the kilos and the Nomad really excels.Incredibly stable, it handled fast descents well,both on and off-road. Relaxing to ride, theNomad required minimal effort to steer in astraight line, even when pedalling hard out of thesaddle. There was no need to waste effort byfighting to control the bike when loaded; theNomad seemed to glide effortlessly along.Extended chainstays kept heels from clippingpanniers though we did find the handlebarsquite stiff – a little extra padding would be good.

As you’d expect from Chas Roberts, theRoughstuff was a lovely bike to ride, with a farmore responsive feel than you’d imagine from abike designed for expedition use. At 13.44kg, itwas the lightest of the group by a fair margin anddefinitely felt it. As with the Thorn, long chainstaysensured the bike rode smoothly in a straight line,as well as keeping feet from clipping panniers atthe back. Roberts also chose to fit a 170mmcrankset, offering more room between the front

of the foot and the mudguard, handy fortechnical riding or if you’re wearing boots.However, a shorter crankset also made the bikethat bit trickier to handle on tiptoes, due to aslightly higher saddle. Once loaded up with atent, sleeping bag, pans, stove and anything else Icould cram into the panniers, the Roughstufflived up to its name. Whilst lacking the Nomad’ssolid feel, it was equally at ease on trails astarmac. The sloping top tube offers plenty ofclearance too. The only real disappointment wasthe narrow handlebars, 4cm less than the others.With a full cargo, wider bars give more assuredhandling, particularly off-road when more controlis required to handle extra weight on the frontfork. The narrow bars also meant my kneesclipped the bar-end shifters when riding out ofthe saddle, even knocking them out of gear onclimbs. Roberts fit varying width ’bars dependingon shoulder width. However, I’d recommenderring on the wide side for expedition touring.

EQUIPMENTORBIT 9 THORN 7 ROBERTS 8Immediately apparent is the excellent value theOrbit offers for your money. With an almost fullcomplement of XT components, the Romanyshould pose few problems with long-term

Whether to fit straight or drop handlebars is a subjectguaranteed to incite debate among tourists. There areadvantages and disadvantages to both – my ownpreference lies with straight handlebars fitted withfairly bullhorn-like bar-ends.

Drops offer a variety of hand positions, which helpsalleviate fatigue in the wrists and hands, caused by therepetitive vibrations transmitted through the forks. It’sa tiny movement but one that can induce numbnessand in the worst scenarios, a permanent loss of feelingin the fingers. Plus, bar-end shifters are easy to set upand maintain with their dual friction/index settings.However, straight handlebars offer more assuredhandling on precarious descents, easier shifting duringclimbs and descents, and are better for general off-road riding. They are also easier to set up with V-brakes, which offer significantly improved braking witha fully loaded bike. If you’re coming from a mountainbike background, you’ll probably feel morecomfortable with them. In fact, it’s mainly the Brits wholike a curl in their bars. Everyone else tends to ride withstraights, except the Dutch who favour the comfortablebut less performance inclined butterfly design. Cyclingfrom Sydney to London, I used a SpecializedRockhopper with straight bars. But if I did the sameride again, I’d definitely opt for a purpose built machine– the geometry is far better.

Straights or Drops?

durability. Both front and rear mechs areXT, the tougher ’98 models at that, whilebottom bracket is the well sealed UN72.Transmission is via a Sugino XD crankset,fitted with two aluminium rings and acheaper steel inner. Very much a roadset-up, its 26-36-48 range won’t suitthose riding with heavy loads, thoughyou’ll have plenty of gears in hand for thedescents. Teamed with an 8-speed 11-30cassette, the smallest gear will just aboutdo for a marathon of 20km switchbackclimbs. At 46.5cm, the ITM handlebars arenice and wide. The Dia Compe brakelevers work well with the powerful AvidArch Rivals, whose retail price alone is£70. As a result, the Orbit’s performancewhen braking under a load was the bestin the group. The Linea Soft saddle iscomfortable enough on a day ride butoffers far too little support for long-termuse. The Romany comes ready to tour,with alloy pedals, toe-clips and fairlyflimsy mudguards. Racks are Tubus.Whilst the rear is of their usual highquality, the front suffers from a poordesign. Simple and strong, take care if youplan to ride on very uneven terrain, as thelow rider has a tendency to catch onrocks. Finally, there’s a compass/bell,handy for getting round strange cities – Itwon’t get you heard above the roar of theIndian highway or stop you getting lost ina Syrian souq, but is a nice touch.

Despite its steeper price, the Thorn isless lavishly endowed than the Orbit.There’s an LX rear derailleur, a Deore frontmech and a UN52 bottom bracket. Deorecranks are solid and long lasting, thoughthe chain rings may need to be tailored toindividual requirements and only theouter is hard wearing aluminium. Both

the inner and the frequently usedmiddle ring will need to be upgraded fora long trip. With its 11-32 9-speed block,there are plenty of small gears for toughclimbs, sparing your knees. On theother hand, you might find yourselfrunning out on the descents if you’reused to pushing big gears. At 46cm, the3T ’bars are wide and comfortable,though I’d have appreciated a littlemore padding. The 10cm stem is coldforged with a 17° rise. This is very muchdown to personal taste and a stickerindicates the length and rise, making areplacement easy if need be – Iswapped it for a 12cm stem with 12°rise. Headset is the fit-and-forget FSAOrbit XL2, while brakes are Avid Shorty6s, powerful as cantilevers go. SKSmudguards are well-fitted and amplyaccommodate the Marathon XRswithout rubbing. Lastly, a significant partof the budget has gone towards Thorn’sown 531 tubed reinforced rear rack andlow loader, priced at £100 and £70, whichare perhaps the strongest and mostrepairable racks available.

The Roughstuff’s equipment strikes abalance between the other two. Again, XThas been chosen for the rear mech, witha Campag Centaur at the front. Bottombracket is UN52. Like the Orbit, theRoughstuff uses the Sugino XD crankswith an 8-speed cassette. The 42cm barscould do with being wider, though the XTcantilever brakes worked well. Tubusagain provide the racks, this time with animproved double armed low rider, similarin design to the Nomad. Like the Thorn,SKS ’guards are well fitted and the Rollssaddle was comfy straight away. Mindyou, I have spent two years on one…

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December 200266 CYCLING PLUS

Dave Yates Wayfarer £1150Koga Miyata World Traveller £1135 (approx)Orbit Romany Expedition £1275Argos custom retro-fit £variable

RIVALS

Dave Yates offers a couple of 26intourers, including the Wayfarer, with afillet brazed sloping top tube, LX kit andracks for £1150 (contact M Steel Cycleswww.msteelcycles.co.uk, ☎ 0191 2344375, ). It’s worth looking at the othermodels within the ranges of themanufacturers tested, such as Orbit’sRomany Expedition at £1275. If the sky’sthe limit, Thorn’s EXP, at £1600 ready togo, is sheer indulgence. There are moreoptions on the continent, such as KogaMiyata’s World Traveller (contact

www.koga.com) with an alloy 7005frame, full XT and Tubus racks for around£1135, a very popular touring brand withthe Dutch. Another viable option is touse a conventional steel Mtb with a BOBYak trailer, £235, including dry sackholdall (www.bobgear.com). Or retro-fityour own hardtail with rack mounts andextra bottle carriers with qualityframebuilders like Bristol based Argos (☎ 01179 724730, www.argoscycles.com)– though you will probably need a forkwith a longer steerer too.

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December 2002 CYCLING PLUS 67

Orbit Romany* Cr-molyReplacement value £895Orbit ☎ 0114 275 6567, www.orbit-cycles.co.uk* While the test bike was labelled Caraway,future models will carry the Romany name

FRAME AND FORKSSize tested: 56cmSizes available: 44, 48, 52, 56, 61cmWeight: 15.22kg/33.5lb without pedalsFrame: Reynolds 520Frame weight: 2400g/5.3lbFork: single butted cromoFork weight: 979g/2.2lb

BIKE DIMENSIONSTop tube: 57.0cm/22.4inSeat tube (c-c): 51.5cm/20.3inChainstays: 42.5cm/16.7inWheelbase: 103.5cm/40.7inHead tube angle: 71.5°Seat tube angle: 73.0°Fork offset: 4.5cm/1.8inTrail: 6.3cmB/b height: 27.5cm/10.8inStandover height: 82.2cm/32.4inBraze ons: 3x water bottle, rack &mudguard f&r, pump peg

FRAME ALIGNMENTHead tube : perfectRear triangle : perfectFork : perfect

TRANSMISSIONChainset: Sugino XD500, 26-36-48T,175mmFreewheel: Shimano PowerflowChain: ConnexGear lever: Ultegra bar-end shiftersBottom Bracket: Shimano UN72Rear mech: Shimano Deore XTFront mech: Shimano Deore XTPedals: none

GEAR RATIO ( IN)

WHEELSFront and rear: 36H Rigida Zac 2000 rims,Shimano XT hubs, butted stainless spokesTyres: Schwalbe Marathon 26x1.75Wheel weight: f: 1980g/4.35lb:r: 2400g/5.28lb

OTHER COMPONENTSStem: unbranded, 100mmHandlebars: ITM, 46.5cmHeadset: VPSaddle: Linea SoftSeatpost: Tranz-X suspensionBrakeset: Avid Arch RivalsAccessories: mudguards, Tubus f&r racks,pump, 3x bottle cages, compass bell

BIKE SPEC

Thorn NomadReplacement value £1210SJSC ☎ 01278 441502, www.sjscycles.com

FRAME AND FORKSSize tested: M with M/L top tubeSizes available: XXS, XS, S, M, L and XL and2 top tube lengthsWeight: 15.045kg/33.2lb without pedalsFrame: Reynolds 531Frame weight: 2480g/5.5lbFork: Reynolds 531SCFork Weight: 1073g/2.4lb

BIKE DIMENSIONSTop tube: 59.0cm/23.2inSeat tube (c-c): 49.5cm/19.5inChainstays: 45.0cm/17.7inWheelbase: 107.5cm/42.3inHead tube angle: 71.0°Seat tube angle: 72.0°Fork offset: 5.0cm/2.0inTrail: 6.1cmB/b height: 28.8cm/11.3inStandover height: 80.2cm/31.6inBraze ons: 3x water bottle, f&r mudguard& rack, pump peg, dynamo

FRAME ALIGNMENTHead tube : perfectRear triangle : perfectFork : perfect

TRANSMISSIONChainset: Shimano Deore, 22-32-44T,175mmFreewheel: Shimano HG70Chain: Shimano HG73Gear lever: Ultegra bar-end shiftersBottom Bracket: Shimano UN52Rear mech: Shimano LXFront mech: Shimano LXPedals: none

GEAR RATIO ( IN)

WHEELSFront and rear: 36H Sun Rhyno on XT hubswith stainless straight gauge spokesTyres: Schwalbe Double DefenceMarathon XR, 26x1.90inWheel weight: f: 2000g/4.4lb; r:2740g/6.03lb

OTHER COMPONENTSStem: Thorn, 120mmHandlebars: 3T, 46cmHeadset: FSA Orbit XL2Saddle: RollsSeatpost: KalloyBrakeset: Avid Shorty 6Accessories: 3x cages, SKS chromoplasticmudguards f&r, Thorn lo-loader racks f&r

BIKE SPEC

Chas Roberts RoughstuffReplacement value £1400Roberts Cycles ☎ 0208 684 3370,www.robertscycles.com

FRAME AND FORKSSize tested: customSizes available: customWeight: 13.440kg/29.6lb without pedalsFrame: Reynolds 853 top tube, Reynolds725 down tube, Colombus Nivachromseat tubeFrame weight: 2300g/5.1lbFork: Reynolds 531Fork Weight: 1161g/2.6lb

BIKE DIMENSIONSTop tube: 57.3cm/22.6inSeat tube (c-c): 45.5cm/17.9inChainstays: 45.0cm/17.7inWheelbase: 108.5cm/42.7inHead tube angle: 70.0°Seat tube angle: 72.0°Fork offset: 5.0cm/2.0inTrail: 6.7cmB/b height: 28.6cm/11.3inStandover height: 78.8cm/31.0inBraze ons: 3x water bottle, mudguard andrack f&r, dynamo, pump peg

FRAME ALIGNMENTHead tube : perfectRear triangle : perfectFork : perfect

TRANSMISSIONChainset: Sugino XD, 26-36-48T, 170mmFreewheel: Shimano HG50Chain: Sachs PC58Gear lever: Ultegra bar-end shiftersBottom Bracket: Shimano UN52Rear mech: Shimano XTFront mech: Campag CentaurPedals: none

GEAR RATIO ( IN)

WHEELSFront and rear: 32H Rhyno Lite rims on XTHubs with stainless butted spokesTyres: Continental Goliath Semislick,26x1.6inWheel weight: f: 1820g/4lb; r: 2420g/5.3lb

OTHER COMPONENTSStem: unbranded, 100mmHandlebars: 3T, 42cmHeadset: Shimano cartridgeSaddle: RollsSeatpost: KalloyBrakeset: Shimano XT cantileverAccessories: 3x Elite cages, Tubus rack r,SKS mudguards f&r

BIKE SPEC

All three bikes tested this month arewell thought out, benefit from yearsof experience and would be verycapable machines for long haultours. As you’d expect from its price,Orbit’s Romany is the least extremealternative. However, while its framedoesn’t have the rugged durability ofthe Thorn or the panache of theRoberts, the Romany Cr-Moly isincredibly well kitted out - all that XTfor £895 represents real value formoney. With a new seat post andsaddle, the bike’s ready to ride toSouth Africa. In fact, I know fourriders who recently returned fromsuch a trip, reporting that their Orbitsbehaved impeccably.

The Roberts is lovingly built,individual in design and guaranteedto last a lifetime. However as itstands, I’d recommend a couple ofchanges to ensure it’s truly effectiveas an overlander. Fit 36-hole hubsand a wider handlebar – it won’tcost you anything extra – and thepackage is complete. £699 of its£1400 price tag pays for one of thebest frames in the business. Tailormade to your own requirements, theRoughstuff is a fantastic all rounderwhich should give you miles of non-touring pleasure too.

It’s a tough call but if I wereplanning a remote, trans-continentaljourney, it would probably be theThorn that I’d choose. For an off thepeg bike, build quality is excellentand frame strength errs on the sideof caution. At £1210, it’s definitely notas well kitted out as the other two forits price, though attention has beengiven to the right components. Anupgraded drivetrain would completethe package – but also push up thebill even more. However, if the BigTrip is what you’re after, the Nomadwill carry you through. And go backfor more.

ORBITOVERALL RATING 8/10Excellent value for money, theOrbit is a great bike for everythingbut extreme use. With the moneyyou save, you can even buy aflight home.

ROBERTSOVERALL RATING 9/10Just a couple of changes areneeded to complete this fantasticcustom all rounder

THORNOVERALL RATING 9/10The ultimate expedition machine?Rugged, load carrying overlander,ideal for long term use

Verdict

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