Tilly … my Thorn Nomad, bought 3rd hand and featuring 26″ wheels, drop bars, old skool calliper brakes, Mavic rims front and back (totally bomber front wheel with Son hub built by Rob of Hardy Cycles in Exeter!), Marathon tyres currently in residence over the original, ever puncturing Continental which were on in 2015, Brooks C17 saddle (love it!) and Tubus back rack with nameless front rack.

Tilly is no longer considered my many as an expensive top of the (current) range machine however back in the day she was just that.  Thorn Cycles make utterly amazing bicycles and tandems, taking the utmost care to ensure that the bike is the perfect fit and that any and all additional features are necessary and fit for purpose.  Knowing cycle touring for as long and as well as they do ensures that you get what is necessary and not a big sales job including unnecessary but pretty items which then bump the price of your new rig well over what you initial intended.  The experience of numerous friends who have cycled on Thorn’s coupled with my experience of a cycle minus the sales pitch have led me to this conclusion.  When searching for a touring bike I really cannot recommend at least an initial conversation with Thorn highly enough.

Buying Tilly minus any sales pitch has given me a view of the quality of build that Thorn cycles represent.  ‘She’ is a totally bombproof piece of kit which has propelled me well over 15 000km (so far), traveresed 5000m passes in China, been up and down rocky, dirt tracks to make your eyes water and knees wish for front suss and managed any and everything in between.