Ravn

Make
Rawland
Model
Ravn
Year
2017
Miles
11,388
Purchased from
Cyclotopia and Velo Clult

Picked up the frame at Velo Cult in Portland. This is a low-trail dirt rando. Room for 26x2.15" tires with fenders. Billed as Enduro All Road. This will be my all road and trail tourig bike.

Got the frame in May, didn't get it all built until August 25.

Specs

Frame and Fork Rawland Ravn 56cm
Rims WTB Frequency i-25 26" 32 spoke
Tires Compass Rat Trap Pass 26"x54mm Tubeless
Front Hub SP PD-8XM dynamo 12x100mm through axle
Rear Hub SRAM 12x142mm through axle
Crank SRAM Gx 36x24 double
Cassette SRAM 11x36
Front Derailleur SRAM Apex
Rear Derailleur SRAM X7
Brakes TRP spyre disc
Levers SRAM Apex Double Tap
Stem Rawland
Headset Roller bearing
Seat Post Generic
Pedals Shimano PD-M424 SPD
Bottom bracket SRAM
Saddle Selle Anatomica X
Fenders Velo Orange 700x63mm re-radiused to fit
Lights Busch & Muller

Here is a blog post showing the many ways I had configured the Ravn for touring and bikepacking.

Picture
Rawland Ravn
Ravn with touring gear
Ravn Rondo style

Service log

Wheels trued

Ravn
Milage
2,810

Recent crash left both wheels out of true. Mike fixed but said rims are now bent and required uneven spoke tension which will go out over time.

New Tires

Ravn
Milage
2,520

Schwalbe Hans Dampf 26x2.35" knobbies. After the Coast Range Gravel Adventure 2018 I got fat tire envy watchng Eric and Sean on their 3" tires. This is as fat as I can go on this bike. Hopefully this will get me out on the trails more over the winter.

So this bike has had Compass Rat Trap Pass 2.25" slicks, Schwalbe Almotion 2.15" touring, and now these.

Ravn with new Hans Dampf tires

Swapped tires

Ravn
Milage
1,250

I put the Compass Rat Trap Pass tires back on. At first I had to mount them with tubes, but then went into the shop and Trevor was able to mount them tubeless. The bike is soooo much better with these tires.

Schwalbe Almotion tires

Ravn
Milage
900

Rainy day so I decided to change our my tires to the Schwalbes I had purchased a while back. I wanted to see if I could do this at home. Tubeless is a pain. I did manage to get the front one seated but broke my pump in doing so. I had to take the rear into the shop and Mike did it. Had to put on new tape and use the air compressor.

I still haven't ridden with these tires. They should be better on the wet roads and in the woods, but I fear the bike will now feel like a tank compared to my Compass tires.

Tales of Tubless

Ravn
Milage
720

My rear tire was low so I decided to add some sealant. Then I decided I should see if I could break the bead. It wasn't easy but I was able to do it. But then I could not inflate it tubeless, so I put a tube in and went to the bike shop. Mike could not inflate it even with the air compressor. It seems super supple sidewalls make it difficult to get the tire seated when going tubeless. He finially put on another layer of rim tape and that did it.