3 speed hub

[keithkling]

Why does the Quest 559 have a 3 speed internal gear hub instead of a derailleur? I understand that the internal gear hubs rob you of 5% of your power. I just don't have enough power to begin with. Also, the gear inches seems a little high. I would like to get under 20 gear inches for hauling panniers or trailers while touring. Is there a good solution or should I just get a different bike?

 

[Doug Burton]

The internal

The internal 3-speed-with-cassette solves the issue of changing chainstay angle as the adjustable front tube (AFT) is moved to accommodate different x-seams.

Front derailleurs tend to drag the chain for riders with very short x-seams, which required us to offer an offset front derailleur mount for shorter riders. This, in turn, caused the derailleur cage to strike the chainstay when the AFT was adjusted for taller riders. It was a solution we weren't very happy with.

I prototyped our first DualDrive Quests last year in our super-secret Skunkworks (downstairs in my garage ).

We were immediately very pleased with the clean look, the no-hassle adjustability, and, yes, the efficiency of the DualDrive hub. It offers an excellent gear range and crisp, no-pedaling-necessary shifts. I can't detect any loss of efficiency between the DualDrive Quest and the Quest V1 that I have here.

So the prototypes were shipped off first to Lumberton Cruzbike HQ for "executive evaluation", and then to our framebuilder. John then added several additional innovations; Cruzbike's e-ring elliptical chainrings, an integrated rear rack, and "tool-free" dis-and-reassembly for portability. I expect these to be very popular bikes because of their rich feature set and versatility.

 

[currystomper]

A couple of points: On a hub

A couple of points:

On a hub the top gear is an overdrive so allowing more normal size clogs on the smaller 451 wheel sizes..

Also the hub gear only loses out in efficiency to a straight derailer - if the chain has to off set to a lower or higher gear then the losses are about the same.

A HUB can change when the bike is stationary -no more trying to start off in high gear when you forget to change down before stopping



CS

 

[worksong]

Have been sharing a 451 Quest

Have been sharing a 451 Quest 1.0 retrofitted w/SRAM Dual-Drive 3-speed hub w/my wife for 6 months, & just bought a 559 Quest 2.0 for myself. If the new Quests didn't have the hub gearing, I'd install the Dual-Drive again anyway. The difference in usability is noticeable; it's a more pleasant ride all-around, w/easier starts, less [no] chain-hopping, less maintenance, etc. I certainly don't see a loss in efficiency, or any downside of consequence.

 

[admin]

It is possible to ride in the

It is possible to ride in the middle hub gear for a lot of the time, which is 1:1 and zero power loss in the hub. Actually, I ride in the middle gear almost exclusively. My Quest has a child seat which does require a bit of extra effort on the small hills around me. I'm a middle hub gear lover.

And don't forget the e-ring standard with the hub model Quest. That is quite beneficial and can be seen as an offset to the hub loss when climbing.

One thing I've come to accept is we can't satisfy everyone in any one design / spec combo - but we do our best.

John

 

[KenM]

Cluster details?

Looks good.
Even before you announced the Dual Drive I'd been thinking about it for my V2 Sofrider. Could you tell us the details of the cluster you use on the 26" version please? Its not in the specs you provide.
Is it possible to get an e-ring to fit my V2 Sofrider? And will my existing Microshift derailer and shifter work with a 9 or 10 speed the Dual Drive cluster, or should I add a new derailer and/or shifter to my shopping list as well?
Thanks.
-Ken