559/700cc build...finally ridable

[Colin Croft]

Well it took much longer than expected...but I'm now much more familiar with basic bike building/maintenance/repair than I was before lol.

The pictures aren't the best but you get the idea. Vuelta wheels/tires, 105 brifters, 11-28 cassette, ultegra front and rear derailleur, and caliper rear brake were moved over from my no-longer-used DF bike. 50-34 165mm SRAM compact double, SRAM front caliper brake and Origin8 Gary bar were purchased new and added. Clearance on the 28mm front Gatorskin is VERY tight but workable. No clearance issues in the rear. 'Waiting to tape the bars until I decide that the position is what works best.

My inaugural first 'rides' last night (coasting and Flintstoning) were a humbling experience...hopefully I'll get the hang of it with time.

MANY MANY thanks to ratz and scabinetguy for their patience and advice/help with my many newbie questions along the way. You guys are the best!

Colin

 

[Gromit]

Impressive

Hi Colin

I like it. Nice job. I'm surprised that you managed to squeeze a 28mm tyre into the front forks. I have 25mm Schwalbe Duranos in my 29er Quest.

Maybe I should post my 29er build pictures into a Q Brag Board thread?

 

[ratz]

Looks pretty Slick there

Looks pretty Slick there Colin; I really thought you were going to make me keep waiting to see what it looked like.

 

[John Tolhurst]

Yes really nice, I might do

Yes really nice, I might do that mod to mine when I finally take the child seat off the back.

The road brake on the kickstand plate ... I didn't foresee that one!

 

[Eric Winn]

Cool! And I second what

Cool! And I second what Gromit, Bob, and John said.

-Eric

 

[billyk]

what am I missing?

I must be missing something, but why, oh why, did you switch the disk brakes for calipers?

Since I first used disk brakes I'll never go back: Rubber brakes are dirty (filthy more like it, spreading gunk all over your pretty wheels, and your hands whenever you have to touch the wheels), need constant attention and pad adjustment/replacement, wear through the rims, but most importantly, they don't stop nearly as well! They have much poorer modulation of braking power. And their performance badly degrades in the rain.

The only reason I can think of is that calipers can be lighter, but we're talking about a Quest here.

I switched the original BB-5s for BB-7s, which are much superior, especially in the adjustment freedom, but even so disks are just a better tool all around.

I must be wrong since all the racers use them, but I really don't understand why.

BK

 

[Colin Croft]

Good points billyk...I have

Good points billyk...I have nothing against disc brakes...the short answer is that I had no disc-ready 700cc wheels around and I was trying to "recycle" as many parts/components off my old DF as possible without buying more

I shamelessly copied just about everything from scabinetguy's "turbo charged quest" design and ratz's many thoughtful recommendations on components as I tried to build in that direction. But there was a lot more "trial and error" (= frustration) in getting everything to work together than I was expecting--although I attribute most of that to my inexperience with bike building and not a flaw in the design.

25mm would probably be a better choice up front, but I'm kinda a big guy and I've always favored slightly wider tires if I can get away with them. With the 28s though any goatheads will be cleaned off pretty quick

'Much better riding experience tonight, but only after I stopped concentrating so hard on the bike, my leg position, etc. and just focused on where I wanted to go. All the advice about just relaxing a little and letting your body's natural tendencies take over is right on the money, particularly with the help of a little decline to get going...

 

[ratz]

Why.... two word

Why switch? Simple.... Road Brifters. If you have ones for caliper brakes that's what you use; they are just now coming out with ones that use Disc Brakes and they cost 450+ for a pair. Then there are the wheels; if you have 130mm non disc wheels that's what you use. Disc is new to road so there isn't much to pick from. Beyond that all you logic is sound sound sound. In two years; Disc will likely be the normal.

 

[Gromit]

Are drop bars needed on a Quest?

I haven't fitted drop bars on my 29er. I just used the standard "seagull" shaped bars. Couldn't the standard Avid brake levers be used with dual-pivot brakes? Flat bar gear shifters for derailleur gears are also available.

 

[Gromit]

Disk brakes allow the kickstand to be retained

Another point in favour of disk brakes is that the kickstand can be retained. I find it useful.

 

[Jeremy S]

Bob, Shimano and SRAM road

Bob, Shimano and SRAM road brifters are both compatible with their mechanical road disc brakes. Maybe you are thinking of hydraulic disc brakes which need special brifters?

 

[ak-tux]

Looks very nice! Love it.

Looks very nice! Love it.

 

[low wong]

(No subject)

 

[ratz]

There shall be no tangents...

There shall be no tangents... (he says to him self).... Thanks Jeremy I didn't know that; last time I tried 6-7 years ago we couldn't make it work, but that's been a while. So that opens some options.

 

[Rick Youngblood]

Sorry for bringing this

Sorry for bringing this thread back to life. Did I miss something? Are those 622 or 559 wheels? Either way, that's one the finest looking Quests I've seen, great job - and how's it work out for you?

 

[super slim]

what drop handle bars are in

what drop handle bars are in the photo?

What model Quest is it as I can only fit 559* 1.3" continental sports contacts on my Quest V 1.0

 

[ratz]

The wheels are 622; and the

The wheels are 622; and the frame is a version 3.0. Not sure which bars those are. We did a lot of back and forth messages when he was building it; and the bars were the one thing that never came up. Only the version 3.0 frame can take the 700c (622) wheel. There's not enough clearance on the tail of the version 2.0; the kick stand mount rubs.

 

[super slim]

Rick
Thanks

Rick
Thanks

 

[Rick Youngblood]

Wow, so those are 700c

Wow, so those are 700c wheels. This quest is setup for speed. Nice job.

They are Origin8 Gary bars .

 

[chrisblessing]

Rim Brake

Colin, can you provide details on mounting the rear rim brake using the kickstand mount?

Many thanks,

Chris