Adjusting the E-Ring on the Quest

[Jeffyboy]

Hi
I just got my new Quest 559 in the mail yesterday and assembled and adjusted everything last night and took it out for a spin round midnight.(about 3.5 hrs to decipher, assemble and adjust everything!) Had fun, though still a little wobbly!
I was curious about the E-ring. I think it is a 42 tooth, but I find it a little hard even in the lowest gear to get started on a moderate incline. I realize that some practice will probably solve this but there is still more torque on my knees than I would like, and I imagine once I load this thing up with panniers, steep hills will be an issue. I see on the E-Ring that there are other holes (it looks like 3 possible positions to attach the E-Ring) each hole has a different number, but I have no ideas what they mean. The instructions say:
"For further details on refining the orientation to better suit your particular riding style, consult www.cruzbike.com"
I have searched the site and can't find anything about the e-ring, besides some people like it and some don't. I see a couple years back some one asked where this elusive article was, and some one else posted a link that no longer works.
So I was wondering if anyone here might no where this article has gotten to or has experimented with adjusting/re-orienting the E-Ring, I'd love to hear about it.
I look forward to the replies!
Thanks!

 

[Jerrye]

Here's one: http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/q-ring-plunge-and-install.8929/#post-114602

Search "Q ring" for more threads.

 

[castlerobber]

Hi
I see on the E-Ring that there are other holes (it looks like 3 possible positions to attach the E-Ring) each hole has a different number, but I have no ideas what they mean. The instructions say:
"For further details on refining the orientation to better suit your particular riding style, consult www.cruzbike.com"
I have searched the site and can't find anything about the e-ring, besides some people like it and some don't. I see a couple years back some one asked where this elusive article was, and some one else posted a link that no longer works.
So I was wondering if anyone here might no where this article has gotten to or has experimented with adjusting/re-orienting the E-Ring, I'd love to hear about it.

Welcome!

I have the smaller-wheeled Quest, the Q451. The e-ring worked fine for me in the factory-preset position. I've seen some comments here that the Q559 is geared too high for hills and load-carrying, so that may be part of the problem, rather than the orientation of the e-ring.

I never did find any straightforward instructions specific to adjusting the 42T e-ring, as Rotor has for their Q-rings. John Tolhurst had posted a technical treatise about elliptical rings in general, that left me more confused than when I started. It may not even be on the site any more after the latest revamp.

There are actually something like 30 positions (not all useful/usable) for the e-ring, half of which you have to flip the ring to get. If you look, there are numbers above the holes on both sides. This was the best I could come up with back in the spring, when I had the e-ring on my Silvio temporarily:

The e-ring is marked with a number over each of the 15 bolt holes, on each side of the ring (different from one side to the other). The numbers appear to be angles, spaced 12 degrees apart in each 3-hole group (57 - 69 - 81, for instance). Combining the angles from both sides gives 30 positions, numbered from -39 to 135. Changing the angle by 6 degrees requires flipping the ring so the opposite side faces the frame, and sometimes rotating the ring to a different group of bolt holes.

I don't know what the angles are relative to--whether it's the spider arm opposite the crankarm, or the first tooth that fully engages the chain when the right crank is at Bottom Dead Center, or something else.

The best advice I can give you is to search for Q-ring threads, and follow the advice there.

 

[ratz]

I find it a little hard even in the lowest gear to get started on a moderate incline. I realize that some practice will probably solve this but there is still more torque on my knees than I would like, and I imagine once I load this thing up with panniers, steep hills will be an issue. I see on the E-Ring that there are other holes (it looks like 3 possible positions to attach the E-Ring) each hole has a different number, but I have no ideas what they mean.

Before tuning the ring; let's check something. Please confirm that ALL three positions of your dual drive are working. It's not uncommon to have the "pin" screwed in too little which in turn prevents access to the lowest nine gears. Put the bike in to 4th gear via the twist shifter. Then pedal and use the thumb lever to change the Dual Drive engagement. Confirm that you get a distinct Low, Medium, and High without moving out of 4th gear. If that is working correctly then we can delve into other gearing suggestions and adjustments.

 

[castlerobber]

Before tuning the ring; let's check something. Please confirm that ALL three positions of your dual drive are working. It's not uncommon to have the "pin" screwed in too little which in turn prevents access to the lowest nine gears.

I should've thought of that. Getting the clickbox installed correctly was a pain the first few times, too.

 

[Emeljay]

I too had no experience with the Dual Drive on the Q. On my second ride I got a pinch flat hitting the far lip of a pothole on the front tire, ouch. But being the self sufficient type I had everything to fix the flat except experience with the dual drive. Now I carry a foto copy of page 10 from the SRAM DualDrive manual which has the front wheel removal and install info. This includes the info on screwing in the push rod, be in the low DualDrive gear setting, what to do with the push rod etc.
Mark

 

[Cruzbiker]

Take a look at this:
http://www.rotorbikeusa.com/pdf/Q-Ring Recumbent instructions.pdf

 

[Jeffyboy]

Wow!
Thamks to everyone for the insights, recommendations and advice, there is a lot to chew on!
Ratz I did as you suggested and put the rear derailleur into the 4th cog ( 1 being the easiest/ largest cog) and clicked through the 3 settings, and there is definitely 3 distinct gears that are engages (thanks for the suggestion. It would be a good thing to have in the assembly instructions as a verifying check).
Castlerobber thanks for the info and suggestions, helping to decipher the meaning of the numbers on the E-Ring is very valuable.
Please note that I am not necessarily looking to change the orientation of the ring but am new to elliptical chain rings and was curious what type of effects this will have on the feel and resistance/power. I am in no immediate rush to go flipping the chainring around but wanted to know if changing the orientation would be similar in effect to changing the size of the chainring or is it more to do with the dead spot (of which I don't feel any, nor do I feel any kind of asymmetry).
Thanks to everyone for posting links to the Q-Ring, I will have lots to read☺