Alex Lemann
Member
Hello All!
I'm writing to share my S40 build, which I just completed a few weeks ago and have been able to ride to work about a dozen times now. I'm very excited and happy - please forgive the length of this post!
Background: I am coming from a Q559, which I bought used via this forum. I got that bike as a kind of proof of concept / alternative to the 100 mile trial. I loved the Quest but I always dreamed of an upgrade. In particular, it felt heavy and a bit sluggish, it had a noticeable shimmy at high speeds, and it was hard to mount proper fenders or carry more than two panniers.
With the S40 I was looking for a bike I could ride to work (12 miles round trip on a glorious rail-trail that goes right downtown) and use for longer fun rides on the weekends, credit card touring, and light bikepacking. Basically I wanted it to be a super versatile super capable bike for a huge variety of riding, although not necessarily absolute speed as I don't do any group rides or racing. I'm a Bicycle Quarterly subscriber and while I'm not a randonneur I am very into those classic bikes for both practical and aesthetic reasons. So that's what I was going for. A recumbent version of a French randonneuring bike.
I can go into more detail on stuff if people are interested, but the main things were 650b wheels with 42mm Rene Herse Babyshoe Pass tires, VO 50/34 crankset, a 12-36 cassette, shimano bar end shifters, and TRP spyre brakes. I got the wheels from prowheelbuilder.com; they are Pacenti Brevet rims and VO hubs.
First impressions: the bike is everything I wanted! It feels dramatically faster and nimbler than my Quest. I notice it most accellerating from a stop and going over short hills. It's like a gazelle. The handling is also noticeably better. I found there to be zero learning curve and I immediately felt that the steering was more stable and less squirrely at speed. I can also pedal at high cadence without zig zagging around. I got pretty good at riding my Quest with no hands and I can already tell the S40 is going to be better at that too.
I love carrying my work bag on the low rider rack. It's really nice to be able to reach down and grab things from the top pocket without stopping. I'm also excited to have proper fenders. This was by FAR the most challenging and time consuming aspect of the build for me (it's the first time I've done this) and I'm really pleased that it worked out. I love the bar end shifters too. It's my first time using them and the shifting is incredibly crisp and easy. I do find that I have to trim the front derailleur quite a bit- it's possible I picked a less than ideal one. The brakes are another high point- SO much better than the Avid BB5s on the Quest.
I tried installing the headrest and found that I couldn't get it down into a useable position for me (I'm 5'6"). I might cut off some of the bottom and try again but for now it doesn't feel super necessary. Another little hiccup: I had trouble getting the play out of the headset and found that I had to add another spacer beyond what was included with the bike. Not sure if anyone else has had that experience.
I was worried that I would miss the Quest's Dual Drive system (which I used to downshift at red lights) and suspension, but I've found that neither is a big deal. Having big supple tires at low pressure (25 psi) really smooths out the ride, and I don't bob up and down when pedalling hard. And the lighter wheels and bike mean that I don't need quite so low a gear to start from a dead stop. I have a tentative plan to get a rear rack too. I'm going to wait and see whether I can pull off a bikepacking adventure with only two panniers.
Anyway, I wanted to close by saying how much I appreciate this forum! I never could have done all this without all the info I found on here over the past months and years.
I'm writing to share my S40 build, which I just completed a few weeks ago and have been able to ride to work about a dozen times now. I'm very excited and happy - please forgive the length of this post!
Background: I am coming from a Q559, which I bought used via this forum. I got that bike as a kind of proof of concept / alternative to the 100 mile trial. I loved the Quest but I always dreamed of an upgrade. In particular, it felt heavy and a bit sluggish, it had a noticeable shimmy at high speeds, and it was hard to mount proper fenders or carry more than two panniers.
With the S40 I was looking for a bike I could ride to work (12 miles round trip on a glorious rail-trail that goes right downtown) and use for longer fun rides on the weekends, credit card touring, and light bikepacking. Basically I wanted it to be a super versatile super capable bike for a huge variety of riding, although not necessarily absolute speed as I don't do any group rides or racing. I'm a Bicycle Quarterly subscriber and while I'm not a randonneur I am very into those classic bikes for both practical and aesthetic reasons. So that's what I was going for. A recumbent version of a French randonneuring bike.
I can go into more detail on stuff if people are interested, but the main things were 650b wheels with 42mm Rene Herse Babyshoe Pass tires, VO 50/34 crankset, a 12-36 cassette, shimano bar end shifters, and TRP spyre brakes. I got the wheels from prowheelbuilder.com; they are Pacenti Brevet rims and VO hubs.
First impressions: the bike is everything I wanted! It feels dramatically faster and nimbler than my Quest. I notice it most accellerating from a stop and going over short hills. It's like a gazelle. The handling is also noticeably better. I found there to be zero learning curve and I immediately felt that the steering was more stable and less squirrely at speed. I can also pedal at high cadence without zig zagging around. I got pretty good at riding my Quest with no hands and I can already tell the S40 is going to be better at that too.
I love carrying my work bag on the low rider rack. It's really nice to be able to reach down and grab things from the top pocket without stopping. I'm also excited to have proper fenders. This was by FAR the most challenging and time consuming aspect of the build for me (it's the first time I've done this) and I'm really pleased that it worked out. I love the bar end shifters too. It's my first time using them and the shifting is incredibly crisp and easy. I do find that I have to trim the front derailleur quite a bit- it's possible I picked a less than ideal one. The brakes are another high point- SO much better than the Avid BB5s on the Quest.
I tried installing the headrest and found that I couldn't get it down into a useable position for me (I'm 5'6"). I might cut off some of the bottom and try again but for now it doesn't feel super necessary. Another little hiccup: I had trouble getting the play out of the headset and found that I had to add another spacer beyond what was included with the bike. Not sure if anyone else has had that experience.
I was worried that I would miss the Quest's Dual Drive system (which I used to downshift at red lights) and suspension, but I've found that neither is a big deal. Having big supple tires at low pressure (25 psi) really smooths out the ride, and I don't bob up and down when pedalling hard. And the lighter wheels and bike mean that I don't need quite so low a gear to start from a dead stop. I have a tentative plan to get a rear rack too. I'm going to wait and see whether I can pull off a bikepacking adventure with only two panniers.
Anyway, I wanted to close by saying how much I appreciate this forum! I never could have done all this without all the info I found on here over the past months and years.
