Refurbishing a Quest

[bret]

Hello,

I have an early Quest. I don't have any manuals. I don't know it's maintenance history. So, what do I do to bring it up to scratch?

Is there a manual on-line?

The wheels, hubs, cassette, derailleurs, shifters, bottom bracket, brakes are all standard components - or so I think. I'd expect they have the same diagnosis, repair, and maintenance as for any other bicycle. Please let me know if there's something particular because of use on a Cruzbike.

The rear swing arm pivot, the diatech headset, the pivots on the front triangle are all special to Cruzbikes. What do they need? Do they use plastic bushings, sintered bearings, ball bearings, cartridge bearings? What lubricant do I use in them? Is it a bad idea to think about opening them up to clean and re-lube in the first place?

Several bolts are corroded. I've spec'ed parts for aerospace, and I know "stainless steel" is not - we called it "corrosion resistant steel". Do I replace fasteners with stainless, with zinc plate, cadmium plate? What's best given that the frame is aluminum?

Mine doesn't have a QR on the shock. I'm likely to replace the shock with the air shock mentioned several places - where can I get a QR to match?

What about the barrel nuts used liberally on the machine? The closest I've found locally (Perth, Australia) are for assembling book cases - zinc or cadmium plated. I'm not sure they're up to the task, and I'd like any suggestions or comments.

Any recommendations aside from what I've mentioned above? Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Bret

 

[castlerobber]

Is there a manual on-line?

Quest 2.0 manual
Generic Cruzbike owner's manual
Official Cruzbike Quest videos

The wheels, hubs, cassette, derailleurs, shifters, bottom bracket, brakes are all standard components - or so I think.

Correct.

I'm likely to replace the shock with the air shock mentioned several places

I was dubious about ordering from AliExpress, but had no problems. You want either the A5-RR1 (dual chamber) or A5-RE (single chamber), 125mm. You'll need a shock pump, or a special attachment for your floor pump, to air one up.

where can I get a QR to match?

If no one answers this before then, I'll measure mine when I get home from work. It looks kind of like a seatpost skewer.

 

[castlerobber]

 

[bret]

Thanks. I ordered a Kindshock A5-RR1 from AliExpress. And they have barrel nuts (aka cylinder nuts)! Including titanium ones.

 

[super slim]

View attachment 4944

Its good to see a METRIC ruler used in USA!!!!

 

[castlerobber]

Its good to see a METRIC ruler used in USA!!!!

I'm bilingual, I can speak both imperial and metric.

 

[bret]

Well, I got it all together and on the road. Now it's turned hot in Perth (sigh). But I've ridden a few times, and it seems it's hanging together well. It's usable enough to get groceries, so I'll ride it more, and it also fits on the exercise stand I got from the verge.

I built new wheels to get a NuVinci N380 hub and a dynamo (an SP-PD8 6v, 3W) in the back, as well as wider rims to manage wider tires. I replaced the fork to allow the wider tires, but discovered the cross member in the rear fork almost touched the tread on the tires I wanted. So I used a half-round bastard cut file to hog out a relief for the tire. I also had to replace the rear brake caliper as with the wider flanges on my dynamo hub the spokes hit the caliper. It's another Tektro the bike shop had when we were fitting the NuVinci.

The tires are Schwalbe Marathon (Greenguard) 50-559 (2.0"x26"). With the relief in the rear fork, there is no contact. That photo is blurry, but there is a vertical wood grain floor, and at the bottom of the picture near the middle, the round black bit is the tire - just above that is a curve of lighter floor showing through.

After reading the thread here about waxing chains, I went looking for sources for Molten Speedwax here in Australia, and found zerofrictioncycling.com. I consulted, and he looked for low-corrosion chains for 8-speed sprockets, and came up with the nickel-plated Wipperman chain you see - and I paid him to clean it and wax it for me.

The NuVinci isn't quite right. The shop I had install it swapped the cables so the controller is backward. I didn't get the controller with the little person as I didn't think I wanted to spend a lot of time looking at it while I'm riding. However this gives me an opportunity to find a dealer that is familiar with NuVinci and replace the cables - and be certain I'm getting the full travel. Maybe it's ok as it is, but I'd still like the controller the other way around.

As well, the 18 tooth sprocket the NuVinci came with was too hard on me going up hills. The previous (clapped-out) cluster was low enough, barely, so I knew I could do it. I replaced the original sprocket with a 21 tooth version.

With the original 1.25" 95psi tires, the new un-suspended fork was suddenly very twitchy, but it seems quite a bit calmer now with the Marathon fat tires, and the suspension effect is obvious. I'm running 3 bar of pressure now - Schwalbe says these tires work down to 2 bar, and I'll try that.

I'll replace the seat brackets with the ones I got from Cruzbike along with the fork, and work out a light system to use with the dynamo, and various other customisations. I'll start exploring the geometry some more now too. I'll get cleated pedals of some description.

But it rides much better now, and it's quiet. A slight rub from the rear brake rotor is the only sound I can hear.

 

[rx7mark]

Looks great! About the same size tires I have on my T50. Technically they are 1.85, but measure 1.95 at 50psi.

Should feel like a completely different bike with the new wheels, air shock, and new front end!

Mark

 

[Christo]

Brett
Are you selling your original fork as I’m looking to replace mine as it’s broken.
Can have someone pick it up in Perth