Techy question on the Quest...

[jwitten]

Hello all,

Thanks to some advice for Charles on sourcing parts, I recently converted the double crank on my Sofrider to a triple. I live in the very hilly Seattle suburbs, and have found that the lower 22 tooth granny gear is a real benefit. Its just seems much easier to climb with the higher pedaling cadence allowed with the granny ring than to mash as hard as possible at a slower cadence on the stock ring.

Anyway, as I was climbing a rather challenging hill on Maui the other day, I realized that it would be nice to have a smaller front chainring on my Quest as well. I suppose I could replace the single e-Ring with a new double crank (with circular rings), but I'd hate to lose the benefit of the E-Ring. So I am wondering if I would be able to replace the large ring on a new double crank with the Quest's E-Ring. Are the dimensions and mounting points of the E-Ring "standard" so that it could be fitted to other cranks, and would there be any problems shifting from a smaller circular ring onto the larger e-Ring?

Any thoughts?? If it seems like an okay idea, any ideas on a Quest-compatible Crank / Bottom Bracket combo that the E-Ring could be swapped onto?

Thanks i advance for the input!

Jeff

 

[Doug Burton]

Add an inner chainring to the existing crank...

Move the E ring to the other side of the crank spider, add another ring to the inside, plus a front derailleur and a left hand shifter. You may need a set of 5 2mm chainring spacers. The crank bolt circle diameter is 110mm; the smallest ring you will be able to mount is 39 teeth.

You'll need a 5mm-shorter-axle bottom bracket (these are pretty easy to source). The front derailleur needs a 34.9mm clamp, or use a braze-on FD with a 34.9mm adapter.

With the single chainring, the objective is to align the ring with the center cog of the cassette. With a double, you want the space between the chainrings aligned with the middle of the cassette.

If you have a short x-seam, you may find getting the derailleur cage to clear the chain on the granny gear a bit fiddly, but usually this isn't an issue with a 39t granny ring.

It can be done. The result will be 54 possible gear combinations, with a range of 21.4 to 130.6 gear-inches, assuming you are using 26 inch wheels with the original tires.

 

[jwitten]

More info...

Hi Doug,

My curiosity was piqued, so I just went out to the garage and pulled out the original Sofrider V2 crank from my spare parts bin to see what diameter the hole pattern was, and what the tooth count was. It looks to be 125 mm pattern with a 39 tooth inner ring. It looked like 39 tooth would be about as small as you could go on the Sofrider crank.

After snooping around on the web, it looks like the smallest possible ring for the Quest 110 mm pattern is a 33 tooth, although they are pretty rare and a bit expensive. Harris Cyclery had one for $48 (US). I found a Shimano FC-6750 Ultegra Chainring (110x34T 10 Speed) on Amazon for only $13.70 (US). I was thinking that there wasn't a whole lot of advantage of adding a 39 tooth inner to the E-Ring's 44 tooth as depicted in the chart, but a 34 tooth would certainly provide a much lower range. (BTW, I actually have the 451 wheels), which I thoroughly enjoy.

Anyway, it appears to be a straight-forward job. I just need to purchase a front derailleur and shifter, and figure out what size of bottom bracket to order. You mentioned getting a 5 mm shorter shorter axle botom bracket, but I'm not certain what size the stock Quest BB is?? Could you tell me what model/size the existing BB is??

Thanks,

Jeff

BTW - Thanks for providing all the expert advise to us Cruzbikers! I doubt there are many bicycle companies out there that make as much of an effort to support their riders/customers as you guys do!

 

[jwitten]

Doug,
I just found a 34 tooth

Doug,

I just found a 34 tooth Q-ring on e-Bay. I bit spendy at $85, and perhaps not worth the extra money since so little time would be spent on this ring, but it is black, elliptical, and seems like it would be a good fit for the Quest.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200676821329?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

The text says that it is "Compatible with Shimano, Sram, and FSA cranks except Sram and FSA BB30 cranks with one piece crank/spider (chain rings for these crank types are available, contact us for details). Will work with BB30 cranks that have removable spiders."

I would think it would be compatible with the Quest?!? Any thoughts about this before I take the plunge?? I have a SRAM front derailleur, left shifter, and 2 mm spacers all saved in my Amazon Cart, ready for purchase.

Thanks for the advice,

Jeff

 

[Doug Burton]

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't fit

Might have to use some shims to get the alignment right.

Actually, for a Rotor ring, $80 isn't too bad - the 52-54t rings can be almost $200...

 

[jwitten]

BB size

Hi Doug,

Any idea what size bottom bracket I'd need. You mentioned 5 mm shorter than the existing Quest BB, but I'm not certain of its size. Perhaps if I removed it I could measure it, or it may have some markings on it, but I'd rather order one before I remove it so I'm not out of commission for quite so long.

I also wonder if I might have a problem with the chain skipping off the E-Ring with the shorter 451 chainstay if it is shifted slightly further to the right (as the other gentleman did who had the fork washer mis-positioned). I suppose maybe the derailleur may prevent this, or I could stay out of the lower cassette gears while on the E-Ring, and vice-versa when on the smaller Q-Ring. I suppose someone has to try it and see how it works, so it may as well be me.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Plazebo]

Replacement Cassette?

I prefer to 'winch' myself up a hill with high cadence as my knees aren't the best. And I can't see me doing lots of high-speed on my Quest 2 given a review saying it's a little unerving.

Upon asking at a bike shop today about getting a bigger cog for the cassette (and losing the smallest one) I was told I'd need to buy a whole cassette cluster, but it's not that expensive anyway (depending on the range).

I guess I need to figure out how slow I can ride and how accomodating the derailleur is before I order one.

Pete

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi,

I prefer to 'winch'

Hi,

I prefer to 'winch' myself up a hill with high cadence as my knees aren't the best. And I can't see me doing lots of high-speed on my Quest 2 given a review saying it's a little unerving.

Descending on a MBB bike takes a long time to master; you really need to have mastered pedal steer (and this can take hundreds of miles). After mastering it, I don't think descending on a MBB bike is any worse than any others (with the gearing I've got, I've completely spun out and gone about 45 mph down hills).

In the beginning, if you feel like things are going badly, take your feet off the pedals and let your arms take over. I found I didn't need to do this at all after 100 miles or so. Once I was comfortable enough, I found clipping in gave me a more control and made me more comfortable.

To master pedal steer, work towards learning to ride the bike with no hands. Start out with just one hand, then the other. Work so that you can steer with just one finger on the bar.

As far as climbing hills, I completely agree about spinning your way up. I like to have very low gears (both my bikes have a low of 17" or just under and I wish it was a little bit smaller as well).

Cheers,
Charles