The new Q45 is getting ready to show up in the wild...

[rfneep]

I was able to get some time this weekend to assemble my new Q45, and thought I'd show the first picture of one here.

The build went smoothly following Robert's assembly video for some details. There were no serious hitches, but I did note that several threaded holes (especially for the rear thru axle, and the derailleur hanger were a bit grungy presumably due to the anodizing done. This raised the danger of cross-threading, especially on mounting the rear derailleur. Robert's advice to make sure you grease the bolts is right on, even though SRAM says to not grease the mounting bolt. I also had to drill out one of the bolts holes on a seat bracket. It had a small obstruction in it. Assembly took several hours since I tend to be anal on these things.

Some initial impressions:
- This is a significant upgrade from my old Q559, from the front triangle drive system to the better seat mount to the 650b wheels, etc.
- The handle bars are huge, very wide and similar to the Soma Gator bars I used on one of my Q559's. Bar-end to bar-end width is about 65 cm.
- There is significant tire/wheel clearance, just as promised in the bike specs. With e 42 mm wide OEM 650b tires, the clearance on either side in both front and rear is 12 mm or so. 50 mm tires would fit easily.
- The somewhat clunky seatback adjustment remains. It is servicable.
- The entry-level SRAM NX 1x11 drivetrain appears good, and should be adequate for most riders. The trigger shifter is a nice change from grip shifters.
- Paint job looks good and durable.
- The Tekro brakes have dual adjustable pistons, very much like the TRP Spykes.

Next, I'll be working on the fit, once I can get a thru-axle trainer adapter to mount it on a trainer.

Before this summer, I hope to explore changes and upgrades for this bike, some of which are:
Replace wheels with an SRAM Roam 50 wheelset with an XD freehub
Change tires to Rene Herse 650b x 48 tires
Try a Thorseat carbon seat instead of the OEM seat
Install an air shock
Replace cassette with lighter 10-42 cassette
Try different handlebars
Possibly replace the crankset
etc.

My intended use for the bike is mainly for cruising state bike trails, which have mostly limestone/light gravel surfaces, and some city riding.

Ray

 

[Robert Holler]

Nice!!

Also I want to add a note for all that I need to add to the video - for the brake levers - they are an adjustable pull lever. To work better with the disc calipers you need to dial the small adjusters in clockwise as far as you can - then do the brake adjust. That will help a lot with the lever feel of the brakes.

Also - we designed the bars to be a bit long in the grip to allow for some customization, but the bars ended up a wee bit long in the grip section for my taste. I recommend cutting 2cm or so off the ends and moving everything up a bit accordingly. Makes for more comfortable turning.

Also - one of the real significant "silent upgrades" to me is the Cane Creek Viscoset. No more super floppy front end when rolling the bike around. I tested this headset for about 18 months on a few different bikes and came to really like it. It is mostly not noticeable while riding, but definitely helps with some riding stability and smooth easy maneuvering


Robert

 

[3bs]

@rfneep ray i can see a madison to milwaukee and back ride mostly on that one long trail in your future. looks great. feel free to donate your takeoffs to my parts bin....

 

[1%Grade]

@rfneep. I’ve been riding my new Q45 for 6 days now. It’s my first Cruzbike so everything is new to me. So far I’m enjoying the learning process and having fun.

The build was reasonably straight forward thanks to Robert’s very complete video. I’m definitely not a bike mechanic so it’s not possible to dumb it down too far for me. I was very cautious starting the through axles. Maybe now that the axles have been threaded once they will be easier to get started.

As a complete beginner I believe the Cane Creek head set must be a major upgrade. I can imagine that my wild wobbles would be very much worse without the damping.

I was a bit concerned the derailleur would be fiddly because of the 11 speeds, but it was very easy to adjust and shifts very positively.

Now I need to figure out some kind of bag.

I hope your weather allows you to get yours on the road soon.

 

[cpml123]

@rfneep. I picked up a neon green/yellow Q45 from Robert at Portland this past Saturday. I like how it rides (other than my cell phone fell off my pocket and completely smashed :-(. It felt more agile than my S40, maybe because of the body position.

Question - you mentioned you are planning to convert to XD and 10-42 cassette. Currently it has front 42 and back 11/42. My worry about riding Seattle hills is that 42-42 won't cut it. I was thinking of making it a 11-50. But that requires a goat link, longer chain, maybe a new derailleur, and a new cassette. Jonathan suggested getting a smaller front ring like 38 or 34. That would work except it won't go as fast with 38/11. What you said could work if I get a front 38 and back 10/42 XD.

Do you think it's better to try to convert to 11/50 back with current 42 front or change to 38 front and 10/42 XD back? I assume XD means current NX derailleur can be kept as is.

Thanks,

Michael

 

[rfneep]

@rfneep ray i can see a madison to milwaukee and back ride mostly on that one long trail in your future. looks great. feel free to donate your takeoffs to my parts bin....

The Madison-Milwaukee trap (the Glacial Drumlin) is a favorite of local bikers. Generally I prefer the trails that go south or west of Madison - they go deep into the countryside. That's where I'll be testing the Q45 first, of course once we thaw out here!

I'm still looking for some parts (e.g. an old Quest 559 or QX100 seat post) before I generate any takeoffs!

 

[rfneep]

@rfneep.
Question - you mentioned you are planning to convert to XD and 10-42 cassette. Currently it has front 42 and back 11/42. My worry about riding Seattle hills is that 42-42 won't cut it. I was thinking of making it a 11-50. But that requires a goat link, longer chain, maybe a new derailleur, and a new cassette. Jonathan suggested getting a smaller front ring like 38 or 34. That would work except it won't go as fast with 38/11. What you said could work if I get a front 38 and back 10/42 XD.

Do you think it's better to try to convert to 11/50 back with current 42 front or change to 38 front and 10/42 XD back? I assume XD means current NX derailleur can be kept as is.

Thanks,

Michael

Hi Michael,

I happen to have a 650b wheel set with an XD hub and a 10-42 cassette here, so testing on the Q45 is no big deal. My first approach was going to be a 10-42 with a 36 or 38 t chainring. That does limit the high end, but you pick up some by getting the 10t smallest cog. For me that's not too big of a problem for now because the trails in general or city riding do not encourage high speed. Our hills are not as challenging as Seattle's!

I'm always willing to fiddle with chainrings to get a preferred gear range, but I'm lucky enough to have a few hanging around. Generally I end up more at 40t than 38 or 42t, but that's simply preference. For the Q45, I am waiting for a relatively cheap oval 40t chainring from China/Taiwan (not sure). We'll see how that works...

If I were considering going with a goat link, new chain, new derailleur, and new cassette, I personally would much prefer just converting to an SRAM Eagle 12-speed drivetrain with an 11-50t cassette or better (you don't necessarily need to convert to an XD hub). That would get you more range, but may cost more. I've used a GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain on a Lightning P-38 and it is very smooth and quiet, with an excellent range. Much better than the 11-speed systems I converted to 10-46t cassettes on my S30 and S40 (now sold). My thoughts have been to make that simple conversion on the Q45 once I get a chance to test the bike out and confirm it's a keeper for me.

Ray

 

[cpml123]

Hi Michael,

I happen to have a 650b wheel set with an XD hub and a 10-42 cassette here, so testing on the Q45 is no big deal. My first approach was going to be a 10-42 with a 36 or 38 t chainring. That does limit the high end, but you pick up some by getting the 10t smallest cog. For me that's not too big of a problem for now because the trails in general or city riding do not encourage high speed. Our hills are not as challenging as Seattle's!

I'm always willing to fiddle with chainrings to get a preferred gear range, but I'm lucky enough to have a few hanging around. Generally I end up more at 40t than 38 or 42t, but that's simply preference. For the Q45, I am waiting for a relatively cheap oval 40t chainring from China/Taiwan (not sure). We'll see how that works...

If I were considering going with a goat link, new chain, new derailleur, and new cassette, I personally would much prefer just converting to an SRAM Eagle 12-speed drivetrain with an 11-50t cassette or better (you don't necessarily need to convert to an XD hub). That would get you more range, but may cost more. I've used a GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain on a Lightning P-38 and it is very smooth and quiet, with an excellent range. Much better than the 11-speed systems I converted to 10-46t cassettes on my S30 and S40 (now sold). My thoughts have been to make that simple conversion on the Q45 once I get a chance to test the bike out and confirm it's a keeper for me.

Ray

Thank you Ray. I look forward to your report on trying the 10/42. I am planning on getting new carbon wheels, so getting a XD hub would be the same price. 12 speed sounds interesting too. I will do some research. Is there a new 12 speed hub thing out there?

I guess biking is also a money pit.

 

[billyk]

Question - you mentioned you are planning to convert to XD and 10-42 cassette. Currently it has front 42 and back 11/42. My worry about riding Seattle hills is that 42-42 won't cut it. I was thinking of making it a 11-50.

I ride a first gen Q45 with more than 5k miles, almost entirely commuting and errands in Seattle. I climb a 250ft hill every day on my way home.

I replaced the chainring with a 36T oval (sprockets are 11-42) and have no problem climbing. Well, steeper than 10° and I start to slip, especially if it's wet, but that's a different question.

I'm not a fast rider, and in the above combination I spin out at about 26mph (only get that fast downhill, of course ... Beyond that I'm just rolling).

 

[cpml123]

replaced the chainring with a 36T oval (sprockets are 11-42) and have no problem climbing. Well, steeper than 10° and I start to slip,

@billyk Thanks for confirming that!

 

[billyk]

@cpml123
Something to consider with a very large sprocket is how fast you'll be going in the very low gear. On a really steep hill I'm down around 4.3mph in lowest gear. Seems like you might have trouble balancing much slower than that.

I already feel like I'm spinning pretty fast at that speed in those gears.

My 36-42 lowest gear is a ratio of 0.857, just about what you'd get with 42-50 (0.84).
However, your wheels are larger (700s, right?) whereas mine are 26.5. You effectively get a slightly higher gear from the large wheels.

The advantage of changing the cassette would be to get a low gear comparable to mine, while keeping your highest gear, which I've lost. But like I said, that hasn't been a barrier to my style of riding

 

[cpml123]

@cpml123
Something to consider with a very large sprocket is how fast you'll be going in the very low gear. On a really steep hill I'm down around 4.3mph in lowest gear. Seems like you might have trouble balancing much slower than that.

I already feel like I'm spinning pretty fast at that speed in those gears.

My 36-42 lowest gear is a ratio of 0.857, just about what you'd get with 42-50 (0.84).
However, your wheels are larger (700s, right?) whereas mine are 26.5. You effectively get a slightly higher gear from the large wheels.

The advantage of changing the cassette would be to get a low gear comparable to mine, while keeping your highest gear, which I've lost. But like I said, that hasn't been a barrier to my style of riding

Hi Billy,
My Q45 has 650b wheels. I am thinking that I probably should keep the 42t ring and change the back to 10-50 to keep up with my friends on flats and still be able to climb the neighborhood crazy hills. For now, I am just waiting to get it accessorized and the weather to stop raining so that I can start riding the new bike to see how it feels.

 

[Elisa]

Having issues building my Q45 that arrived today. The wheels did not have protective cpas on them. I am wondering if I am missing the end cap? And what is inside the hub? Finally what is the silver screw on the chain stay for?