Hey Jason, Dingle: Awesome incarnate. The only way to fly. I actually got kind of OCD about not moving the axle, since I was using big tires AND fenders. However, the real advantage is that it gives your Quickbeam 12 teeth of chainring difference instead of 8. I had a geared bike with the same overall range as my Quickbeam (it had a single ring and a tight range cassette). So, with a Dingle cog, you could have 6 usable(?) gears, from 42 to 80 inches, based on 32/44 rings, and a flip/flop 15 and 17/21. You'd be in the 44x17 90% of the time, with a 15 second change to the 32x21 42" gear. Long flat road rides with other guys, you could flip to the 44x15, and still have a quick change to a 58" climbing gear in the 32x15. This is predicated on a 38mm tire, which might not actually work with this range. A 32mm tire would almost certainly work, but lower each gear by about an inch. Or so. According to Sheldon's gear calculator. And some hand-waving. If I'd gotten into the Quickbeam's bottom bracket, cranks and rings to set that up, I think it would have worked for the Grin Fundo straight up Mt Diablo and straight down again. The Quickbeam would not have been an impediment to enjoyment. As long as I could re-borrow the Large Saddlesack. Man, that bag is awesome.
Size: My saddleheight is 790mm, so my PBH is probably 90cm. Because I wanted to ride the QB offroad with the largest tires that would fit, John suggested the 60cm over the 62cm frame. I have a 63.5cm low-trail Ross touring bike, so I'm comfortable with big bikes, but the Quickbeam is ideal. Fit: I don't have other Rivendell bikes to compare it to, but the bike fits great. I did try three stems and two bars. The stock stem and Noodles were flexier feeling than I like (200# guy riding fixed offroad), and the Dirt Drop stem was too tall, but the old Salsa stem and WTB dirt drop bar combo has been amazingly fantastic. I have a backup silver Midge, and I'm happy with Midge, Woodchipper and Moustache bars on other bikes, but I hope the WTB bar outlasts me, because I never want to change it. Fenders: I've used SKS fenders, and VO Zeppelins. The SKS were easier to deal with, but the Zeppelins looked better. I painted them both to match the bike. The VO fender hardware was crap when I got the fenders about 5 years ago. The stays never seated very solidly into the mounts, which I guess could act as a slip-fit fender quick release if you picked up a stick, but mostly means I need to dick around with the fender after putting it into a car, or leaning it against a wall, or just whenever. Every modification I tried to do to make the fit tighter somehow made it worse. They look dynamite, though. http://www.biketinker.com/2012/fine-bikes/state-of-the-quickbeam-3-3-12/ If I wrote a new "state of the Quickbeam" post, it would show zero fenders. Track ends: Sheldon was wrong. For fat tires, removing a wheel with fenders mounted is easier with track ends than front-opening dropouts, because fat tires are large, and the crotch of your chainstays gets narrower and narrower the forwarder you go (which is what 'crotch' means). Having quick releases on the rear of my SKS fenders and crap (excuse me, "conveniently loose") hardware on my VO fenders probably influences my idea of "easier," since I can just pull the fender out of the way to drop the wheel. For the record, this is my only disagreement with anything Sheldon ever wrote. Now I feel inspired to set up a proper two-ring dingle again. Philip www.biketinker.com On Monday, August 26, 2013 3:04:21 PM UTC-7, JL wrote: > > Philip, > > Looking over your flickr photostream I think you are just the person to > ask a few questions of. :) > > What was your experience like with the dingle (double singlespeed for the > archives) setup? I am very curious about this setup option. > > How is the sizing on the quickbeam? Long? Tall? Short? Stout? I hope that > question makes sense. I have owned both a Saluki and a Rambouillet and > they fit a bit different from each other. How did you decide on the size > you got? > > > Any fender solutions that worked better than others? Is the rear facing > track ends easier or more difficult to fender mod than forward facing drop > outs? > > Thanks > Jason > SF,CA > > > On Aug 26, 2013, at 1:44 PM, Philip Williamson > <philip.w...@gmail.com<javascript:>> > wrote: > > Ah, yes. Recycling Day. > I have ridden fireroads quite a bit with the Quickbeam, and I've been > commuting with a saddlebag and a basket. Works great. It's a tough bike I'd > ride anywhere. > > Philip > www.biketinker.com > > On Sunday, August 25, 2013 5:19:13 PM UTC-7, JL wrote: >> >> Cyclotourist's new addition has me thinking again about a "singlespeed" >> commute/errand bike (I plan to keep my eye out for one at the right price >> 56 or 54cm). Right now that role is filled by my fantastic CB0, but it >> might be a little overbuilt for that role. >> >> QB owners: How does the bike handle on paved streets and fireroads with >> medium front/rear load (something like a nitto rack with panniers and a >> nitto front rack with a basket?) I I have seen tour reports, etc. but it >> has been a while. >> >> Jason >> SF,CA >> >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com <javascript:>. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com<javascript:> > . > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
