And by pimp I mean, "make into a functional and kinda handsome bicycle." I always wanted a Quickbeam, and I've just missed a few for sale here. Last week a friend alerted me that our own Reid Echols was putting out feelers on Instagram about selling his 64cm QB. Long story short, a frameset is headed my way.
In preparation, I've been futzing in the parts bins, and thinking about the build. I realized that it's been a good long while since I built up a single speed--way back in 2011 when I did up a dumpster find Trek 720 frame for my daughter's college bike. I'm getting the F/F/HS, so I have some decisions to make. The frame has been re-spaced in the rear to 130mm OLN. A bit of info about my likely use-case scenarios. I live about 16 miles from the center of town, and almost all my rides are longish. I do run errands to the Post Office (7 miles round trip) and store (around 12), but most of my rides are at least 25 miles. I'll also jump on dirt roads when I can. Tucson is pretty flat in the valley, but we are surrounded on all sides by mountains. If I want to climb, I can. On my geared bikes, my average speed is16.5-18.5mph for rides up to 65 miles or so (I mention this only for purposes of helping me decide gearing--see below). Parts I have: - SKF 110 bottom bracket - Beat up but functional Campy Record Double 172.5 crankset 135bcd with various rings, mostly of the 53/39 variety - Nitto F32 front Rack just picked up from RBW member Joe Lonner - A set of vintage Mafac Canti brakes f/r - A nice light set silver set of Ritchey Classic tubeless compatible wheels (1440 grams!) - Nitto Pearl 100mm stem, maybe a 110 too - Nitto Noodle 46cm (or maybe 44cm?) bars - Gravel King SK 38mm and 43mm TLC tires (a pair of each) Reid had it built at least two ways, both really attractive to my eye (photos to follow): one with drops, one with risers. Seeing that I have Noodles already, I'll likely just use those initially. I'm generally a drop bar guy anyhow. So, my main questions are drivetrain/gearing. - Should I keep the rear spacing at 130mm and use a Surly Speed Spacer kit: https://surlybikes.com/parts/spacer_kit - Or respace to 120mm (I also have a 120 fixed/free hub I could build up). - Suggestions for gearing set ups. I noticed that I can buy 46t and 48t rings for the Campy 135bcd crankset I have. I typically ride bikes with a 46/48/49 tooth big ring and don't get out of the big ring in the valley. Chain is somewhere mid-cassette. - What would the original Sugino crankset gearing look like? What would Grant's preferred set up be? - What about rear cog(s)? 16t, 17t? - Tell me about basket life? I've mostly done rando bag set ups, but maybe one of those Wald racer baskets on this? What do you put in the basket to keep your sh** from falling through the holes? So many choices for such a "simple" bike, right? Scott Calhoun Tucson, AZ -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f93384c2-454c-4f94-a483-6eb716c9a116%40googlegroups.com.
