Question about White Ind Dos Freewheel

[EricP]

For the folks that have one of these on their Quickbeam or SimpleOne - do you actually swap gears that much?  Am thinking of a 17/19 for my SimpleOne.  Besides worrying about clearance issues am just wondering if it would get used enough to justify the price.  There are not a lot of long climbs in the Twin Cities, but in other parts of the state, a 2 mile or more climb is not unheard of.  Also thinking it might be good for a bail out on a windy day.  Or really steep shorter hills.  As my SimpleOne has metal fenders, this seems a more appropriate choice that flip/flop freewheels.

 

Have also considered a Dingle fixed cog setup.  Not willing to try that right now.  The idea of superfast spinning on downhills just doesn't appeal.

 

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

Eric Platt

St. Paul, MN

[Minh]

Eric I don't switch as much as I thought I would, I don't notice the difference when I do switch I usually just tough it out the switch to the other gear.

Shop around, you can find the dos UNO for 80-100, if I did not get the dos UNO I would've settled for a single acs. The white is really nice but they are expensive.

[Peter Pesce]

It really depends on how you "really" use your bike. I bought a Dos for my QB- the 16/19 - but 90% of my riding is my daily commute that I can do in the 40/16 gear with no problem.
If you are new to single speeding as I was a couple of months ago when I got my QB you might be surprised what gear you can actually get away with. There's a small hill on my commute that I never would have thought I could handle in 40/16, but in fact it's no problem at all.
I might suggest trying a few cheap single freewheels to see what gear works for you before spending on a WI. Shimanos are cheap and there are some BMX units out there even cheaper. (apologies if you are a veteran SS-er. I'm just learning this stuff!)
BTW, I was able to make all 4 ratios on my 16-19 rear X 40-32 front work within the dropout range, though the 32x16 (not that you'd ever use that) was right on the ragged edge. But not with fenders of course!

Pete in CT

[charlie]

My gearing is a White double16 -19 and 36x39 giving me a 66,60 and 51
inch gear. I plan on a 22 tooth freewheel eventually for the flip side
for those real long climbs. I usually leave my SimpleOne in the 66
inch gear but my area is pretty hilly so I sometimes find myself using
the 36x19 giving me the 51". Since my gearing is exactly three teeth
apart I don't have to move the axle in the dropout going from the
16x39=66" to the 19x36=51".
I tried as an experiment to ride a local hilly and flat 15 mile loop
in the 51" at a relaxed pace and while somewhat frustrating on the
flat it wasn't bad. I just found myself coasting a little more than
usual. I think the idea is to find a gear that you can make it up most
modest hills in your area and that you can also spin at a comfortable
cruising speed on the flats with....maybe 12-18 mph. If you are a
'hammerhead' that will frustrate you but its better for your knees. A
bailout gear that is lower or one for headwinds (or when feeling
tired) is nice to have and I use mine about 20% of the time and am
glad I have it.

[newenglandbike]

I shift my quickbeam quite a bit, which I guess seems to be unusual among QB/SO owners when these threads come up, but I'm not really sure why.      I have a White 16/19 fw, a 22t ACS on the other side, and the stock QB crank with 40/32 rings.

For riding more than 15 miles, I use 40/16, and this is mainly for going to work which is 15 or 17 miles if I go the longer way.   For the riding in the city of boston, or with my significant other, I'll switch to 40/19, which takes about 5 seconds.    Sometimes also use that for long rides too when I'm not in a hurry.     When we go in the woods, which we do often thankfully, I flip the rear wheel and ride 40/22 to get to the trails (20 seconds), then do another 5-second change to 32/22 at the trailhead if it's a hilly, rocky, root-heavy trail, which in New England they generally are.

I really enjoy the concept of the QB and feel that it works great exactly as the ad copy originally described-   switching gears now and then, but benefiting from the simpleness, quietness, and one-speedness of a single speed most of the time.   I have derailleured bicycles too, but riding a QB is sufficiently different and pleasant, in additional ways that I can't easily explain, to justify its design.

-Matt

[newenglandbike]

P.S. for shifting gears when there isn't a stick laying around-  which there is most of the time-    I have used the following at various times:

5mm allen key from saddlebag pocket, 90% of time
pocket knife, left the allen key on workbench
Kryptonite lock key, didn't have my knife
Pencil

I find that the trick when flipping the rear wheel is to grab it by the tire with your fingertips rather than grabbing the rim, to avoid getting brake/road grime all over your hand.   But yeah, your fingers get a little dirt on them when flipping the wheel.    I wipe them off on the grass or my pantleg.    For flipping the bike over to do this with a basket on it, that's where bungee nets come in.

[Allingham II, Thomas J]

I have shifted my DOS-ENO equipped Quickbeam exactly once -- to road test how much easier my low (32/19) gear was, in anticipation of using it on the initial 20+ mile climb on Riv Rally East 2012.  (As it turned out, the RRE single speed contingent both made the climb in our "normal" gears -- 40/16 and 46/19, respectively, both around 65 or 66 gear inches.)

 

I ride my QB on my commute (4-5 miles, mostly downhill to work, mostly uphill home), and I would echo other comments -- you'd be surprised what you can learn to be comfortable climbing in your normal gear.  I'm out of the saddle quite a bit on the way home (both for some short steep climbs and some longer less rigorous ones), but I've come actually to enjoy the honest work.  Cleanses work-related tension.  There is one very short very steep trail climb that I've never managed without 15 or 20 yards of walking, but I keep trying every day -- the definition of insanity.

 

I also ride the QB on 15-25 mile weekend rides with some serious rollers, and again I don't shift -- just tough out the climbs, which are steeper than on my commute, but never more than maybe 1000 meters.

 

So recognizing that my local topography is reasonably well-suited to a SS, I still feel constrained to say that without ever having shifted it, the Quickbeam is my favorite of all my bikes -- so much so that I bought a SimpleOne as a new commuter, and will modify the QB to be a sort of gofast SS.  I love them both.

---

From: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com [mailto:rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of EricP
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 8:56 PM
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [RBW] Question about White Ind Dos Freewheel

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[Mojo]

I too just don't shift that often. For rides of consequence though I love having the extra cog right there. I have two rear wheels for the Q: a fixed dingle and free dos with bailout big cogs on the flip. I can do a lot of climbing on my single speed with that setup.

 

[EricP]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts.  Guess for now, am going to keep it as a single with low-ish gearing (39/17).  Hoping to eventually increase motor capacity to switch to a 16t (which I have sitting in a box). 

 

May eventually try a Dos.  But for now, not going to mess with what isn't broken.

 

Eric Platt

St. Paul, MN

[Liesl]

Hi Eric, chiming in late here, but FWIW: I have a DOS and find that I
like it for going back and forth between my regular wheel and my
dynohubbed wheel. It's not an on-the-fly change, but it sure makes
the whole swap out really quick/efficient and then easier on my aging
knees. -Liesl