Building a Quickbeam and wondering...

[David]

What are your drivetrain specs? Cranks, chainrings, etc.  Simpleones, too, if that's what you're riding. It appears Riv doesn't offer the classic single speed crankset anymore.

[Bill Lindsay]

I run a Riv Silver triple with 40/37/34 chainrings on my Quickbeam.  I modified a rare and unusual Shimano cassette hub to fit 120 OLD.  On that I run three Problem Solvers cassette cogs at 16/19/22.  As a result I have three single speed "gears" with three chain positions, all with the same wheel position

34x22 is my climbing gear

37x19 is my mellow cruising town gear

40x16 is my high gear

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[David]

Very creative. Personally looking for simpler, streamlined inspiration, but these are nice options you're running.

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

I rode my quickbeam with a 69-70 gear inch drivetrain. I had a 16/19 white industries freewheel but never ran it on the 19…

-Kai

[Jason Fuller]

Any 110 BCD crank like Sugino or S!lver would do the trick nicely, perhaps a 38T and pant guard paired to a 17t (flat area) or 18t (hillier area) White Industries freewheel 

[Max S]

Fun! At one point, I had both a SimpleOne and a QuickBeam in the stable, plus two other fixies. I'll try to attach some photos as examples. 

On the Rivs, I've run a number of different crank and cog combinations, probably 10-20 in all. Some of the more interesting ones included a double-ring WI ENO crank with a WI DOS freewheel + Surly Dingle (so that's potentially 8 gear ratios), an Endless cog on a freehub, and a single track cog + DA track crank. I ran everything from a Paul flip-flop, to a DA track, to a burly 135mm spaced Deore disc hub, to a DT Swiss 350 freehub laced to 60 mm deep carbon rims. 

My tooth combos included 53x19, 52x19, 50x18, 46x17, 45x17, 45x16, 42x16, 39x15... I found the good ol' 42x16 and 46x17 to be the more sustainable ratios on most days. When I was in decent form, 52x19 and 50x18 with carbon wheels felt good, but I haven't had such form for a couple of years now. The most recent combo was a Rene Herse crank with a 40t narrow-wide ring and 18t in the back, with full metal fenders, rack, and basket, intended for commuting. But I'll be changing that to a 15t cog in the back for faster, shorter rides. 

For reference, I used to do 20-50 mile long rides on these single speeds / fixies, with a typical elevation gain limited to ~2,000 ft over, say, a 40 mile jaunt. 

- Max "idee fixe" in A2

[Max S]

I should add that I always aim for as narrow of a Q-factor as I can get on a set-up. The best has been an old Mavic 631 "Starfish" crank with a 39t chainring, mated to the narrowest (103 or 107 mm) bottom bracket I could find. The next best – by just a couple millimeters were Sun XCD and Rene Herse, then DuraAce track (I've a Hollowtech spindle version in 175 mm that I'd be happy to sell, actually). Mind, the DA track crank gets you a Q of 136 mm (!) so this is all going to be loads better, IMO, than any crank I've seen sold by Riv in recent memory. I reckon you could do well by finding a cheap Shimano 600 / TriColor crank on the Bay and sticking a generic, un-ramped 42t ring on it in the outer position, and a cheap-and-cheerful 103 mm bottom bracket. If you want stiff, go for a Hollowtech crank from Shimano. 

BTW, the bottom bracket on the QuickBeam sits a bit higher than on most of my other bikes, so you can clear a longer crank in fixed gear mode. Still, I'd recommend limiting tires to ~38 mm and eschewing fenders to minimize toe overlap.

- Max "narrow is aero" in A2

[Bill Lindsay]

Fair enough.  On the simpler side I have a fixie at my office in Michigan, where the biggest hill is a freeway overpass.  On that bike (Crust Florida Man) I run a Campy square taper road crank with a 39T ring and a chain guard with a 16T fixed cog on a Surly Ultra New rear hub.  There's a 16T freewheel on the other side but I've never used it.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Patrick Moore]

Riv fixed gear road custom with 52 tooth Dura Ace GA 200 or 300 crank and 559 X 28 mm wheels, 24 3/4" actual diameter:

Wheelset #1, the mother wheelset and the default and most fun ride: Phil with 17/19 Dingle and QR rear axle -- quick shifting -- and 76" cruising and 68" hill and headwind gear. Aside: Rode home 8+ miles last Sunday from church directly into SW 22 gusts to 25, may gust as high as 40". Used the 19/68" gear and the wonderful hooks on the 38 cm (hoods) Maes Parallel -- hooks are a 3-tooth lower headwind gear. Wonderful how 68" felt so easy compared to 76" against the wind -- tho' had to stand on a brief hill against full force of wind. 

Wheelset #2: Sturmey Archer TC medium ratio 2 speed fixed hub, direct and 0.8654 or 76" and 66". Perfect for longer rides with wind and hills.

Wheelset #3: Sturmey Archer TF wide ratio 2 speed fixed hub, direct and 0.75 or 76" and 57". Good for long hills and the nice hilly riding up and about the West Mesa on the Westside of Coors; probably should gear down with 18 t cog in place of 17 t for 72" and 54". Photo shows bike with TF and temporary 559 X 42 mm (39 mm on those rims) Naches Pass tires and 18 t cog: 74" and 55" for cold-weather, firm-dirt ditchbank riding, last winter. Top tube quadrant shifter: cutting edge indexed shifting in 1937. But great fun as long as the sand was firm.

On Tue, Mar 5, 2024 at 1:21 PM David <davidbo...@gmail.com> wrote:

What are your drivetrain specs? Cranks, chainrings, etc.  Simpleones, too, if that's what you're riding. It appears Riv doesn't offer the classic single speed crankset anymore.

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[Richard Rose]

Bill, your description of the landscape near your Michigan office is even more true of northwest Ohio, Toledo more precisely. It’s this geography that has me thinking a Roaduno might be fun, be it 1,2 or 3 speed.

Richard - in Toledo where the only “hill” is a stiff headwind.

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 5, 2024, at 6:27 PM, Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote:

Fair enough.  On the simpler side I have a fixie at my office in Michigan, where the biggest hill is a freeway overpass.  On that bike (Crust Florida Man) I run a Campy square taper road crank with a 39T ring and a chain guard with a 16T fixed cog on a Surly Ultra New rear hub.  There's a 16T freewheel on the other side but I've never used it.  

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[Ryan]

Sounds like Winnipeg to me! Especially the stiff headwind bit. So for my dodgy knees and 70+ years it's 18-19 tooth WI ENO and 36 tooth front on an old XTR crank on my ancient but reliable  early 70's PX-10 single speed which works in said headwind but is probably undergeared otherwise.

@Max S which one are you in the trio BTW?

[Drew Saunders]

I have an orange Quickbeam, which I bought new, with the original Sugino 74/110 triple with the original 32/40/guard chainrings. I immediately removed the provided 18t freewheel and put on a White 17/19t Dos Eno. I also put a 22 on the flop side of the flip/flop hub that Riv included with the bike.

With the long dropout, I can use 40/17 (99%+ of my riding), 40/19, 32/19 or 32/22. I like to say I have the world’s least convenient 4 speed. I haven’t “shifted” the bike about 5 years or more, but in the first 8 years that I owned it, I would take it for long recreational rides and need to downshift for some hills. For the locals: I even rode it up Old La Honda years ago, I think in the 32/19, maybe the 32/22. Age and 2 bouts with cancer have made a single speed bike only suitable for commuting for me now, but it’s great for that.

I’d definitely recommend 2 chainrings at about 8t difference if you want some versatility. I have the pop off SKS fender stay things, and pack an old gardening glove in my saddle bag so I can change the gearing without getting too messy.

Drew

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 12:21:08 PM UTC-8 David wrote:

[David]

This is all really great input. The trouble I'm having is finding a configuration out there (new or otherwise) that comes close to the  Sugino 74/110 triple with the original 32/40/guard chainrings. Where would you go to gather these parts?

[Bill Lindsay]

All that stuff is pretty darn common.  One place to go is eBay.  

cranks: https://www.ebay.com/itm/386838756264

40 ring: https://www.ebay.com/itm/255458588990

32 ring: https://www.ebay.com/itm/196275801449

People find practically free bike parts at "the bike co-op", or "the local bike kitchen".  That takes effort but you can save a lot.  People post "want to buy" posts on this group, and often somebody has what you seek in their parts bin.  There's a hundred ways to pull a build together.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Eric Daume]

You can buy a guard, but they are also easy to make: get a used/worn/cheap ring that maybe 4 teeth larger than your biggest ring, and grind, snap, or saw the teeth off, then file smooth. 

Eric 

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[David]

Thank you, Bill. This is really helpful.

[Conway Bennett]

I definitely have a used 172.5 XD2 triple, a used 40 tooth Sugino chainring, and a new 32 tooth Willow chainring I'd sell.

[Eric Doelling]

Hi All - just my two cents:  I have two Quickbeams and use both often - one in Oakland and one on the central coast.  I am running Sugino 40/32 with a white industries 17 in Oakland and 40/32 with a white industries 16 on the coast.  The Oakland set-up is nice and allows me to have a ball.  I am able to ride up to skyline via the steeper routes with the 32 and still have enough gear with the 40 to enjoy the flats.  The 16 rear also allows climbing and provides a little more umph.  As I am aging this is getting more challenging. Depending on terrain I would go with the 17 in the rear unless your a very good climber and pretty fit.  Larger than a 17 and I dont think the flats would be as much fun.  

On another QB subject, what is it that makes these bikes so enjoyable and all out fun.  The folks at Riv echoed this - how much people love their QB's.  It is much more than the "singlespeed" mindset.  There is something about the dynamic of these bikes. The QB is so stable and at the same time responsive and comfortable.  I run mine with a flat bar https://www.jitensha.com/eng/flatbar05.html and Paul brakes.   I believe this handlebar makes a tremendous difference.  Since all my geared bikes have drop bars I couldn't imagine using a drop bar on this set-up. 

I bought these when Riv spoke alot about fit and maxing out standover towards your pubic bone.  I haven't kept up with it but have tried the newer bikes and was not able to find the same fit or a fit I loved.  I think there is more spacing between sizes now.

Eric

[Cyclofiend Jim]

Mine's still more or less as shown here - 
http://www.cyclofiend.com/ssg/2007/ssg017r3-cyclofiend0107.html

I came back one tooth on the fixed, so it's running at 15T with the stock 40 Sugino up front. That's kinda where it lives 95% of the time. 

But the 32T is there, as well as the 18T freewheel.

The "single speed crankset" was just a Sugino triple with a guard. You could get the Silver and swap up the inner ring.

https://www.rivbike.com/products/crank-silver-double-42-28-with-guard

One of the reasons that remains my favorite bike is the ultimate adaptability. You can come up with all manner of ways to set it up and it will let you do so. 

J

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 12:21:08 PM UTC-8 David wrote: