Roaduno substitute for a while...

[Bill Lindsay]

I had been searching for quite a while for a single speed that enabled some derailer-less gear flexibility.  On one hand I searched for a 58cm Quickbeam or SimpleONE.  On the other hand I was/am waiting on the RoadUNO.  I was/am a huge fan of Rivendells rear dropouts with the angle that allows a significant gear change while maintaining brake adjustment.  

In an absolutely perfect world, my Size Large singlespeed would also have been 650B (for fat tires and no TCO).  While I'm sitting here in fantasy-land, I also would have waved my magic wand to have the bike be belt-compatible, and would allow brakes, but have a discreet way to NOT run brakes.  

Over the last 18 months or so, I've been working with placeholders for these things.  I bought a Crust Michigan Man right when they were released and set it up as a strictly 1-speed fixie in my office in Wayne County, Michigan.  Will at Riv also has a Michigan Man.  I also managed to acquire a 58cm Quickbeam, and that is now in my garage as a 8-speed single speed.  I slowly acquired some of the parts for a 650B custom, including a pair of Rivendell dropouts.  I even had preliminary conversations with a local builder, and have a tentative spot on his enormous waiting list.  

Then, totally by surprise, a new contender appeared.  Crust released a new variant of their single speed Lightning Bolt.  It's 650B, with clearance for 48mm tires and contemporary Randonneur geometry.  It's belt-compatible and has removable cantilever posts and cable guides.  It's almost exactly what my custom would have been except for the Riv-style ends.  

It's 2022, and the lesson we've all learned is that if the thing you want is available, you buy it, because it may never be available again.  So, I went ahead and bought it, and the frame should arrive today.  I'm pretty excited.  

Whether or not my new Crust will get replaced by a RoadUNO next year remains to be seen.  Will's email updates (plus simple geometry) make it pretty clear to me that the RoadUNO will not have Riv ends.  It'll have some other svelte track ends, so easy gear changes with a rear brake won't be part of the feature list, it seems.  I'm still paying very close attention, but the itch is getting scratched today.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Erik Wright]

Oh man, and that lavender color is amazing. Here's a link for anyone interested. Can't wait to see it built up, Bill!

Erik, Philly

[velomann]

I'm really excited by the Roaduno - a true lugged singlespeed with 120 spacing and canti mounts that takes 700x50 tires ticks so many boxes for me. And I too built up a Roaduno placeholder this year. I have a soft spot for early-mid 90s steel hybrids - "Dad Bikes" - and came across this Univega Via Carisma in a gorgeous deep purple for super cheap and used it as the platform for my first single-speed build. I'd been hording a pair of On-One Mary bars, a pair of limited edition pink Panaracer Gravelking SK tires, and a full set of Polished Paul Minimotos. My friend Bob K who built my Bantams and owns Citybikes Co-op here in Portland had a used White Industries ENO rear wheel and a mint 1-inch  threadless pink Chris King headset (an oddity of this bike). It's a blast to ride - light and nimble. Since these pics were taken I've added a Nitto M-18 front rack (the bike has mid-fork braze-ons) and a silver Wald 137 half-basket.

Mike M

[Joe Bernard]

Purple and pink. It's awesome! 💜💗

[Corwin Zechar]

Hi Bill -

I was at Rivendell last week. I saw the Roaduno prototype up close.

Not sure what dropouts they are using - but I recognized the angle on the rear dropout as the same angle on the rear dropouts on my Quickbeam.

For me, the angle is not as critical as I thought it would be. I rarely change gears (I have a flip/flop hub and had a double crankset). I just don't seem to need to change gears to get up the hills I ride.

Your mileage may vary.

Regards,

Corwin

On Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 10:14:16 AM UTC-7 Bill Lindsay wrote:

[George Schick]

Bill - you say the Quickbeam is setup as "a 8-speed single speed," so I'm assuming an IGH?  If so, what kind?  A Shimano Nexus 8?  Also, again assuming an IGH, how did you do the cable routing?  I have a Surly 1x1 and I've been fantasizing turning it into an IGH, but I'd have to change bars and figure out how to route the shifting cable.

George

[duh...@gmail.com]

George, I'll take a stab at answering this one for Bill.

He has a double crankset (2 gears), and some combination of double cogs and/or freewheels in rear resulting in 4 gears out back.

[George Schick]

Aha! Thanks!

[Jason Zakaras]

sorry for the thread hack... if you could stab again or perhaps another double crankset quickbeamer could answer: what bottom bracket would this run?  I have a simple one running 48-18 and I have a nice skf 107 jis and would like to move it over to my double 32/42-19/17 and unfortunately don't know the laws of bicycles enough to understand how things pair. the current 58cm quick beam is running great other than a much needed bb upgrade.

thanks!

To resume, the new lightning bolt ss is a stunner, can't wait for a review....

Jason

[Bill Lindsay]

I have a Rivendell Silver 173mm crankset on my Quickbeam with a 68x103mm Tange BB unit.  There are two chain rings and they are 38/35.  On my Phil flip-flop rear track hub I am running two White Industries DOS ENO freewheels.  A 16/18 on one side and a 20/22 on the other.  I avoid using the 35x16 and the 38x22, but will use the other six combos a lot.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

On Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 6:01:37 AM UTC-7 George Schick wrote:

[Bill Lindsay]

I'm running a 68x103mm bottom bracket with a Rivendell Silver crankset.  My two chainrings are on the "big" and "middle" positions.  

Generally speaking, the BB you need depends on the crankset you have.  If you think the current BB on your Quickbeam is the right length, but you want to upgrade it, then just measure it and replace it with a BB of the same size.  If you think it's not the perfect size, then figure out what it is and consider buying the next size up or down.  If you have no clue about these things, hire a good mechanic who you trust to look it over and advise you.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Patch T]

As always, I very much looking forward to this Bill Lindsay build. 

On Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 1:14:16 PM UTC-4 Bill Lindsay wrote:

[Bill Lindsay]

This is the Flickr Album where I will post all my build photos.  There are a few unboxing shots in there already.  

Single Speed Rando | Flickr

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Bill Lindsay]

Corwin pointed out that the existing RoadUNO prototypes have tilted rear dropouts.  

Yes, that was clear from the photos in Will's email update.  In that same email update from Will, he indicated that he thought they look too chunky, and stated that Rivendell has selected a different, more svelte track end from some other vendor, and that svelte track end will be used on the next round of prototype.  He indicated that there were enough changes coming that rendered this round of prototypes almost irrelevant to what eventually gets produced next year.  

I change gears "all the time" on my multispeed single speeds.  At least twice per ride, so that feature was/is extremely valuable to me.  The way things seem to be moving, I'll either be doing a strict two-speed with a single wheel position -OR- do away with the rear brake.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[George Schick]

Bill - now I see why you like the rear dropout on that Quickbeam so much.  That's a lot of moving the wheel forward or backward for gear changes.  Must've be fun trying to figure what chain length you needed, though.

[George Schick]

Crust sure does nice work.  Interesting where they decided to put the break - further up the seat stay.  The break on most belt drive bikes that I've seen are at the dropout.

[Bill Lindsay]

One of the really nice details is the sexy curved seatstay bridge, with a nice fender boss.  I learned from Mark Abele that the pro way to plug that boss is with a "headless" setscrew.  

Bridge plug | Set screw in the bridges is a good move for se… | Flickr

Plugged | M5 x 0.8mm set screw plugs the fender boss without… | Flickr

When I bought those stainless steel setscrews, they only came in a bag of 50 from McMaster-Carr.  I have way more than I need.  If anybody wants some of mine, I'm selling them for $1 apiece, shipped.  Let me know if you need some.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Joe Bernard]

Ooh, that's a neat idea, I'll send a PM for a couple. Mark is so smart! 

[Patrick Moore]

If you forgo a derailleur, the whole point is to maintain the simplicity of a fixed gear or at least single speed drivetrain. So expect few alternative gear ratios. OTOH, fixed gear/ss aficionados with aging lungs and knees need help: solution? main, direct, cruising gear + climbing/bailout gear.

How to do this? Expensive and elusive SA 2-speed fixed gear hubs aside,  much more available, slanted longish dropouts or the ENO hub. Many old road bikes have slanted dropouts; you can use the ENO eccentric axle hub on vertical dropout frames.

Me, the whole point of fixed/ss drivetrains is lost if you try to get too many gears on a "ss/fixed" setup. After all, the derailleur has been perfected to the point that no other multigear system can compete -- unless you look at the alternatives as "expansions" of the ss/fixed drivetrain. I say this as someone who for personal arcane reasons loves SA hubs. (My reasons are logical.)

All that to say that my experience leads me to really like the idea of combining old pre-susp but post-Repak mtb frames with ENO hubs. That very early '90s top-end Diamond Back with rigid (and, I have to say, very elegant straight-leg, finely tapered fork) with 60 mm Big Apples and 64" ss drivetrain (42 t Pro 5 Vis X 17 t fw, 170 mm arms) was almost perfect as a pavement/sandy-dirt all-rounder, tho' I think I'd gear it up today to 68" with a 16 t fw. Or, if I wanted some range, a 44 in place of the 42, and a 16/18 or for the weak 17/19 DOS fw.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Bill Lindsay]

My Single Speed Crust Lightning Bolt build is essentially complete now.  The same Flickr album has all the pictures from my Saturday activities:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/albums/72177720302216629

On Saturday I built the wheels:

  -Crust 650B Rims

  -Sapim Double Butted Spokes (32, 3x) brass nipples

  -Surly Ultra New fixed/free rear hub
  -Kasai Dynamo front hub

  -Rene Herse Juniper Ridge Tires (584x48 knobby)

  -Schwalbe tubes

Then when I had a rolling chassis, I took some final measurements to figure out where to cut the steerer.  The last couple shots in the album show that rolling chassis and the drive train detail.  I got clever with the dropout adjusters.  The frame comes with two 35mm long M4x0.7 adjusters, which take a 2mm allen in the end.  One would use blue loctite to help it hold its position.  My gear change operation on my two-speed drivetrain involves loosening the drive side axlenut moving the chain from big to small and then small to big, and then tighten the drive side axle nut.  The non-drive side axle nut stays where it is.  It takes about 30 seconds to "shift".  These adjusters, if I use them at all, would prevent the drive side of the rear hub from noodging forward during this shift operation.  So, I need to back that one off during the shift.  I didn't want to go fishing for a tiny 2mm allen during that move, so I replaced the drive side adjuster with a nice serrated thumbscrew.  The left side has the job to stay put, so I left the original bolt and added a serrated thumb nut to act as a lock nut.  I think it's a pretty pro set up.  

After I cut the fork I installed a set of vintage Shimano Deore XT cantilever brakes.  The original brake pads are still in there and good as new.  They are quite chunky (chonky) and take up most of the rim sidewall.  I may swap them for some smooth post kool stop holders.  One the brakes were done, I just installed a front rack, dynamo lamp, my homemade decaleur, and wrapped the bars.  My spare King Kage inventory only had one Iris and one Titanium, so the cages don't match.  I'm not sure which one I'll replace.  

The second coat of shellac just went on.  After the sun rises I'll take a few more shots and then we can start riding the thing.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Ryan]

Very nice...as usual. I have those Deore XT cantilevers on my AR. Never thought of them as clunky but I see your point

Great color!

[Christopher Rust]

Bill,

Gosh this thing looks fun.

Can I ask what decaleur you’re using? Looks like it clamps to the bar but I’ve never seen one like that before.

Could I also ask how you bent the struts on that Nitto 32f evenly? Just a vice and some measurements, maybe a protractor? Wondering if there’s any trick to it.

I just bought the Crust Spark Rando fork (which appears to be the same as yours and the other lightning bolts) for my 1985 Trek 520 (which is basically the same geo as the Crust Canti LB) and I was hoping to use that same rack.

Chris Rust

Dallas, TX

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[Bill Lindsay]

Chris

That's my own home made decaleur.  My handlebar bag has Ortlieb Pannier hardware bolted to it and my decaleur presents a bar for the pannier hardware to hand onto.  

I did not bend the stays on the 32F.  The unmodified 32F fit directly on my fork, as intended.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Bill Lindsay]

I made one significant change to my Road Single speed.  I decided that my beloved White Industries VBC-based double chainset is better suited on a wider rear OLD.  The front chainline is wider than optimal, the chainring to chainstay clearance is signficant, and the resulting Q-factor is good, but not as narrow as it could be.  Finally, this crankset lends itself really well to quick chainring reconfiguration, but this bike is going to be a singlespeed forever.  So, I pulled the White Industries crankset and replaced it with a vintage Ritchey/Sugino 110/74 crankset.  The old secret to get super narrow Q-Factor with this crankset is a 102mm BB with Campy Tapers.  That pulls the Q-factor down into the sub 135mm range.  Now the chainline is dialed, and now I can use my Riv Silver 38/35 rings.  

Pics prove it:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/52398284513/in/album-72177720302216629/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/52398075534/in/album-72177720302216629/

The inconsequential change is that I switched the tires out to old Riv Fatty Rumpkins.  The "supple" crowd will say they are dogs, but I expect to survive...

Enjoy

Bill Lindsay 

El Cerrito, CA

[Eric Daume]

So what are you finally doing with the rear brake when you change gears?

Eric

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[Bill Lindsay]

Eric Daume asked: "what are you finally doing with the rear brake when you change gears?"

The question implies that the questioner thinks there is something that needs to be done.  

Nothing needs to be done!  My two gears are 38x16 and 35x19.  Those two gears are supported by the same chain length and the same rear wheel position.  I can change gears and I don't have to think about my rear brake.  It's a great system.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

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[lconley]

+1 for the quick release roller straddle hangers. 

Laing