on 1/27/09 3:30 PM, colin p. cummings at colinthehip...@gmail.com wrote: > As a survey of sorts, how many QB owners out there do much gear > changing on a regular or semi-regular basis? I just bought a used QB > frame and am wondering if a 4-gear configuration would be worth it. I > live in a pretty flat place (TX panhandle) and can only imagine > changing gears to climb out of a canyon...
The great thing about that bicycle is its versatility - you can set it up precisely for the type of riding you encounter. I would tend to start simply and do the things that make sense for your style of riding and the conditions you encounter. The place I tend to make a gearing change is usually the transition from road to trail, as sometimes its a long road jaunt to the trailhead. I think it matters whether or not you are going to set up a fixed gear on the Quickbeam. Or maybe not. Lately, I've been riding narrower trails on the fixed setup. And openly wondering about my sanity. Having fun, though. But, the weird thing is that on the bigger gear, it feels to me that you have more time to correct for trail obstacles. A few times, I've almost had the feeling that I was leveling the pedals. Slow speed + big gears. On the QB, since it takes a moment or two to shift, the question is often whether conditions warrant it. If you haven't ridden a singlespeed before, you'll probably find that you'll learn a lot about maintaining momentum in the first month or so of riding. If I change gears 4 times in a longer ride, that's probably a lot. Typically if I'm going to have a long, twisty descent, I prefer a coastable setup. Technical trail work is usually in the stock 40 x 18. A long climb will use the 32. Otherwise, I'm running it fixed. A couple of longer QB ride reports here: http://www.cyclofiend.com/brevet/2007_200k.html http://ramblings.cyclofiend.com/?p=186 - Jim -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net Current Classics Bicycle Photo Gallery - http://www.cyclofiend.com/cc Cross Bike Photo Gallery - http://www.cyclofiend.com/cx Single Speed Garage Photo Gallery - http://www.cyclofiend.com/ssg Working Bikes & Practical Hardware - http://www.cyclofiend.com/working Work Shops of the iBob's - http://www.cyclofiend.com/shop Send In Your Photos! - Here's how: http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines "That which is overdesigned, too highly specific, anticipates outcome; the anticipation of outcome guarantees, if not failure, the absence of grace." William Gibson - "All Tomorrow's Parties" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
