on 4/30/10 10:50 PM, happyriding at happyrid...@yahoo.com wrote: > I'm confused again. I was thinking that wide chainstays require high > Q cranks. But if the drop out width is standard, is it just the way > the chain stay splays out near the BB that determines Q? Can a frame > builder make a bike with low Q yet still accept 50mm tires? If so, > why does Rivendell make all their bikes with high Q?
The Q factor or tread is the measurement between crank arms when mounted - http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_q.html#qfactor (and do follow the link through to the old GP B'stone article) I really don't think it's accurate to say that Rivendell bicycles have high Q. When you begin designing bikes to clear wide tires, you have to make the tread/Q wider. There's no way around that (other than using ovalized chainstays or crimping them). The Bombadil and Hunqapillare are designed to handle larger tires. Since RBW bicycles are built with steel chainstays, they would require less room for cranks to clear, and could use narrower Q cranks thank ones made with aluminum, for example. Most "modern" mtbs I've ridden have way wider tread/Q than any Rivendell I've ridden. - Jim -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com Current Classics - Cross Bikes Singlespeed - Working Bikes Gallery updates now appear here - http://cyclofiend.blogspot.com -- 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-bu...@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.
