A geared Quickbeam. Normally QBs are single-speed--actually two speed,
with two chainrings up front. The standard hub has provision for two
single-speed freewheels, or two fixed-gear cogs. This one had a
Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub (Red Label). This is the newest of the
Shimano geared hubs, and it's very smooth and quiet..
Note: I converted the Quickbeam back to a single-speed after
getting my Rohloff-equipped Thorn eXXp. (Using a Phil Wood 135mm SS
hub.) I'll add photos soon, after it comes back from the painter. The
QB is a great bike, but the green color not! Perhaps the later orange
ones are prettier--haven't seen one yet.
| Frame | 580mm ST, 570mm TT, lugged steel |
|---|---|
| Cranks | Sugino XD, 170mm, 40/32T chainwheels (32 not useable with Nexus hub) |
| Pedals | MKS quill |
| Headset | Shimano |
| Bars and Stem | MTB steel bar with slight upsweep and tilt-back, Nitto 100mm DirtDrop stem |
| Brakes | Shimano cantis, KoolStop salmon pads front, standard rear |
| Shifter | Shimano Nexus rotating |
| Wheels (current 12/26/06) | front: Phil Wood hub, Mavic 519 rim (36 hole), 2.0/1.8 swaged
spokes, Schwalbe Marathon Plus 622-32 tire rear: Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub (36), swaged stainless spokes, Sun CR18 rim, Schwalbe Marathon Plus 622-32 tire |
| Fenders | SKS (ne' Esge) plastic |
| Rack | Avenir |
| Seatpost and Saddle | Nitto one-bolt, Brooks B17 honey |
How it used to be set up, before the fenders were installed. Nitto
rack and a basket.
Close up of the Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub. This hub is quiet, shifts
very smoothly, though you have to ease up on the pedalling often when
shifting, especially between 4th and 5th gears. But you can shift
while standing still, unlike a derailer system.
The shifting is done by a rotating mechanism, not clearly visible in this picture. It's much neater than the protruding cables of the Sturmey-Archer 3 and 5-speed hubs. But you have to learn the trick to release the rotator to get the cable out, when you need to remove the wheel. You need a 2mm Allen key (or a small length of 14 ga. spoke), that you stick into a small hole that faces backward on the shifting rotator. This allows you to slacken the cable and remove it easily.
The axle nuts are 15mm. On account of the hub mounting system, it isn't possible to move the hub axle back far enough to use the 32T front chainwheel. So it's an 8-speed, rather than a potential 16-speed. No big deal, and with the 21T rear cog on the Nexus, there's a gear range of 27"-83".
Note the front fender clips to attach the rear fender stays to the
dropouts. This is for removal of the rear wheel from the very long
horizontal dropouts.
Rear of the bike, showing the Avenir rack that replaces the Nitto. The
Nitto has pegs on tabs that stick down from the bottom of the rack,
and prevent the rear wheel from being removed. As this is not a
touring bike, and the rack doesn't need to carry much weight, the
Avenir works fine.
Front of the bike.
