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Quarq - swapping b/w bikes

trirebeltrirebel
in General Training Discussions

 I just got my quarq in (thanks rich) and was wondering about swapping between bikes.  My lbs said that they dont recommend swapping cranksets often and that it could damage it.  Is that really I something I should be concerned with?  I thought they were supposed to be rather easy to swap around, so long as you have the same bottom bracket and the derailleur is adjusted properly.

Comments

  • dboyledboyle

    I don't know about any damage but I am now doing this with my quarq between tri and road bike. Just brought both bikes to the shop, told them to make it so I can swap it and then it is only a 8mm allen key to take off non-gear side and swap between.

     

    Is pretty darn simple to do, and the only possible issue I could see with wear/tear is the single bolt. Mine is the FSA compact so metal/metal (with the fsa bottom bracket) so standard well lubed rules apply image

     

    -Dave

  • trirebeltrirebel

    Thanks Dave, mine is the sram.  When putting mine on, there was a little slack in it, so i switched the bottom bracket to a sram.  It went on pretty smoothly after that.  I'm gonna put the same bottom bracket in my road bike and I imagine it should be no problem to switch.  I think the LBS acted like it was such a big deal so that I would continue to think that they were necessary.

  • tgarsontgarson
    It's not a big deal at all, as noted it depends on your crank, but my FSA Team Issue crank is like Daves, the entire process requires one 8mm allen key. Personally, I use an 8mm on a torque wrench, not because you need the torque measurement at all, just because it's a ratchet and makes it even easier. If you have compatible BBs on both bikes, all you need to do is extract the non-drive side crank arm, takes <30 seconds for me with the ratchet, set the chain down on the BB shell (or anywhere really just take it off the crank), then the entire drive side will just slide out of the BB. <br />
    There are two caveats though, the first you've already noted, you need to have a compatible BB on your other bike. The second is that you need to have the same BCD-type crank on your other bike or you will have to make some adjustments, i.e. if your Quarq crank is a double then it would be great if your other bike is also a double, or the same thing if they are both compacts. If one crank is a compact, and the other is a double, then you are going to have to adjust the position of your front-der when you swap in order to accomodate the larger (or smaller) crank.

    Personally, I take most everything my LBS says with a grain of salt, they are good people just looking to make a living but it didn't take long before I realized they were charging $20 a pop for adjustments that I could do at home in less than 5 minutes.

  • trirebeltrirebel
    Thanks for the response. I think I'll take my road bike in and have them swap the bottom bracket and make the adjustments to the front derailleur. After that, all should be good.
  • manconamancona
    I swap my SRAM quarq all the time. Yes, over time it can put a little wear on the single 8mm bolt but other than that I can't see any other concerns. Like others said just make sure you have the right bottom bracket on each bike.

    Just make sure not to cross thread the bolt and you will be fine. Every few swaps I clean the bolt and put a drop of new lube on it. Also, I use a torque wrench just to make sure I don't over tighten it.

    Also, I actually have been able to setup my front derailieur to work with both my compact quarq cinqo and standard crank just fine.
  • trirebeltrirebel
    The LBS specifically warned of me cross threading it. What does that mean and how do you prevent it?
  • manconamancona
    cross threading is when you force a screw to go in even though it is not aligned right. It is easy to avoid, just make sure you have everything aligned right and the screw threads easily to get started. You should not have to force it to start threading. If you have to force it stop. The biggest cause is probably people rushing to force a screw in.

    Making sure the screw threads are clean and have a little lube on them will go a long way in preventing it.

    The screw we are talking about is 8mm and due to the size it probably wont cross thread, just becareful. This is much more comon on small screws not designed to handle a lot of force (i.e. water bottle cage mounts, seat post clamp, etc).
  • trirebeltrirebel
    Thanks Matt.
  • Chris GChris G

     Here is a video of Tom A swapping one between bikes in 1:06:

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibycOXD-Mw0

     

    I would not worry about it.  

  • TH3 FRBTH3 FRB
    More of the same advice here - swapping isn't a problem. I move my Lightning cranks between my tri and road bike often. For me the spindle on the drive side mates with large teeth on the other crank arm and there is a single bolt integrated into the spindle that I tighten through a hole in the drive-side that pulls the parts together and secures everything. The only thing to be careful of is not to damage the spline interface between the 2 parts when mating them up. Just be careful and you shouldn't have any problems. I assume the other crank options install in a similar way.
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