nice! glad you like it. i'm not a huge fan of all that steerer sticking up above the head tube top. also, make sure the seat post sticks down below the junction of the top tube and seat stays. if the seat post doesn't go down past that junction, you'll probably eventually brake that seat tube off above that junction. shortly after that bike got made that you have there we just started terminating the seat tube at that junction, because you can't assume everyone is going to listen to what you say. you've got so much seat post out that i question whether that seat post is long enough to get past that joint.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Thanks for the precious advice, Dan! The seatpost is 350mm long; a good 50mm (2 inches) remains below the seatstays junction, I think that's enough for safety. Do you think the steerer layout is not safe, or that's just a "visual" issue?

I think what Dan is saying is you want enough seat post sunk inside frame so the part inside frame goes lower than intesection of seat tube and top tube imaginary junction.

i feel the same way about the steer column as i do the seat post. that steer column, there are 2 places where i've seen problems happen. 1 place is where the stem fixes onto the steerer. that's where steerers can break. hence the expander bolt inside there. but also where the steerer pivots against the top headset bearing. the more steerer, the bigger the lever. i don't like all that lever. personally, i would not feel good riding that bike. it seems to me you're a tall person for that bike, just looking at both the amount of seat post out, and the height the bars are above the frame.

but you did an awfully nice job of putting it together!

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I think what slowman is getting at, is to ensure no failures happen, you just give that bike to someone my size whose saddle height is only 68cm above BB and pad stack height is 61cm above BB.

Now you just need some race wheels. Disclaimer these are not mine but always wanted the Superlite disc.

https://www.ebay.com/...1:g:pBwAAOSwOLFgSWxJ

This seems like an oversimplification: the real start of the "lever" is the contact points. If you lowered the stem but compensated by raising the aerobars, it wouldn't really alter what the headset (or the steerer where it contacts the headset) is dealing with.

That's actually what happens: the setapost is 350mm long; ~180mm remains below the collar and ~90mm remains below the top tube. I think there's no safety issue there at all

I'm 6ft (183cm) with 35inch (89cm) inseam. The frame has 57cm TT x 48cm ST (both center to center); ideally I would need 56x50. The good thing is that the bike feels just fine on the road.
Edit: Greg Kopecky a few years ago (around 2012-2013) built a 650C tri-bike; unlike me, he had the frame built from scratch, but the outcome, as he's a tall guy as well, doesn't look a lot different than mine

If you'd like to do a few rides with it, just show up!

look at the where the stem clamps to the steerer in this pic. my concern was how much steerer was exposed. now, on this image you posted, even this, with less steerer exposed, i would have still built the frame taller. more frame, less of the height coming from appendages (seat post, stem). that said, things have changed a lot in the last 30 years, and it's more urgent now to get the height from the frame. carbon bikes allow for more frame while preserving system stiffness, because you can pack a lot of carbon where you need it.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

i don't think that's quite right. i don't know quite where the bending moment is on that steerer, and it may in fact be inside the head tube, but steerers tend to break in one of two places: at the fork crown, and just above the head tube top. for that reason, it seems axiomatic to me to build up those areas, which is why you saw forks get wider at the bottom bearing. the stem clamp supports the integrity of the steerer from the outside, and the expansion plug supports it from the inside. when you have a lot of steerer out, you get none of that support. this is why bike companies limit the amount of steerer height they'll allow on their bikes.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I agree! In fact, I'm fine with some outboard seatpost and steerer on this Superform

I wouldn't have a problem with a long seat post.
But I wouldn't be comfortable riding a quill stem extender at that height.
But I am only an old fart who had seen too many bad designs and front end failures during his lifetime of cycling.
.

Hello sir, the stem adapter model is this:

and it's all the way down into the head tube:


If that's not safe, then no other adapter in the World would ever be. Possibly you've been fooled by the stem being oversized vs. the adapter

This 30 year old QR got to enjoy a half Ironman in Cuba just last year a month before the world changed. Sitting at Marina Hemingway just outside our bungalow where swim and transition were held . She is the second Quintana Roo I gifted to a lucky grom after the event. Wish I could build another and do it again. Doubt it. Unfortunately. For all.

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dr

Possibly a picture is missing in your message

Been riding this thing for 2 months now. It started as an experiment, off a $100 frameset on ebay, and ended up as a favorite. I actually enjoy every mile aboard this bike, being it flat, climb or downhill. Good ideas never get old, kudos to Dan!

Hi all & happy new year! I have completed another 650c restoration project. The frame is an italian-built mid 90's Faggin, triathlon-specific for 650c wheels, Columbus steel tubes. I hope you like it

n


Nice restoration (again). Here are some old bikes I've cleaned up. The first is a 650c QR Superform but has a slack 72-degree seat tube angle. The two others are 700c "triathlon" bikes pre-areo bars.

Very interesting bikes. The QR is possibly a prototype for producing a 650c roadie, it should be quite fun to ride! The Centurion IM's were built in Japan with customized Tange DB steel. The Peugeot Tri featured a 3rd bottle cage under the DT; it was built with Reynolds 501 steel at first, and later upgraded to the lighter Vitus 980

Stumbled upon this Superform this weekend.

The paint caught my eye first. Then the lugs. Then the Prestige steel tag. Then the "Made in USA by T.E.T". Then the "Painted by Cathy Jo". Then the enormous sprocket.

What in the world is this bike...

I'm going to be honest with you. I had never heard of Quintan Roo. I didn't know it was a legendary tri-bike. Didn't know who Tom Teesdale was.

I bought it based on the rare quality and attention to detail that clearly went into this thing.

In trying to piece the story behind this bike together, I found this thread and forum. This was by far the most valuable resource. Thank you for that. Figured I would join and share that this one is going strong.

If anyone has thoughts on what parts seem original and what have been changed, I'd love to hear.

Cheers!

the most notable non-original part of that bike are the handlebars. that bike's vintage is probably 1989 or 1990.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Hey great pick! Bike is in amazing shape; possibly it's an early one, you can figure it out measuring the rear hub spacing (126mm vs. 130mm). What are you going to do with it?

Not necessarily related, but did QR at any point (in the 90s?) make a series of 650C road or crit bikes with steep seat tubes and drop bars? I thought they/you did at one point.

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