My new (to me) Quarq is arriving on Friday and I have three options on the installation:
Do it myself. Main limiter is that I don’t have a torque wrench;
Take it to the LBS where they generally do good work, but have never seen a quarq before;
Drive 2 hours to Seattle to the nearest quarq dealer, and then probably have to drive there and back again a couple of days later to pick up.
For me the most appealing choice is (2). All they are going to have to do is take out my current ISIS BB, install the new GXP BB and quarq magnet, and install the cranks. Are there any other issues particular to quarq that should make me think seriously about option (3)?
Take it to the lbs. There is nothing fancy about installing it versus any other crank. The only small difference is installation of a magnet, which can either be epoxied to the frame or (more likely) the unit will come with a spacer with a pre-installed magnet that goes between the BB and the chainrings.
My new (to me) Quarq is arriving on Friday and I have three options on the installation:
Do it myself. Main limiter is that I don’t have a torque wrench;
Take it to the LBS where they generally do good work, but have never seen a quarq before;
Drive 2 hours to Seattle to the nearest quarq dealer, and then probably have to drive there and back again a couple of days later to pick up.
For me the most appealing choice is (2). All they are going to have to do is take out my current ISIS BB, install the new GXP BB and quarq magnet, and install the cranks. Are there any other issues particular to quarq that should make me think seriously about option (3)?
Thanks,
-Colin
No real reason for #3. The install is really easy. If you have installed a BB before, you really could do this yourself and certainly your LBS can do it. Personally, I have swapped my Quarq between my 3 bikes over 50 times and it’s quick and easy to do. I do have a torque wrench, but to be honest I get it right by feel all the time. You would have to apply a huge amount of force to go beyond the recommended torque.
So for an install the only additional steps are the BB and positioning the magnet. Depending on your frame you might not be able to use the magnet on a ring that can be installed inside the lockring of the BB. If you can’t then you need to glue 1 or 2 magnets (depending on how much height you need) to the frame in the indicated spot. That is really about it.
Easy, but there is a catch. The instructions with the GXP BB say to use some spacers. They explicitly state you need to use them. However, that’s for MTB only, and if you use them it locks up. Documented in a few places online, but a real PITA after spending hours trying to work it out. It’s a 10 minute job once you realise not to use the spacers. But you do need a high range torque wrench, but then having one means that you can move the quarq between your TT and road bike in 2 minutes whenever you want.
Easy, but there is a catch. The instructions with the GXP BB say to use some spacers. They explicitly state you need to use them. However, that’s for MTB only, and if you use them it locks up. Documented in a few places online, but a real PITA after spending hours trying to work it out. It’s a 10 minute job once you realise not to use the spacers. But you do need a high range torque wrench, but then having one means that you can move the quarq between your TT and road bike in 2 minutes whenever you want.
That was the impression I got as well, no spacers for the road BB, conflicting info in various places. What kind of torque wrench do you use? One other question: grease the BB threads or no? I’m on a P3C, and I’ve also heard conflicting info about greasing threads when they come in contact with carbon.
I had the LBS (which doesn’t deal with these from a sales perspective) do the install for me and it’s been 1,000+ miles and no issues since then. They even did it for free since I bought the bike there and it was in for the post break-in tune up anyway. Squire John’s in Collingwood, ON (since they deserve the shout out).
That was the impression I got as well, no spacers for the road BB, conflicting info in various places. What kind of torque wrench do you use? One other question: grease the BB threads or no? I’m on a P3C, and I’ve also heard conflicting info about greasing threads when they come in contact with carbon.
SRAM has a video (can find on youtube) showing BB installation. They put grease on the threads as I recall.
If you don’t have one, you also need the GXP BB tool. As for the torque wrench … good to have one in any case, but when I swap my Quarq between bikes I don’t usually use it. But you can get one at Sears for a reasonable price.
It’s a no brand wrench for the chainset, it’s such a high torque that the accuracy isn’t all that of an issue. At the 3.0Nm end then I have a Parktools one as there a high margin of error can be verry costly.
Pretty sure you aren’t going to be screwing into carbon BB shell will be good old metal, so lube it up like it’s your first night in prison gen pop. In fact you need to coat everything in lube. At least twice. The Quarq comes pre-lubed, but add more. It’s all labelled on the installation instructions in the BB box (yes, the ones that incrorectly say to add spacers). But as well as the BB, then you need to lube the axle spline in several places so that it tightens properly and doesn’t have any play. The required torque (48Nm-54Nm IIRC) is way higher than you expect, so without a torque wrench, or at least having done it several times to get a feel is likely to end up loose. Oh, the BB install is even higher on the scale, there it’s basically as hard as you can (assuming you are a runner) or 50% max strength (if you’re a swimmer). A cyclist would have a torque wrench if you were about to ask.
GXP tool is same as the Shimano external BB tool. Again, Parktool works well, although the one I have is the full round one so you can’t adjust the BB cups without taking the chaniset off. No idea why anyone would want to, but there you go, it’s a limitation I’ve heard people raise.
Where are you (2 hours from Seattle)? If you’re out Kitsap way, come over to my place and we’ll do it together
If not, you can easily borrow a torque wrench or rent one from any car parts store!
Any bike shop should be able to do it - it’s the same as replacing the BB / crank save for the magnet spacer, which you can just throw on there. i.e. what you said in your post about option 2 is right on.
BB shell will be good old metal, so lube it up like it’s your first night in prison gen pop. In fact you need to coat everything in lube. At least twice. The Quarq comes pre-lubed, but add more. It’s all labelled on the installation instructions in the BB box (yes, the ones that incrorectly say to add spacers). But as well as the BB, then you need to lube the axle spline in several places so that it tightens properly and doesn’t have any play. The required torque (48Nm-54Nm IIRC) is way higher than you expect, so without a torque wrench, or at least having done it several times to get a feel is likely to end up loose. Oh, the BB install is even higher on the scale, there it’s basically as hard as you can (assuming you are a runner) or 50% max strength (if you’re a swimmer). A cyclist would have a torque wrench if you were about to ask.