Anyone out there (Dan, others?) know offhand the seattube angle of the older QRs? I’m not sure of the date, sometime in the 90s, but it is an old Tequilo with the all black paint job. My wife is upgrading the frame and we’re considering keeping the frame and turning it into a quasi-road bike for training. Not ideal geometry I’m sure, but it would probably work out alright if the angle is not too steep. Thoughts?
Chris
78 degrees. Before Dan sold the company, the Kilo line (Kilo, Te’quilo and Kilo PR) were 650c and 78 degree seat angle.
K.
The original QR (The Superform) had an 80 degree seat angle. AFAIK all the newer ones are 78.
You could measure it yourself. A big piece of white card stock, some long very straight rulers, a precise mechanical pencil, and a decent protractor should do it.
I have a late 90’s (maybe '98?) Tequillo. I haven’t measured it myself but the dealer told me when I bought it that it was 78 deg.
As for thoughts: building up a bare frame always ends up costing twice what you think it will, even when you think “I have all the parts I need sitting around.” I’ve done it 3 times and each time I ended up with a bike I really liked (because I got to spec it and build it completely myself) but each of them came with a price tag I liked a lot less.
Who owns the QR company now?
I owned the QR Volt that I bought in Europe in 95 (?). 650c which I am fairly certain was also 78 degrees. That was a great bike although it had entry level components that became the reason for me selling it after countless LD races on it.
Volt was a German only model according to Slowman. I can’t remember what it was called in the real world tho’.
I had the second last QR Special Edition (steel) one Dan made. Cracked the frame in a crash 
I loved that bike. Wicked fast downhill.
Replaced it with a Cervelo P2K so I can’t really say I downgraded can I 
Why would they make a German only model? Was there something particular about that market? Back in those days there were only two models of QR I could buy in Europe - the Kilo and the Volt, both aluminum. I do remember seeing a Special Edition model but I can’t remember the year, 98?
I have blonde hair so don’t quote me on details. I THINK it had something to do with the German distributor having some strange arrangement with Dan. The Volt might have been a licenced version of a real QR, made in Taiwan or something, with the distributor paying Dan a fee, but they weren’t American built ones?
The SE’s (mine at least) were steel, same geometry as the Kilo range. They were more expensive to build, but could only sell for less money because the market was running to the aluminum “holy grail” at the time. Cheap alu bikes basically drove them out of the market apparently. The steel tubes for the SE were top of the range Italian stuff, but I forget the exact type. Wonderful handling bike, comfy and very nearly as light as the Kilos.
Since mine was the seond last SE (224 of 225 from memory) made, and I bought it in late '95 Iwould suspect that if you saw a new one in '98, it probably had quite a bit of dust on it, from sitting around a while. Mine was black, but they also came in white. (only two colours I know of). It had a wavy US flag on the top tube, which I covered with a small Canadian Flag sticker. The red and white went really well with the black frame.
Now I have to go and have a wee cry. I miss my SE…
There have been four recently on Ebay, all too small for me. But one of them was in a great red, white and blue paint scheme. Sigh. For lack of a nice steel tri-rig, Serotta CX-II and their insane paint upgrade charges notwithstanding.
There are still some late model 90’s Tequilos to be had out there, the ones that were maroon in front and yellow in the stays. It’s tempting. Very tempting indeed given that Ves most likely welded them. 650 wheels, though, in spite of the innane discussions here of late, are still a bit hard to come by.
And then there’s the real, valid issue of true bike build costs. Still…I’m a-huntin’ fer a noooo project.
Dan, if you’re listening, I’d love to hear about some of your final designs just before you left the biz. More stories about the trials and tribs of OEM spec’ing and such in addition to tubing selection, etc. There are still some purists geeks out there, you know.
Scott
Our SE, which is still in action. It has the number SE 128 on the bottom of the frame. There is a label on the seatpost tube “Pacific Tube Co. PATCO Made in USA” Any theories on what the “128” is?
Ahhhhhh the good old days…I have owned 3 different QR’s …loved them.
anyone remember the Superform with a “Roadkill” paint scheme?..excellent!
I think for the most part the big production runs of the late 90’s were all 78. This was their big difference in their marketing. I’ve got a 2001 Teq. and love it.
You’re right '98 is wrong. Thinking back to another life I am picturing my friend from Europe who was pictured in Triathlon Magazine riding it on Queen K highway during IMH '97. So by then he had owned that SE bike at least one season if not two.
The SE was a steel frame? I never knew that.
Major problem I always had with my QR 650c was keeping it tuned up. The gearing was extremely sensitive and it took a really experienced technician to be able to get it just right.
Please don’t post any more pics. It makes me too sad
128? No idea. Sorry.
I notice Ultegra cranks. Mine came with QR branded cranks. One broke after a low speed crash so I had to replace them with Ultegra.
One of the main reasons I got the SE was the steel frame. I have a trashed back and comfort is a major issue for me. Also, Dan gave me a great deal on it. I wasn’t keen on getting an aluminum bike because I was about to move here to New Zealand. The roads here are really coarse chip-seal (tar and gravel) I knew I would need the forgiving nature of a nice steel frame. I still have no idea how so many Cannondales and Kleins got sold here and how many C’dales still get sold.
I never had any difficulty with shifiting with my SE. After I cracked my SE I replaced it with a P2K frame and many of the old QR bits went on it. Wheels, front and rear deraillers (8speed) bars, bottle cages etc. I did put in a new BB and got new aero bars (the original syntace C2’s were too short for me) but I’ve kept the 8 speed gripshift. I’ve tried those little flippy bar end shifters and I like the grip shift way better.
I threw out my SE but in hindsight I should have cleaned it up and kept it for my growing bicycle collection. Hindsight is a bummer.
I still have my old QR Superform. Bought it at the end of the 1992 season and raced it up to 2002. It’s grey with red&white splatter on it. Made with Tange Prestige tubing. It’s still a great bike and I have it at the cottage for training. I built it up with Scott DH handlebars and Flite Controls shifter mounts.
No way that bike is ever going in the garbage or being sold.
I just traded a friend a pair of old 600 STI levers for a pair of DH bars. Why?? Because I want to build up an original type Tri bike for my museum collection. (cheaper than ferraris!).
“Her indoors” thinks I’m nuts. She might be right, but I don’t agree just yet.
That’s the beauty of steel, it’ll last forever. Heck I even have a spare spagetti (Scott DH) in the basement for replacement if I need too
I’m thinking of doing a race with that bike wearing the old Insport/Dave Scott outfit and see the looks on the faces 
Steel will NOT last forever. Mine rusted through in several places. It was after years of riding along the seashore roads around here, but being only 0.4m think in places!, what looked like just a bit of surface rust was actually critical structural failure! When I took it in to have the rust looked after, and repainted, that’s when several cracks (from a crash) were found. Bugger. I kept the frame for several years, but the memories got too much so I threw it out. Stupid in hindsight but we all make mistakes.
Insport? Yeehaa!
I have some (faded, but they were offesively electric when new) Insport shorts that are great!
Flouro orange, with a white mesh down the side of the legs, with some weird multicoloured feathers! as the main pattern of the body of the short. Thin fleece pad in the crotch. Gripper legs and shorter than bike shorts.
Easily the most comfortable shorts I’ve ever run in. Not padded enough for me for IM distance but great for anything less.
is that type of short still available anywhere? (without the hideous colours of course