Quarq Bottom Bracket Conversion

Chrisrus13

Hi All

I’m looking at buying the new Quarq DZero for my Cannondale Synapse. As the bottom bracket on the Cannondale is BB30 standard I will buy the correct one to fit this.

What I’m worried about is that if I change my frame in the near future I don’t fancy splashing out another £600+ on a new power meter. Will I be able to buy a different set of cranks and switch the spider over?

Thanks in advance

Chris

teebs_123

Chrisrus13 wrote:

Hi All

I’m looking at buying the new Quarq DZero for my Cannondale Synapse. As the bottom bracket on the Cannondale is BB30 standard I will buy the correct one to fit this.

What I’m worried about is that if I change my frame in the near future I don’t fancy splashing out another £600+ on a new power meter. Will I be able to buy a different set of cranks and switch the spider over?

Thanks in advance

Chris

Would've thought you'd just need an adapter depending what the new frame was.

I've just picked up a Dzero, looks like a good bit of equipment..

buckmulligan

Theoretically yes, the spider is independent of the cranks and it's the same for both BB30 and GXP versions.

In practice, getting hold of a new pair of cranks might prove difficult and costly. I went with the GXP version for this reason, it offers the greatest flexbility seeing as you can buy an adapter to convert almost any BB to GXP.

Chrisrus13

Teebs_123 wrote:

Chrisrus13 wrote:

Hi All

I’m looking at buying the new Quarq DZero for my Cannondale Synapse. As the bottom bracket on the Cannondale is BB30 standard I will buy the correct one to fit this.

What I’m worried about is that if I change my frame in the near future I don’t fancy splashing out another £600+ on a new power meter. Will I be able to buy a different set of cranks and switch the spider over?

Thanks in advance

Chris

Would've thought you'd just need an adapter depending what the new frame was.

I've just picked up a Dzero, looks like a good bit of equipment..

I cant wait to get mine ordered, you used Quarq before?

Chrisrus13

BuckMulligan wrote:

Theoretically yes, the spider is independent of the cranks and it's the same for both BB30 and GXP versions.

In practice, getting hold of a new pair of cranks might prove difficult and costly. I went with the GXP version for this reason, it offers the greatest flexbility seeing as you can buy an adapter to convert almost any BB to GXP.

Cheers Buck

I thought about going down this route but someone told me a while ago that if you use an adapter on a BB30 then its in the frame for life?

What adapter did you use, did you notice any difference and does it creak?

sloppyschleckonds

Chrisrus13 wrote:

someone told me a while ago that if you use an adapter on a BB30 then its in the frame for life?

That someone needs shooting

teebs_123

Chrisrus13 wrote:

Teebs_123 wrote:

Chrisrus13 wrote:

Hi All

I’m looking at buying the new Quarq DZero for my Cannondale Synapse. As the bottom bracket on the Cannondale is BB30 standard I will buy the correct one to fit this.

What I’m worried about is that if I change my frame in the near future I don’t fancy splashing out another £600+ on a new power meter. Will I be able to buy a different set of cranks and switch the spider over?

Thanks in advance

Chris

Would've thought you'd just need an adapter depending what the new frame was.

I've just picked up a Dzero, looks like a good bit of equipment..

I cant wait to get mine ordered, you used Quarq before?

No, previously had a Stages & Powertap P1, so looking forward to using it. All the reports are positive about Quarq

Chrisrus13

Out of interest what made you go off the stages? That was my other choice, but I watched the bike radar review of them all and agreed with them... If you're spending that much why not stick the extra £100ish in and have dual sided.

teebs_123

Chrisrus13 wrote:

Out of interest what made you go off the stages? That was my other choice, but I watched the bike radar review of them all and agreed with them... If you're spending that much why not stick the extra £100ish in and have dual sided.

I got my stages when they first came out, tried it for a while and sold for what I paid for it. Nothing wrong with my unit, but there's been plenty of horror stories more recently.

The P1's were pretty much a nightmare from day 1, luckily Wiggle fully refunded me

But yes, you may as well get a proper PM if you're going to get one. Should be solid.

proto

Had the same dilemma when I bought a Quarq elsa 18 months ago. Went for GXP, initially fitted in a Dogma (Italian BB) and the a Trek BB90. Note BB30 cranks won't mate with a BB90 bottom bracket, can't be done.

The Elsa has been faultless, and just bought a carbon Quarq DZero, again GXP. Bought mine from Merlin, less than £700 with loyalty discount.

As above, no problem removing a BB30/BSA frame adaptor. There are several different makers and designs and none of them are permanent.

cal_stewart

Anyone having drama with there dzero dropping power in the first minute and then reading around 30-20 watts low?

buckmulligan

No, the only disappointment I have with mine is the cadence reading jumping all over the place. For example, if I'm trying to hold a cadence of 90 rpm my old Garmin GSC-10 would read 89-91, whereas the Quarq AxCad flickers between maybe 87-93. Doesn't sound like a huge difference, but it's annoying and distracting to see it all over the shop.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Chrisrus13

proto wrote:

Had the same dilemma when I bought a Quarq elsa 18 months ago. Went for GXP, initially fitted in a Dogma (Italian BB) and the a Trek BB90. Note BB30 cranks won't mate with a BB90 bottom bracket, can't be done.

The Elsa has been faultless, and just bought a carbon Quarq DZero, again GXP. Bought mine from Merlin, less than £700 with loyalty discount.

As above, no problem removing a BB30/BSA frame adaptor. There are several different makers and designs and none of them are permanent.

Any chance you could let me know how much the Alloy version is with the loyalty discount from Merlin? The website just says 'Discounts of between 2.5% and 15% off selected brands.'

I'm also upgrading my Garmin to an Edge 1000, so I may get the Garmin from Merlin first to become a Gold member.

teebs_123

Can't comment on accuracy issues with mine, it's not been on the road yet

I paid just over £600 for mine through Sigma Sport, recommended.

proto

Chrisrus13 wrote:

Any chance you could let me know how much the Alloy version is with the loyalty discount from Merlin? The website just says 'Discounts of between 2.5% and 15% off selected brands.'

I'm also upgrading my Garmin to an Edge 1000, so I may get the Garmin from Merlin first to become a Gold member.

My mistake, it was a Black Friday discount, 10%, not a loyalty discount, which is only applicable to certain brands/products.

Currently, it looks like Quarq is not eligible for additional loyalty discount, so the price on their site is the price you pay, i.e. £623.50 for alum Dzero. (discounted 10% from rrp)

Always found Merlin super efficient, my first choice mail order supplier.

PS I'd always recommend gettin the 110BCD version, Then you can fit any rings you like 50/34, 52/36 or 53/39. Note Quarq does not come with rings. I've fitted Praxis on the Elsa and some SRAM (Red?) on the Dzero.

There is the option of the 'hidden bolt' design. I'd avoid, as it limits the rings options a bit.

Chrisrus13

proto wrote:

Chrisrus13 wrote:

Any chance you could let me know how much the Alloy version is with the loyalty discount from Merlin? The website just says 'Discounts of between 2.5% and 15% off selected brands.'

I'm also upgrading my Garmin to an Edge 1000, so I may get the Garmin from Merlin first to become a Gold member.

My mistake, it was a Black Friday discount, 10%, not a loyalty discount, which is only applicable to certain brands/products.

Currently, it looks like Quarq is not eligible for additional loyalty discount, so the price on their site is the price you pay, i.e. £623.50 for alum Dzero. (discounted 10% from rrp)

Always found Merlin super efficient, my first choice mail order supplier.

PS I'd always recommend gettin the 110BCD version, Then you can fit any rings you like 50/34, 52/36 or 53/39. Note Quarq does not come with rings. I've fitted Praxis on the Elsa and some SRAM (Red?) on the Dzero.

There is the option of the 'hidden bolt' design. I'd avoid, as it limits the rings options a bit.

Thanks for the advice, that was the next thing on my list to look at. I was thinking of going down the 110BCD route to start with as I can use my current FSA ones until I get some nicer rings. I may even give Q-Rings ago :P

cal_stewart

Q rings are a pain as you need the get the ocp3 versions and the only outer they do is a 50t, I'm running Osymetics for this reason. My cadence holds steady, think there's a few firmware issues as I'm currently on a beta firmware. Joys of being an early adopter, to be fair there customer service is good just the time difference pita.

buckmulligan

That's interesting. I don't even know if I'm running the latest firmware, I should really check that before I rant too much!

Chrisrus13

Hi guys

I decided to just get the BB30 version in the end as I'll probably get another Cannondale.

Now I have the problem of which way round the spacers go, I got 1 that's bolted onto to the end, the thin one, a larger metal one, and a bag with BB386 hardware on it so i assume I don't need that.

I offered it up with the big spacer on the non drive side and it didn't look right so I backed out of that. I then stuck it on the drive side, it looks more more like it should be there, but the chain tries to run half on the little ring so I assume its out of line with the rear cassette.

Any ideas which way they should go? I assume I need spacers as its longer to accommodate BB30A.

The last pic is the old one.

Cheers

Chrisrus13

Ok it turns out the way I had it was correct, but I've notcied that I must have over tightened the chain ring bolts or something, as the little ring is slightly warped