Conference noted::bicycle

    I have a friend with a C'dale tandem.  He's always having to replace the
    headset.
    
    Last evening my drum brake started dragging so I disengaged it. 
    Shortly thereafter we hit 47 mph.  Imagine how fast we could have gone
    if I took it off the bike and threw it away like the new Santanas.  :-)
    
    ed

    
    1. My wife & I ride a Santana, and I've captained a C'dale for a
       friend.  The C'dale rode like a rail, in every sense.  I thought
       it was an unpleasantly stiff ride (and this is in front), but
       a blast in the corners or when accelerating.  I think our bike
       is far superior for touring & casual riding, but for a team
       interested in racing or general blazing, the C'dale wouldn't be a
       bad choice.
    
    2. You can have wheels built on a new Santana with a hub brake.  The
       Arai is easier to install on most hubs, and ours has worked great.
       Most other manufacturers/dealers will probably also sell you the
       hub brake as an original item.  I strongly recommend buying a hub
       that is pre-threaded rather than getting into fabricating parts.
       The quality of Phil Wood or Specialized tandem hubs is hard to
       beat, and they'll last an eternity.
    
    3. Burley makes a kid kit; I think Phil Wood does too.  They show up
       used in the tandem club newsletter periodically.
    
    4. The Tandem Club of America is great.  The newsletter comes out every
       other month.  The new one has 5 or 6 really nice bikes at reasonable
       prices, and another 3 or 4 "entry level" bikes.  Dues are $14/yr.
       I don't have the address in front of me - I'll post it later.
    
    Your plan is sound.  The tandem made cycling far more fun for my wife
    and I.  We're just starting to trailer our daughter, and still enjoying
    it.  Buying a high quality bike (used, if possible) will make it
    relatively easy to be satisfied forever or sell it, as you choose.
    
    The TCA newsletter recently had an article about a guy who did a century
    ride with his 7-year old daughter stoking.  It sounded like a lot of
    fun for both of them.
    
    Happy trails...
    
    Will Monin
    Seattle
    

    Thanks for the responses.  I would like to join the Tandem club, this
    would be the best source for info.  
    
    BTW, a member of my bike club, Seven Hills Wheelman, has a friend with
    a Santana Arriva for sale, $1,000.  22/20" about 500 miles on it.
    Unfortunately we need a 23/19.  The bike is in Florida, but will
    be coming to Worcester if there is enough interest.
    
    steve

    This may be a little late but here it goes...
    
    I just came back from the Duet Cycling Classic in Eugene Oregon.  There
    were many "narly" tandems there.  My h.o.:  Stay away from Cannondale
    and especially Santana.  In the middle of a 42 mile road race, we
    caught up to a team on a C'dale.  The frame was squeeking a lot.  Ended
    up that there was a problem in the head tube/set.  There were 2 racing
    teams with Santana Team tandems ($5000 - top of the line).  Both were
    p*ssed with the bike and the company.  Multiple delivery promises were
    never met; the "all C-Record" bike wasn't; the geometry was supposed to
    be like the Noventa but wasn't; the paint was a beautiful pearl white but
    not properly cured and poorly applied.
    
    The bottom line:  If you are set on a Santana, buy a Noventa.  Else, I
    would consider a Co-motion (Eugene, OR).  Their tandems have a second
    set of "stays" that start at the captain's seat tube and end at the
    bottom of the real seat stays.  Gives a whole other plane.  Other
    tandems:  Land Shark (Medford, OR) - the captain is the builder/owner
    and specializes in singles (great paint job); Colnago (awesome) and, of
    course, Burley (although they don't actually make the frames).
    
    Eric_who_still_likes_his_Marinoni_best...

    Thanks.  I am not buying immediately, probably nearer to the winter. 
    Cannondale does not recommend the extender cranks for kids, so that
    is out.  
    
    Did you see any Rodriguez or Ibis?  These were also recommended by
    Bruce Gordon who built my wife's bike.
    
    steve

    I saw 2 Rodriguez aluminum and 1 steel.  I would certain look into a
    Rodriguez as well - looks good.
    
    Sorry, no IBIS.
    
    Eric

    My husband and I have a Rodriguez that we bought last summer, and we've
    been having a blast on it!

    If you want to ask any technical questions about it (especially about
    the drum brake, etc.) I could pass them along to him.

    We haven't had any problems with the bike, except with the rear hub/
    spokes/drum brake.  I'd have to ask him for details.

    - Diane

    
           Another builder of tandem frames is Franklin - somewhere
        in the midwest I think. Last time I checked, their framesets
        ran in the ~$1400 range. Talk to Fritz at his shop in Worcester
        (Fritz's Bike Shop) for details - he and his wife ride one.
    
                                               Steve

    
    Sorry for the delay.  To join the Tandem Club of America, send $10. to
    
    Malcolm Boyd & Judy Allison
    19 Lakeside Drive
    Medford, NJ 08055
    
    Best ten bucks you'll ever spend on bike stuff.  The newsletter is
    bi-monthly, usually about 20 pages long.  It's very non-commercial;
    all articles are contributed by members and production is done on a
    volunteer basis.  The tandem classifieds and ride calendars are worth
    the cost by themselves.
    
    
    Re- the last few replies...
    
    Rodriguez lives in Seattle and builds *beautiful* machines.  I've never
    ridden one, but they have a great reputation here.  He will do
    custom work, too.  I would recommend that over the Santana Noventa if
    your objective is to spend big bucks.
    
    A used Santana Arriva can be bought as a built bike for $1750. or so,
    and will probably hold that value for a long, long time.   The pre-1989
    bikes still had Columbus tubesets, identical to the Sovereign except
    for detailing in the finish work and paint. For a good all-round bike,
    it will be very difficult to beat that price/performance ratio after
    cost of ownership is factored in.  Sort of like buying Digital gear, I
    suppose :-) .
    
    Just don't put it off too long - tandems are really fun.  I wish we had
    bought ours sooner, and spent less time trying to analyze and engineer
    our way into the "right" bike.  As it turned out for us, frame size is
    far less important than on a single, so decent wheels and a reasonably
    solid frame are about all that really mattered.
    
    Will Monin
    Seattle
      
                                                   

    re:.9  Thanks for the input. 
    
    Not waiting because of analyzing equipment.  Need physical space
    in our house to put it!  
    
    steve

    Well, we finally did it.  Saturday we came home with a used Santana
    Sovereign.  Not exactly what I expected to buy when I started the
    process, but buying used saved me a lot of $$$.  The bike is 9
    years old, but only about 1000 miles on it (ridden by an old friend).
    I will now upgrade the deraillers to SIS and put Scott self-energizing
    rear brake on it.  Othewise it is not any different than new ones.
    
    Yesterday's ride was great.  For the first time in 3 years I did a 
    substantial ride with my wife and we both came home appropriately
    tired.  The rides we had been doing together after the kids came were
    a bit light for me, so this alone was worth the purchase.
    
    Any cheap mailorder sources for tandem basic parts would be
    appreciated.  
    
    steve

    Tandem and  cheap  don't go together. Most parts on a tandem these
    days are standard bike parts. For the few tandem only pieces, join
    the  Tandem  Club of America (address in .9), and check the ads in
    there.  The  newsletter  editor  (Jack  Goetz) runs a small tandem
    parts shop.

    Incidentally, we  haven't found a need for self-energizing brakes.

--David

    Forgive my interest, What are self energizing brakes ?
    
    rod

    Self Energizing  brakes  (often called "SE") are cantilever brakes
    designed  so  that  a  forward force on the pad is translated to a
    force towards the rim. The idea is that when you apply the brakes,
    the  rim  will try to drag the brake pads forward, and that energy
    can  be  used  to  increase  the  braking force by moving the pads
    closer to the rim.

    It is  supposed  to give greater braking force without tiring your
    hands  out.  I've  never  used them, so I don't know how well they
    work.

    Yes, it's  a  positive  feedback  loop,  so  it has to be adjusted
    carefully.  They're  not  recommended for use on front wheels, for
    that reason.

--David

    re: .12 We are in the process of joining the Tandem Club of America.  I
    am looking forward to it.  I am now getting the few changes I want on
    the bike for our vacation in a couple of weeks.  
    
    I ordered a few parts from Tandem's East in NJ.  They seemed good over
    the phone and the prices were reasonable.  They even make a special
    converter for our Burley bugger to allow it clamp on with the hub
    brake!
    
    RE:.13 I am not sure how a self engergizing brake actually works.  I 
    have heard that the Scott system is really good, more solid feel than
    Shimano.
    
    steve

Hi,

For those interested, Fitness Magazine has an article on tandems.  They 
interviewed a few tandem riders/owners including my partner and fellow-DECCIE,
Nancy Lind.  The best part of the article is the sentence where they mention my
name!!  Star for 15 minutes!!

Eric

PS On the same note, Nancy is moving to France (Annecy - in the Alps, lucky her)
so I will be looking for a new stoker that is stupid enough to trust my driving
(3 years of offensive driving in Saudi Arabia qualifies me as a "survivor").
Anybody (male or female) interested in racing a tandem, let me know.  
DTN: 227-3969

    Legend has it that there's a very competitive, athletic, blind female
    who is looking for a tandem driver and that she lives in the Boston
    area.  If she hasn't given up on us yet she might still be here.
    
    I'll see if I can find her name but she inquired of several bike clubs
    so peerhaps someone else remembers the inquiries and come up with a
    name faster than I.
    
    I don't think your neon handle bars will impress her very much though.
    
    :-)
    
    ed

    Eric... WELCOME BACK!!!!!!
    
       Chip

Yea, I know, I haven't been keeping up but work is getting in the way ;-)  I 
don't thank that it will let up much either so I apologize for not sticking up 
for you, Chip, when you get hassled about your titanium habit...


Eric

    I am having a slight problem with my Santana.  I have the Sach/Maillard
    freewheel and I am having problems with the chain jumping on the 3rd
    and 4th cog.  When I take it out of index mode, it is slightly better.
    I know that this freewheel is not the best made to begin with, however
    I am stuck of what to go with on a Deore XT drive train.  Dura-ace
    freewheels do not go to 30 teeth. 
    
    Equipment is nearly new, no tight links, etc. 
    
    Ideally I would like to someday go with the Ibis/Hugi hub and use the
    new XTR 8 speed cassettes but it is big $$$.  Any experience with this
    system would be appreciated.
    
    steve  
    
    

    Does anyone have an address or phone # for Tandems east in N.J. ??
    I need parts for a Sturmey Archer rear drum brake, and I cannot locate
    them anywhere....
    
    Or, can you steer me to ant Sturmey Archer parts supplier.....???
    
    Thanks
    
    Jerry
    
    

    
    Please, if anyone can help/point me to a parts supplier. I broke the
    shoe accuator on the rear drum of a Sturmey Archer brake setup and
    I cannot locate any place that has replacement or rebuild parts. 
    
    Or ...does anyone have an old S/A drum brake to sell  ???  
    
    I have already tried:  Phil Wood, Cal. 
                           Darby Cycle, Cal.
                           Allied Cycle,  Ma.
                           Island Bicycle, Minn.
                           Seattle Bike Supply, Wash.
                           Pearsons Saddles, ?
                           Quality Bike Parts, /
    
    Gotta be help out there somewhere..........
    
    Thanx,
    
    Jerry
                           
    
    

Hi Jerry,

I can't help you directly but I can give you a pointer that may produce 
a good contact.

   Haggett's Bike Shop, Concord, N.H.  603-228-0565

  
Talk to the owner Fred McGlaughlin  (I know I spelled his last name incorrectly)

He has recently worked with a couple who had a custom tandem built. It's
quite a machine with a drum brake front brake front and rear so they could
have a shock absorbing fork up front...

There are a bunch of us in the Granite State Wheelmen with tandems. I can 
try contacting some of them, if that would be helpful. 

- Dani

    Thanks for the connection I will call him today, and yes on asking
    around the "tandem" riders for any assistance. I am new to this and
    appreciate any/all help.
    
    I had not gone a mile on the new tandem when the brake snapped....
    assembly error !! Tiny part, but impossible to find anywhere.
    
    Thanks again,
    
    Jerry  

    Old note but........
    
    I'm looking to rent (or borrow) a tandem.
    1) to see if my wife and I would "enjoy" riding one.
    2) if 1) works out, to ride this year Pan-Mass Challenge on one.
    
    Does any have a recommendation as to where we could rent?  (Keeping in
    mind I live in Franklin, MA and work in Shrewsbury.  Ie I don't really
    want to go to NH or Colorado Springs.  ;-) )
    
    Better yet if anyone had one they would like to loan out. (I'm not a
    novice cyclist. I know how to take of a bike!)
    
    
    	Thanks, Tim
      

    Lincoln Guide Service rents them, although they are probably hybrid
    style.  
    
    steve