Thanks for the detailed and helpful responses. We are 30+ years into riding tandems and on our third tandem. With our first tandem (Trailmate cruiser), we rode no more than once or twice a week and a LBS did maintenance. We bought our second tandem (Trek T900) from a LBS walking distance from where we live. So, that LBS did most maintenance, but not always cheerfully. They frequently had to order the parts and were less than enthusiastic about working on a large bike that took up a lot of room. So, I started doing some things myself. We bought our current tandem (DaVinci Grand Junction) from House of Tandems in Spring, TX. They are great, but not even in my state. I have a second LBS walking distance away. It's a one-man shop and he is good to deal with. But, he has a small shop and can only deal with a tandem when he's got the time and space. So, I have gradually tried to acquire tools and learn how to do more. We ride every day. So, things are going to wear. Unfortunately, I have limited time to work on our tandem. One of the reasons we keep our Trek T900 as a backup is for when it takes me a while to get to doing maintenance on the Grand Junction.
I will get a "Chain Wear Indicator" and start staying on top of when the chains need to be replaced. I didn't get to measuring the chains tonight. I'll try to get to that tomorrow and check out the front chain ring. The detailed information on what to check really helps.