johnmc_76

Long time lurker, first post. We've owned our Viaggio since 2012 and put a couple thousand miles on it. We've upgraded nearly every part on the bike since we've had it. We replaced the brakes and saddles first, then the shifters, derailleurs, and bars, and finally the wheels. It rides pretty nice for such a cheap tandem.

About four years ago, I purchased new Truvativ Elita cranks for it, but never got around to putting them on. In June, my wife had her left knee replaced, and is having the right one done in a couple weeks. I figured that would be a good time to swap the cranks, so we can have it ready when she's able to ride in the Spring. I also figured that when we replace the cranks would be the perfect time to try to eliminate that noisy little idler wheel. I figured I'd be the Guinea pig and purchased a Trickstuff Exzentriker eccentric bottom bracket. Since it's made for 24mm Shimano cranks, I also had to purchase a shim to reduced the non-drive side of the crank to 22mm. I'm hoping it will work. ��

The total cost, including the tool required to install it was about $170. Once we complete this final phase of our upgrades, we will have nearly $2k in our Viaggio, which would almost buy you a 'real' tandem. Of course, we have been enjoying ours for six years and, at that point, it will be pretty darned real.

Paul J

go to the introductions section and welcome new people to get to your ten.

johnmc_76

We finally got around to installing Trickstuff Exzentriker eccentric bottom bracket on our Viaggio.
It took some fiddling to get it installed, but well worth the effort. It's so much quieter without the little tension sprocket. It always sounded like I was between gears before, now it runs very smooth.

I won't go into a lot of details, but anyone with questions can ask them here or PM me.

bakerjw

Our Giordano is still going strong. I recently upgraded to a Shimano 105 3x10 drivetrain and it made a big difference.
I am still waiting on our new custom frame to arrive to replace this one.

johnmc_76

We replaced our drivetrain early on with Tiagra 3x9 shifters, 105 front and Deore LX rear derailleurs. I didn't care much for the Sora stuff that came on it. I kinda like the Tiagra shifters on the tandem since they have the indicators on the hoods showing what gear you're in. It's harder to glance down and look when the derailleurs are so far behind you.

johnmc_76

Here's our Viaggio with the recent upgrades: