New(ish) tandem (road) team in the Peach State (GA)!
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New(ish) tandem (road) team in the Peach State (GA)!
Hi and glad to finally make it over to bikeforums. My name is Mike and my stoker is Carin and we live NW of Atlanta. We've been riding a Fandango MTB Tandem for 1.5 years now and recently bought a well used and loved Trek T1000 to give road riding a try. I've been a long time road cyclist - 30+ years, but my stoker/Wife, Carin, doesn't have road experience. Our goal is to use the road tandem to train for mtb races, change of scenery and more time together!
When we acquired the Trek (thanks to Monica and Chris Judd), I brought it home and immediately stripped it down to the frame to assess the needs and wants. I'm a bit of a gear-junkie in that I like nice/quality components, ie, Thomson stems/posts, etc, so I knew I had some work to do. The frame was in excellent shape and it shined up very well once stripped and cleaned. However, all bearing surfaces were toast. Two new ISIS BB's, a new Cane Creek HS, rebuild of the cup/cone Shimano XT hubs were all in order. I had a couple of nice aluminum Bontrager bars in my parts bin that I wanted to use and, while we're at it, new bar tape, tires, cables/housings and tires.
A review of the Tiagra 3x9 sp shifters indicated that they had seen many, many miles, so I kept an eye out for a used brifter group on fleabay and elsewhere. I lucked into a complete, minus cranks, 105 10sp triple group for a couple hundred bucks, so I snapped it up. Since we're at it, I had one Thomson post and a correct length Thomson stem, so I found another used Thomson post and installed those.
Lastly was the search for a fork. The fork installed was a cyclocross fork of unknown name or geometry. The Trek tandem has an A-C measurement of 400 and a trail of 55, so I wanted to get close to that if possible. My Google-fu was strong and I found a brand new Bontrager Satellite Plus carbon tandem fork, NOS, at Wheel & Sprocket - $70. Yes, $70. The wind was blowing in my favor as everything else looked to be $400+ (Wound-UP, Co-Motion, etc.).
Anywho, she's built up and ready to ride. This morning is an inaugural 50-miler birthday ride for Alex Nutt, whom many here probably know. Should be a good time.
Nice to meet y'all and look forward to seeing some of you at an event or on the road.
Michael and Carin Hopton
When we acquired the Trek (thanks to Monica and Chris Judd), I brought it home and immediately stripped it down to the frame to assess the needs and wants. I'm a bit of a gear-junkie in that I like nice/quality components, ie, Thomson stems/posts, etc, so I knew I had some work to do. The frame was in excellent shape and it shined up very well once stripped and cleaned. However, all bearing surfaces were toast. Two new ISIS BB's, a new Cane Creek HS, rebuild of the cup/cone Shimano XT hubs were all in order. I had a couple of nice aluminum Bontrager bars in my parts bin that I wanted to use and, while we're at it, new bar tape, tires, cables/housings and tires.
A review of the Tiagra 3x9 sp shifters indicated that they had seen many, many miles, so I kept an eye out for a used brifter group on fleabay and elsewhere. I lucked into a complete, minus cranks, 105 10sp triple group for a couple hundred bucks, so I snapped it up. Since we're at it, I had one Thomson post and a correct length Thomson stem, so I found another used Thomson post and installed those.
Lastly was the search for a fork. The fork installed was a cyclocross fork of unknown name or geometry. The Trek tandem has an A-C measurement of 400 and a trail of 55, so I wanted to get close to that if possible. My Google-fu was strong and I found a brand new Bontrager Satellite Plus carbon tandem fork, NOS, at Wheel & Sprocket - $70. Yes, $70. The wind was blowing in my favor as everything else looked to be $400+ (Wound-UP, Co-Motion, etc.).
Anywho, she's built up and ready to ride. This morning is an inaugural 50-miler birthday ride for Alex Nutt, whom many here probably know. Should be a good time.
Nice to meet y'all and look forward to seeing some of you at an event or on the road.
Michael and Carin Hopton
Last edited by mthopton; 08-16-14 at 05:06 PM.
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Pictures?
My stoker and I spent eight years in Hot 'Lanta - rode single bikes with the SBL.
Didn't become a tandem team until 14 years after moving back home to IN. Wish we had done that earlier - would have enjoyed GA on a tandem.
My stoker and I spent eight years in Hot 'Lanta - rode single bikes with the SBL.
Didn't become a tandem team until 14 years after moving back home to IN. Wish we had done that earlier - would have enjoyed GA on a tandem.
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Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
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These two are awesome to hang out with and know how to ride in the dirt. Doubt they will have any trouble on pavement.
Say hi when you get your chance, two really nice people.
PK
Say hi when you get your chance, two really nice people.
PK
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Wow! What a GREAT job you have done bringing this thing up to, and beyond, OEM. Not sure we've seen a more tricked out Trek! What does she weigh, all in? Not that weight should be anything other than a talking point… Those tires look mighty skinny, are they 25s? We prefer 28's, but would probably prefer even wider if our frame/fork would take them. Looks like you could go 32, at least. Wish we could.
#6
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Mthopton, welcome to the skinny tire tandem world! Looks like you have yourself a nice ride!
It's ds2199 (Dan). Skinny tires, fat tires, whatever, we like riding together!!!
It's ds2199 (Dan). Skinny tires, fat tires, whatever, we like riding together!!!
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There is a thread in this forum titled something like How Much Does Your Tandem Weigh or similar that mentions the repainted Trek below. I don't recall the specific weight but it was fairly light. If you like skinny tires and a light bike on the cheap there is a lot of potential with the Trek Aluminum frame.
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Paul