mymojo

We just bought an older Trek T-100. It wasnt *exactly* the set up I wanted but for the price I figured it was a great starting point.

I'm pretty much a roadie which means the flat bars drive me nuts. Now, I have a take off groupo from my Allez just sitting in a box and was wondering if there was any reason I couldnt just install those spare parts and have drop bars & brifters?

bgross

In principle, no reason you can't do it.
You'll need to make sure that there is compatibility between between the diameter of the existing stem and your new bars, compatibility between the shifters/brifters and the deraileurs on the bike (SIS or friction?) and buy new cables.

Or you might just get used to the bars that are on the tandem now? We have straight bars on our Cannondale and drop bars on our Santana. I got familiar with the C'dale before the Santana came along and I was considering changing to straight bars on the Santana (the opposite of your situation). I found that it only takes a couple minutes to mentally adjust on any given day.
Because I ride a 'road bike' and a 'mountain bike' -- both on the road, I'm used to the two riding positions anyway and find that either one works just find on any given day.

Enjoy your new tandem!

nfmisso

If your Allez is 7 or 8 speed, should not be a problem at all. Our T50 came from the previous owner with drop bars:
https://forums.bicycletutor.com/thread-2920.html
and I switched to flat bars like my commuters. The bike accepts a standard 1 1/8" stem - I used Avenir 200 series; measure the T100 and your other bikes to figure out the length.
https://www.amazon.com/Avenir-61-27-2...ref=pd_sim_sg1
and I strongly suggest going with bars that have a 31.8mm center section due to greater rigidity.
for example:
https://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Flat-Ro...7571915&sr=1-6

With tandems; you end up steering a LOT more than with a solo bike; which turning is more leaning than steering. Due to that, you'll want wider bars than you have on your solo, and you shoulders will get more of a work out.

Trek's first tandems T50/T100/T200 are in my opinion there best; they have the same Cro-Mo frame and forks, decent sealed bearing wheels. They are very nice riding bikes, with no flex between the captain and the stoker - that big boom tube. Bill McCready, Founder and President of Santana; recommends them as a starter tandem.

mymojo

Thanks guys.

I guess i"ll give the flat bars & trigger shifters a chance. But I may at least go to bullhorns. I mean the ones that are on it are hideous and I really dont like their feel either. (see below)



But I've decided that the most important upgrades right now are the ones that address my wifes comfort to ensure she falls in love with this and continues to join me. Being a roadie, I'm kinda used to pain anyway (closet masochist). She's already says its 100 times more fun than a solo bike - so I want to do everything I can to encourage this.

To that end, while its in the shop getting a tune up, I'm having a Controltech stokers stem and bullhorns installed for her and I'm trolling the interwebz for a Thudbuster. Now I need to take her shopping for a couple of *cute* jerseys. Are there other products like the Thudbuster that I should be aware of as well?

Then after all of that I'm probably gonna get a quill to a-head converter and work on my captains handlebar position and then maybe revisit the dropbar/brifters idea.

rdtompki

If that is your stoker's actual seat height might be low for a Thudbuster LT, but ST (short throw) might work. Unless you want your jersey pockets abused (nothing wrong with that of course) a small handlebar bar bag or similar, turn around on the stoker's bars, is much appreciated. Several brands of wireless cyclometers work in tandem and stoker definitely needs to know how fast you're going downhill.

tredlodz

If you add drop bars, you pretty much have a T200, which is a nice bike. A T100 was the first tandem I owned and we rode it for over a year. I considered the drop bar upgrade, but didn't have the parts lying around. If we'd done it, I don't know how long it would have taken me to get a new frame.

Your stoker will very likely appreciate a shockpost, but even the ST thudbuster may be tight for clearance. If it doesn't fit, the Tamer is little more compact.

nfmisso

We started with a suspension seat post, and my wife decided that she like a non-suspension post better....

She does like her gel pad though.

We have a small handle bar bag for to store snacks, cell phone, wallet, etc, that she can reach while on her seat.

mymojo

I'm really glad for this forum. Al.l of these idea are going to mean we get up to speed a lot faster!

And, yeah, I've got a little handlebar bag for her. I saw another thread where someone said that taking the pictures was one of his stokers official jobs and that sounds like something that would probably add to my wifes fun.

Its funny. I just bought a Cervelo (yes, its everything I had heard it would be) but I am just as excited about this old tandem as I am about it.

Dean V

Just do what you can to make her happy and comfortable back there. Sort out your end later. You will need to do some riding on it anyway to figure out what sort of gearing you will need in the long term. That will determine what you will need in the future for derailleurs, brifters etc (triple or double chainrings, cassette range, derailleur cage length).

bgross

+1 on having the stoker's joy your first priority!

Our Cannondale has a shock-absorbing stoker seatpost, but our (older) Santana didn't. Since we were going to replace the stoker's saddle anyway, I got my bride a Brooks B67s [https://www.brooksengland.com/catalog...y+duty/B67+S/]. She wanted it in brown to match my B17. She LOVES it. It fits her anatomically, gives great support, and she never feels the bumps.
They say that Brooks saddles are like doctors: you either swear by them or swear at them. We both fall in the former category.

YMMV