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Joining the Club!

Old 02-01-21, 12:40 PM
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urbanknight
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Joining the Club!

Got my son into cycling, but the speed and distance difference was causing me to have to choose between a quality workout and father/son time. Still need to make some adjustments to it (timing chain is off by 1 tooth and that stem is super short) but we already got a 40 minute 8 mile inaugural ride under our belt and he is asking to go out again today. My wife and I have an over/under bet as to when he decides he's too cool to ride it anymore. She says 2 years (age 12) tops, but I'm hoping for more.
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Old 02-01-21, 12:48 PM
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Very cool. Enjoy!

FYI, it’s not unusual for the timing chain to be off by a tooth as a way to accommodate riders with different natural cadences.
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Old 02-01-21, 03:21 PM
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Very nice. Yes they do grow up and you won’t recognize them, and they won’t want to recognize you...
for a while, but they’ll come back. It’s worth it.

My stoker-wife likes to have her cranks two teeth ahead of mine, so that she can get her downstroke started before the pedal disappears from under her foot from mine. Some teams like to go 90 degrees out of phase to maximize this effect but most who do this say they can’t then stand together smoothly on hills.
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Old 02-01-21, 03:36 PM
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Originally Posted by conspiratemus1
My stoker-wife likes to have her cranks two teeth ahead of mine, so that she can get her downstroke started before the pedal disappears from under her foot from mine. Some teams like to go 90 degrees out of phase to maximize this effect but most who do this say they can’t then stand together smoothly on hills.
I was aware of the 90 degree setup, but hadn't thought about a reason to have the stoker just slightly ahead. It rides fine the way it is, so maybe I'll leave it just so I don't have to do any extra work.
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Old 02-02-21, 08:37 AM
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Originally Posted by urbanknight
I was aware of the 90 degree setup, but hadn't thought about a reason to have the stoker just slightly ahead. It rides fine the way it is, so maybe I'll leave it just so I don't have to do any extra work.
My wife rides 1 or 2 teeth *trailing* myself (my memory is fuzzy)

It's easy to experiment and find what works best for you.
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Old 02-02-21, 04:03 PM
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I got to thinking. I already have an 11-32 9 speed cassette, so I'm going to see if that will fit with the 105 derailleur. If that does work, I can get a 48t chainring to keep the chain wrap within reason and still have about the same top gear (plus we're not interested in breaking any speed records anyway), while dramatically reducing the low end since I know we're going to climb slowly. If it doesn't work, a Deore RD will take care of it.
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Old 02-03-21, 07:31 AM
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Welcome and enjoy your rides with your son. My guess is that he will want to ride with you until he is 14, but each child is different.
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Old 02-05-21, 01:47 AM
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When my son started riding on the back It was difficult as I wanted to work hard and he, well, was a kid. Then I told him to just relax and ride but to pour it on if I yelled “TURBO!” He seemed to enjoy it more after that, bragging to my wife hat he was a lightweight turbo motor. Enjoy!
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Old 02-05-21, 02:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Magnum PI
When my son started riding on the back It was difficult as I wanted to work hard and he, well, was a kid. Then I told him to just relax and ride but to pour it on if I yelled “TURBO!” He seemed to enjoy it more after that, bragging to my wife hat he was a lightweight turbo motor. Enjoy!
That’s awesome! So far, mine seems to do his fair share of work, sometimes less sometimes more. He is definitely the squirmiest stoker I have ever had though!
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