72andsunny

The kids are riding their own bikes and I’m in the process of having a quad built (or rather, I’ll be in the process as soon as I hand over some money). In the meantime, I thought I would get the old Santana back into riding shape. It has has had a long, long sit in the garage.

First up was new pedals. Finally got rid of the Look Deltas, that were going out of style when we started wearing them. Two sets of Frogs. They’re exquisite. And mountain shoes.

While putting on the pedals, I noticed a broken rear spoke. Mechanic recommended having the wheels relaced as apparently, spokes wear out even if all they’re doing is looking pretty. I’ve been meaning to learn to build wheels. Hopefully, I can put it off until we have the new bike.

Out on our reunion voyage, I noticed my stem is way too long. If memory serves, it appeared on my bike during a tour of Tuscany, or somewhere (Bill Mccready having switched it with some short person’s bike under cover of darkness then telling me he’d get me another one if I didn’t like it. I must have gotten used to it, as I didn’t complain and still have it, and probably too many years have passed for me to ask for the old one back.) I’m much older and probably less bendy and I’ve recently been riding a more upright single. Can someone tell me if I’m measuring the stem correctly? Does this look like 110mm? Gear to Go tandems lists that as an available length. I believe it’s 1.25” x 25.4 mm. If there’s anyone still on this forum that has 15 year old Santana
specs memorized, now’s your time to shine. Gear-To-Go Tandem Bicycles

Also to be done: Two sets of handlebar tape, purchased six months ago. My seat appears to be shedding as much as the handlebars, but maybe if I wear only black shorts, I can live with that. Shimano Flight Deck powers up, but doesn’t seem to do anything. Tires look new, and I think have only been on the bike for four years. If I don’t post again, something catastrophic happened. The stoker has informed me that helmets aren’t meant to last into their second decade... is anyone using a Sena Smart Helmet? https://www.sena.com/cycling/smart-helmet

quemazon

Yeah, I'd call that about a 110mm. I replaced my santa 110mm stem a few months ago with an 80mm, 30deg riser. It's much more comfortable. I also replaced the bars with Salsa cowchippers, and everything feels more stable and under control on the fast descents.

Giant makes (or made?) 1 1/4" stems that fit santana steer tubes and are a fair bit cheaper than the Santana version. You can find them on ebay as "GIANT Contact OD2 Stem 1 1/4". They're burly and plenty strong for tandem use.

72andsunny

Those Giant stems are certainly priced right. Looks like they only make them for a 31.8 mm handlebar. So either I’d need to replace my handlebars or use a shim. Does anyone have an old Santana stem sitting around their garage they’d like to unload cheap? $80+ for a new one is outrageous.

In other news, handlebar tape replaced. I was going to remove the Flight Deck, but it appears I no longer have the inserts that go in its place under the hoods. Before I elected to just cut the wires, I fooled around with the contacts and it now seems to be working.

JanMM

I was able to track down a metric/inch tape measure in a home center a few years ago - comes in handy on occasion - but somewhat hard to find in the American Heartland.

72andsunny

I’m pretty much done with my refresh. This post is mainly for my records, so someday I’ll remember when I last worked on the bike.

About 2 miles after having the spoke replaced, another one broke. I had the local bike shop relace the wheel. I was a little worried when the mechanic said he had never seen so many spokes. $1 a spoke plus $80 labor—Island prices, but it’s been holding up over 40 miles thus far. I then turned attention to the various drive train noises. I added a Wolftooth Roadlink to keep the derailleur off the big cog. That was about $22 shipped. Swapped the front and rear timing chain rings. (Shockingly, I had a chain ring tool that I think Bud’s Bikes gave me after we demonstrated our ineptness with installing the quick release cranks in their shop.) I had thought the worst noise was from the suspension seat post, but my stoker suggested it might be her seat rails failing. I removed the original Terry Butterfly and replaced it with a slightly newer (and cheaper) Terry seat off her unused single and the noise is gone. She can pick out a new seat if she wants one.

One more upgrade. I purchased a couple of Sena R1 helmets. I’ll give a full review after we get the quad. The brief version is; they’re kind of neat. If you want to listen to shared music while riding (the speakers are above your ears), and don’t mind your music tinny, it’s a nice benefit. Also: They’re noticeably heavier than a non-smart helmet.

17 mile ride this evening. I don’t remember this bike ever running this smoothly.

Edit: I left off the stems. I started with an 80 (or 85?) mm stem with 30 degrees rise. It proved too short, and was causing some wrist pain. Or I guess it wasn’t too short, just not long enough in the right direction. Threw it in the parts bin and went with a 90 mm 6 degree (I think). It’s about perfect. Both new stems are Giant Contact OD2. I bought them from a Chinese seller on ebay; they appear to not be counterfeit. The 25.4 mm handlebars require a shim to fit. Remarkably the setup creaks less than my Santana stem did.