More about the tandem

Everything you ever wanted to know:

Headset	Top: Campagnolo Veloce. Bottom: Ritchey Scuzzy Logic roller bearing
Bottom brackets	Campagnolo AC-H 111mm
Crankset	Suntour Superbe Pro. Front 175mm; rear 170mm
Brakes	Front: Scott Self Energising Cantilever Rear: Suntour XC Pro SE Cantilever
Brake levers	Campagnolo Chorus Ergopower 10 speed
Front derailler	Campagnolo Centaur
Rear derailler	Campagnolo Chorus with J-Tek Shiftmate
Hubs	Front: Phil Wood Tandem 36h. Rear: Shimano Ultegra 36h
Rims	Campagnolo Omicron
Cluster	SRAM PG 970 12-26
Tyres	Continental GP 4 Season 700 x 28
Saddle	Front: Brooks Swallow Rear: Specialized
Seatpost	Front: TTT. Rear: Kalloy
Stem	Front: Salsa 14cm Easton Vice
Handlebars	Front: Mavic 350 44cm Rear: Charge Slice bullhorn
Handlebar tape	Fizik Microtex
 

First outing on the 'new' tandem

Occasionally I pine for Ergopower shiftlevers on one of my road bikes, but not being even a faux-racer, I don't feel the need often enough to spend the money.
On the tandem, its a different kettle of cod- after today's shakedown ride I don't think I could use anything else on the tandem again.

Resplendent in new Revolution Bicycles merino jerseys, Gayle and I took the Bob Jackson for shakedown ride around the Mangere shitponds loop this morning.

Overall, it feels a lot like Worrall's Bob Jackson which we rode earlier this year, but the improved gear shifting makes it a lot easier to ride.

The friction shifting on Worrall's bike is surprisingly good, but it is still frustratingly easy to miss a shift on a climb and lose momentum.

No such problem with the Ergopower shifters - early in the ride we floated up short climbs in easy gears, later on we were attacking them out of the saddle and shifting up as we started to spin out.



The self-energising cantilever brakes were a revelation too.
I had the same brakes on the bike in the early 90's but remembered the front Scott SE as grabby and prone to juddering.
Today, fitted with KoolStop salmon pads, they were smooth and powerful enough that I am lucky that Gayle's teeth are not embeded in my spine.

I am looking forward to lots of fun and mischief on this bike.

Bob Jackson tandem

Completed, if not finished, this morning.

I have had the frame for about 20 years, but have not ridden it since the mid '90s.
Earlier this year I had some good rides with Gayle on Worrall's tandem, so I decided to build this one up with modern components so that we can shift gears while climbing or sprinting out of the saddle

Fortunately, when I was younger and stupider I had respaced the dropouts back so that a modern rear wheel would fit.

The drivetrain is a Campagnolo/Shimano/SRAM hybrid, with Campagnolo Chorus 10 speed Ergopower and rear derailler and a Shimano Ultregra hub with SRAM PG970 12-26 cassette.
A J-Tek Shiftmate corrects the cable pull of the 10 speed Campag shifter for the 9 speed cassette.
Cranks are Suntour Superbe Pro, rethreaded by Bruno at Cycle Express, on Campagnolo Veloce 111mm bottom brackets.

Chainrings are 52/38, which should give us a low enough bottom gear, but might leave us a bit short at the top end.

Because of the curved seattube, the front derailler needs to be positioned a couple of centimeters further back, hopefully easy to achieve by making an aluminium packer to go between the mounting bracket and the derailler.


The brakes are self-energising cantilevers. Front is Scott SE, rear is Suntour XC Pro.

All the Bob Jackson tandem photos

Scraping the bottom of the barrell?

This week I broke one of my rules of being on holiday, and visited a couple of local bikeshops on my own time.

On Tuesday I went to Cycle Express to collect some Suntour Superbe Pro cranks that Bruno had rethreaded for use on my tandem.

Twice, I found myself at T.White's Bikes.
Saturday evening for the excellent CGG Jenna Makgill fundraiser, which left me financially poorer but hopefully rich in kharma; then again yesterday to get a set of single chainwheel attachment bolts for the aforementioned tandem.

This is not a normal situation for me- having assembled my last four vintage bikes almost entirely from parts that I had on hand, I don't expect a project to grind to a halt for want of a packet of bolts.
Perhaps this means that I am finally scraping the bottom of my barrell?

I doubt it.
Despite using some of the pile of parts into bicycles, and some recent success selling surplus frames on Trademe, my shed looks no less cluttered.