Originally Posted by larrydj
I noticed that our two cranks are slightly out of phase, due to there being a finite number of teeth on each crank, and their positions. If so, is it better to have the captain's pedal phase slightly ahead or behind the stoker's? Or does it matter?
Captain leading/ahead should be the norm for most average teams who ride in-phase. However, like out-of-phase, sometimes it's not a bad idea to play around with different configurations to see what works best for your team. In some respects, having the stoker's cranks leading for a stoker who also rides their own 1/2 bike could help them "feel" their pedal strokes better than being perfectly in-phase or trailing which could help them gauge their effort.
Back to chain ring alignment, it's not essential but if you're really anal about such things, here's how to address it from a previous post:
When installing or re-installing timing chain rings, make sure that you get the rings properly aligned such that that the teeth are all in phase: keeping the manufacturers ring marks (brand names, tooth numbers, etc..) aligned usually accomplishes this. You'll also want to try and get the chain rings centered on the spiders to remove any biopacing / cam action from your timing chain tension. Bolt-on timing rings don't always perfectly align with the spiders and if they're both off at the wrong place you can end up with the timing chain being too tight and alternatively too loose as the cranks go through a full rotation. This can make setting the timing chain tension a bit of a trick in that you need to catch it when it's at the tightest setting instead of the least tight to make sure it doesn't bind.
You'll find some other timing chain tips worth reading here:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/synchain.html