Tandem Cycling - Our new Calfee

Still getting parts. It will be 2-3 weeks until it's ready to rock, I think.

We picked up the frame set yesterday after work. It looks amazing! I am so glad we went with the white.

All I have is this lame teaser shot.. sorry for the poor lighting.

I will update as parts come in.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2561/3710741656_a5dafdd05a_o.jpg

I need to call Calfee on Monday and ask them why the is a single water bottle stud on the backside of the stoker seat post. I have no idea why it is there. I will post a pic later.

TG, and other calfee folks... any ideas?

Aha, Calfee's Mike Moore emailed me last evening (to explain why I haven't heard anything from him)...


"I've finished a very, very busy week of bicycle deliveries. Still waiting for a young tandeming couple to stop by and pick up their new opaque white (very cool!!) Tetra this evening".

I need to call Calfee on Monday and ask them why the is a single water bottle stud on the backside of the stoker seat post. I have no idea why it is there. I will post a pic later.

TG, and other calfee folks... any ideas?

Maybe for a fender?

TG, and other calfee folks... any ideas?

As noted above, it's the rear mud guard mounting stud.

Aha!

Duh...

Good because I wanted that... :)

Man... I just cannot take a pic today for the life of me. Outside in my yard, the trees block all the sunlight in the good parts of the yard. It was sunny in the (ugly) corner with the grill and the recycling bins :rolleyes:
Then I take a pic over there and it's difficult not to get washed out photos from the overhead sunlight.

Inside the lighting is pretty low for a really nice shot. Morning or evening outside shots would probably be best. In any case, here's what I have so far... I assure you it looks 10000x better in person :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/3711042452_ff59977125_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2541/3710232477_63da951ecd_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3437/3711043486_b9e5855417_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3516/3710232935_10f5d6e20f_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/3710232293_0e30139562_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2657/3711042668_4eefce04e9_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/3710232143_705dbe59da_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2496/3710232363_7e783ff357_o.jpg

Very nice....It's like everybody on here is getting a calfee

Very Nice!

Try the Camelbak bottles for no leaks on that bottom tube.

Seems more and more folks are getting into c/f tandems . . .
Still love ours; have 25,000+ miles on the odometer.

nice frame.

I really like the white. Please post a ride report after you get some time on it.

So what kind of components are you going to build it up with? I assume you are going to install a rear disc?

Congrats on the awesome tandem.
I am planning on ordering one this year, those pictures are helping to convince me.
Let us know what your components you choose and looking forward to hearing a ride report.

Very Nice!

Try the Camelbak bottles for no leaks on that bottom tube.

Yep, we already use those bottles. They work well.

The two mounts on the boom tube will be for "stash bottles"

What is with the economy? Lots of new Calfee's coming on the forum. Maybe Craig will go public.:lol:

FWIW, I believe at least 7 of the 116 or so tandems at the Eastern Tandem Rally were Calfees... and at least 4 of them were newer than ours.

Try the Camelbak bottles for no leaks on that bottom tube.

This looks like the perfect place to use a double bottle holder from Tandems East. It adds an additional bottle cage and since they are mounted vertically they're easier for the stoker to reach and replace.

:cry: << Green with envy. It looks awesome. Congrats.

There is a couple that ride a purple Calfee in our area. Wow it is nice. They have purple cf handlebars and stems that allow the cf pattern to be seen through the coating. Match the bike perfectly as they are also made by calfee. It is one sweet tandem. I've never seen a nicer tandem. I sholud have gotten pics of it, maybe next time so that I can post them in this forum.:D

Build up list...

Wheel set: Velocity Deep-V rims (black), White Ind. MI5/MI6 hubs (polished silver), Sapim CX-Ray bladed front spokes (32h, 3x, silver), DT double butted rear spokes (36h, 4x, silver).
Tires: Conti GP4000 700x25
Cranks: DaVinci with 53/42/28 chainrings (taken off the old tandem, used to be a 30t granny since it was paired with an 11-32 cassette)
BBs: IRD QB-55 (107mm captain, 110mm stoker)
Shifters: 2007 Campy Chorus 10spd (taken off the old tandem)
RD: Campy Comp Triple with Jtek Shiftmate
FD: Campy Comp Triple (taken off the old tandem)
Cassette: Sram RED 11-28
Chains: All SRAM 1090R chains (found a good deal).
Front Brake: Mavic SSC Road Caliper
Rear Brake: Avid BB7 Road Caliper with Hope floating (non-vented) 203mm rotor and in-line Power Brake Booster
Headset: Chris King all black
Capt bars: Deda 215 44cm (taken off the old tandem)
Capt stem: Thomson X2 110cm (taken off the old tandem)
Stoker bars: Deda 215 46cm
Stoker stem: Oval Concepts R700 140mm +/- 6 deg standard stem.
Capt seatpost: Thomson Elite
Stoker seatpost: Ritchey WCS Carbon (taken off the old tandem)
Capt saddle: Specialized Phenom 143 (taken off the old tandem)
Stoker saddle: TBA (She wants to try a new one)...
Bottle Cages: 6x King Cage SS... The 2 boom tube cages are for "stash bottles" to hold tools/tubes/food...
Cables: Campy housings
Capt pedals: Look Keo Carbon (taken off the old tandem)
Stoker pedals: Shimano road spd PD-A520 (taken off the old tandem)

A thing of beauty.

Build up list...

BBs: IRD QB-55 (107mm captain, 110mm stoker)

Bottle Cages: 6x King Cage SS... The 2 boom tube cages are for "stash bottles" to hold tools/tubes/food...


I'll be interested in hearing how the IRD BB's work out. Just not too many good choices out there in very narrow spindles other than 'ca-ching', the PWs. I would have liked to have scored a set of the White Ind. BBs, but they are only offered in 113mm and up; I need 108mm and 111mm.

Bottle Cages.... Hmmm, might want to rethink that one.

I had SS cages and, well, Craig Calfee had to point out the error of my ways on that particular decision related to vibration generated by empty alloy cages (it's buried in my Calfee journal somewhere). While I was never a fan of carbon bottle cages, I was able to find a brand and model that has proven to be more than satisfactory and vis-a-vis Ebay, didn't break the bank.

Build up list...

Shifters: 2007 Campy Chorus 10spd (taken off the old tandem)
RD: Campy Comp Triple with Jtek Shiftmate
FD: Campy Comp Triple (taken off the old tandem)
Cassette: Sram RED 11-28

Bottle Cages: 6x King Cage SS... The 2 boom tube cages are for "stash bottles" to hold tools/tubes/food...

Why the Jtek? to make it compatiable with the casette? Will you be able to bigger than the 11-28?

I have a Calfee with stash bottles, get more questions about those then any other aspect of the bike, need to get some radioactive or biohazard labels for them.

I'll be interested in hearing how the IRD BB's work out. Just not too many good choices out there in very narrow spindles other than 'ca-ching', the PWs. I would have liked to have scored a set of the White Ind. BBs, but they are only offered in 113mm and up; I need 108mm and 111mm.

Bottle Cages.... Hmmm, might want to rethink that one.

I had SS cages and, well, Craig Calfee had to point out the error of my ways on that particular decision related to vibration generated by empty alloy cages (it's buried in my Calfee journal somewhere). While I was never a fan of carbon bottle cages, I was able to find a brand and model that has proven to be more than satisfactory and vis-a-vis Ebay, didn't break the bank.


I have the IRDs on the current Santana, and they work great!

The QB-75 model only saves 15g over the QB-55 by using alloy cups. The QB-55 are like $27 or something like that. Great deal IMHO.

Your BB sizes are what made me choose 107/110. (They don't have 108/111).

Why the Jtek? to make it compatiable with the casette? Will you be able to bigger than the 11-28?

I have a Calfee with stash bottles, get more questions about those then any other aspect of the bike, need to get some radioactive or biohazard labels for them.

Yeah, the Jtek is for a Campy 10 RD with Shimano/SRAM 10 cassette.

I like the 11-28 10spd for the tighter spacing. If the new SRAM XX 11-32 10spd was cheaper, I would try that, maybe.

I wanted tighter spacing, so that means 10spd, and the IRD has bad reviews.

The 11-28 with a 28t small chainring gives me a low enough gear (28x28) with tighter spacing, and I still get to keep my beloved 53x11. :D

I had SS cages and, well, Craig Calfee had to point out the error of my ways on that particular decision related to vibration generated by empty alloy cages (it's buried in my Calfee journal somewhere). While I was never a fan of carbon bottle cages, I was able to find a brand and model that has proven to be more than satisfactory and vis-a-vis Ebay, didn't break the bank.

I am using the Arundel Mandible carbon cages on tandem and single(where they replaced my truly extravagant Campy Record cages) 4000 NorCal miles without a problem.

Yeah, the Jtek is for a Campy 10 RD with Shimano/SRAM 10 cassette.

I like the 11-28 10spd for the tighter spacing. If the new SRAM XX 11-32 10spd was cheaper, I would try that, maybe.

FWIW: Again, based on my experimentation with and without the Jtek Shiftmate over a few years and on different tandem, I've opted to go without. The shifting performance and 'chatter' wasn't notably different when the Jtek was aligned on the 9 or 10 speed compared to going 'au natural'. Moreover, because those little suckers seem go out of alignment every time you remove your rear wheel as well as after a few hundred shifts, I finally decided to go without. For those not familiar, once a Jtek's cam rotates away from the 1:00pm setting your shifting goes to hell in a hand basket and there's no way to adjust it out while riding on the fly. You have to stop the bike, shift the derailleur to the lowest position and then rotate the cam's flat spot / cable cross-over back to the 1:00pm position. Anyway, your results may vary.

As for the rear cassette range, I have found that we can cheat a bit and get an 11x32t Shimano XT cassette to work fairly well with a long-cage Campy rear derailleur that has a max spec of 29t. The jockey wheel just tickles the 32t sprocket which can generate some noise, but there's no other ill effect aside from being careful to shift your chain into a smaller sprocket when removing the rear wheel. It's a bit of a struggle to get everything put back together if the chain is aligned to go on the 32t sprocket.

More than most will want to know, but I'm feeling verbose today. Heck, I may even go see if I can mess with the Hobbsians by interjecting some tandem content into their various non-tandem related, pointless debates.

Looks like a great build. It's similar to ours except we have a front disc. Yours should be close to or less than 30 lbs.


I wanted tighter spacing, so that means 10spd, and the IRD has bad reviews.

The 11-28 with a 28t small chainring gives me a low enough gear (28x28) with tighter spacing, and I still get to keep my beloved 53x11. :D

You might want to try the 11-30 IRD if you find you need some lower gearing. It's working fine for us. I think the problems people may have had may be related to the big jumps from a 28 to the 32 or 34.





More than most will want to know, but I'm feeling verbose today. Heck, I may even go see if I can mess with the Hobbsians by interjecting some tandem content into their various non-tandem related, pointless debates.

You're not referring to all of those post on Lance are you? Didn't he have a tandem at one time?

"Heck, I may even go see if I can mess with the Hobbsians by interjecting some tandem content into their various non-tandem related, pointless debates."


This statement gives me comfort, because I find even the Hobbsians tandem debates to be pointless. Currently unsusbscribed, I try sporadically but find the S/N ratio too high.

You might want to try the 11-30 IRD if you find you need some lower gearing. It's working fine for us. I think the problems people may have had may be related to the big jumps from a 28 to the 32 or 34.

Eh... also the SRAM cassette is around 190g lighter than an IRD wide range.... OK I am a weight weenie now... :lol:

Warning: Off-topic. I'm going to self-moderate and move to a new thread:
Hobbes: I remember when.... (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=562713)

Eh... also the SRAM cassette is around 190g lighter than an IRD wide range.... OK I am a weight weenie now... :lol:

More like 100g but still heavy. It pushed our bike to a bit over 34 lbs. You need a DuraAce cassette, 188g for a 11-28 or did you get the SRAM Red 11-28 177g?

Don't forget to get the Gates Drive instead of a traditional timing chain setup. Doesn't Merlinextralight have that setup now on his Co-Mo???

:p

More like 100g but still heavy. It pushed our bike to a bit over 34 lbs. You need a DuraAce cassette, 188g for a 11-28 or did you get the SRAM Red 11-28 177g?

I got the Red.. 177g.

I think the IRD 11-32 is like 360g.

I got the Red.. 177g.

I think the IRD 11-32 is like 360g.

Sorry, I missed that in the build list. Even the 11-30 IRD is about 300g.
With that cassette, you need titanium BBs and pedals, and certainly the carbon cages.

I have also been considering the SRAM 11-28 cassette paired with Campy shifters.
I would probably be using Gossamer 53/39/30 cranks and replacing the 30T with a 28T.
Does it shift ok going from 28 to 42? I would think 28 to 39 would work ok but have some concern.
For the rims you could go lighter with the Kinlin XR270.
I bought a cheap carbon bottle cage off ebay and it works pretty well:

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr209/88bikefun/cage/b4b.jpg

The black carbon might clash with your white frame though.

FWIW: Again, based on my experimentation with and without the Jtek Shiftmate over a few years and on different tandem, I've opted to go without. The shifting performance and 'chatter' wasn't notably different when the Jtek was aligned on the 9 or 10 speed compared to going 'au natural'. Moreover, because those little suckers seem go out of alignment every time you remove your rear wheel as well as after a few hundred shifts, I finally decided to go without. For those not familiar, once a Jtek's cam rotates away from the 1:00pm setting your shifting goes to hell in a hand basket and there's no way to adjust it out while riding on the fly. You have to stop the bike, shift the derailleur to the lowest position and then rotate the cam's flat spot / cable cross-over back to the 1:00pm position. Anyway, your results may vary.



Wouldn't there be some way to hold the Jtek in place with something like RTV?

Great frame and prospective build. We are very happy for you and wish you many years and miles of great riding. We will see you on the road.:)

Wouldn't there be some way to hold the Jtek in place with something like RTV?

Bear in mind, what you have is a little cam wheel wheel that's held in position by derailleur cable tension from the cable that circles around the cam wheel on it's way to the derailleur. The cam wheel must rotate by design and two things cause that cam to move away from the 1:00pm position:


1. The back & forth rotation + a little progression causes it to clock around past the 1:00pm position after a few hundred shifts.

2. Anything that can create slack in the derailleur cable, such as manually moving the rear derailleur during rear wheel removal, shifting the rear derailleur down while the bike is not moving or making any adjustments to the derailleur cable.

The 'fix' isn't hard: you shift the derailleur to the smallest cog and manually rotate the little cam wheel so that the cable cross-over / flat spot is roughly sitting at the 1:00PM position. But, that's the rub: you find yourself having to do that little maintenance check before every ride, after every wheel change and occassionally in the middle of a ride.

Now, if the Jtek truly did anything to improve the shifting accuracy you can achieve without it on the configuration we use (Campy 9/10 shifters + rear derailleurs with Shimano 9/10 speed cassettes), I wouldn't mind the added maintenance step. But, at least for us, it's impossible to tell the difference with or without the Jtek; shifting is just fine either way. Therefore eliminating the Jtek simply eliminated the non-value added maintenance step and a source of some on-road mechanical issues that required a bike stop and adjustment.

I guess it was a dumb question. I don't have one so I was just guessing.
It seems like Jtek could build a stop into it to keep it from rotating too far.

On another note I have been seeing really low prices on Campy Chorus 10 speed shifters.
Found out Campy does not make these anymore, just 11 speed. I was tempeted to buy a pair but then was advised that the new Athena 10 speed shifters are a significant improvement over the old Chorus 10 speed. Also was told Athena is basically the same as Chorus except they are 10 speed vs 11 speed.

I guess it was a dumb question. I don't have one so I was just guessing.
It seems like Jtek could build a stop into it to keep it from rotating too far.

On another note I have been seeing really low prices on Campy Chorus 10 speed shifters.
Found out Campy does not make these anymore, just 11 speed. I was tempeted to buy a pair but then was advised that the new Athena 10 speed shifters are a significant improvement over the old Chorus 10 speed. Also was told Athena is basically the same as Chorus except they are 10 speed vs 11 speed.

Athena is 11

The new centaur is what remained 10 speed

I have the new (2009) Centaur levers on my solo bike. They are exactly the same mechanically was the high end levers like Chorus and Record, except of the click wheel inside with has the detents for the 10 or 11 indexes. That is the only part that differs. The 11s click wheel does have sharper clicks, which is nice, but I have to problems with the Centaur.


The ergos are improved on the 09 stuff.

White Calfree with Campy, love it.

Athena is 11

The new centaur is what remained 10 speed

I have the new (2009) Centaur levers on my solo bike. They are exactly the same mechanically was the high end levers like Chorus and Record, except of the click wheel inside with has the detents for the 10 or 11 indexes. That is the only part that differs. The 11s click wheel does have sharper clicks, which is nice, but I have to problems with the Centaur.


The ergos are improved on the 09 stuff.

Right, not sure why how I mixed up Centaur with Athena, I have always used Shimano so still learning.
Now what is the difference besides 27g between the carbon and aluminum centaur shifters?
The aluminum vesion is $110 less, why would I want spend more for the carbon?

WoW! Unreal!:thumb:

WoW! Unreal!:thumb:

Pete!

It's in the norcal section too, in the "What did you buy thread" :thumb:

hey awesome looking frame. What is that "shell" logo suppose to be? I have one on the seat stay of my 02 fuji team easton. It says "race design" after the logo

What is that "shell" logo suppose to be?

It's a cross section view of a nautilus shell. I believe Craig Calfee mentioned that he was always impressed by the nautilus' natural logarithmic spiral and simply decided to adopt it as part of his company's logo.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/NautilusCutawayLogarithmicSpiral.jpg/793px-NautilusCutawayLogarithmicSpiral.jpg

Ah, Mother Nature's expression of the Fibonnaci sequence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Fibonacci_spiral_34.svg/800px-Fibonacci_spiral_34.svg.png

(From Wikipedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Fibonacci_spiral_34.svg/800px-Fibonacci_spiral_34.svg.png)

Ah, Mother Nature's expression of the Fibonnaci sequence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number).

(From Wikipedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Fibonacci_spiral_34.svg/800px-Fibonacci_spiral_34.svg.png)

I'd call it Fibonacci's expression of Mother Nature, but maybe just me ;)