Tandem Cycling - older Santana tandem

I just bought a Santana tandem from the mid 90s. It has 3x5 gearing with bar end shifters plus cantilevers and a disc brake in the rear. The wheels are 27" and have a million spokes.

Any suggestions for updating the bike? The bars are too narrow and the quill stem is a bit short. What's the bar clamp diameter for quills, 26.0?

I have 9 and 10 speed bar cons laying around. Will I need a new rear wheel if I want to run a 9 speed rear?

Thanks, eric

Any suggestions for updating the bike?

First off, if it's running a 5 speed rear cassette it's more likely a 70's model Santana, i.e., an antique at this point. Therefore, I'd recommend that you do as little as possible or make sure that whatever you do you keep the original parts around to put back on in the event you decide to sell it. Any upgrades will have a minimal impact on the future resale and could, in fact, reduce it's value if it's in good condition and could possibly be sold to a collector at some point.

I have 9 and 10 speed bar cons laying around.

That's nice, got any extra derailleurs and chain wheels to go with them? Seriously, you'd need to upgrade a lot to bring this tandem up to late 90's specs.

Will I need a new rear wheel if I want to run a 9 speed rear?

Yes... and it will need to be built with a narrow rear tandem hub, e.g., 140mm if it was built after '76 and 130mm if it was pre'76 OR you could cold-set the rear drop-outs to 145mm and use a 145mm hub. But, as already noted, you'll diminish the intrinsic value of the frame to a collector by doing so.

Yeah, I should have figured it was older than 90s given the components. The rear hub is 140mm.

I've got spare 9 speed parts, but I'm inclined to stick with it if I can make it work for us. I'm going to need wider bars and new cables/housing at a minimum. If I need to replace the rear derailleur, am I limited in what I can use?

If I go with 700c wheels and 9 speed cassette, would the original cranks work with the 9 speed chains? The cranks are TA and not ramped/pinned, so I'm thinking not.

I'll have to see if new cantis would reach the smaller diameter rims.

Would not sink much $$ into a Santana that old.
Fix what needs fixin' to make it rideable for the two of you.
As for 'the million spokes' . . . just count 'em. Bet it's a 48-spoke wheel which was on all early
'tanas.
Sounds like your first venture in riding TWOgether!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

I'm going to leave the drivetrain alone but update the brakes and get different bars. We picked up a new Cannondale mtn tandem today. The Santana was premature :).

I called Santana and was told the bike is probably a '79. I wasn't able to find the serial number. I was also told to replace the fork and headset due to age.

Our Santana was built on order in 1985 for our 5th aniversary (the molybdenum aniversary) and it is equipped now just as we bought it. I can see replacing parts to get it to fit but 5 or 9 cogs in back will still get you where you need to be just as fast. Ours came with the Stronglight cranks and an Arai drum brake in back.

I can see replacing parts to get it to fit but 5 or 9 cogs in back will still get you where you need to be just as fast.


I don't think this would be true for us. Given my stoker's cadence preference, I think I would be riding without a stoker. I'm fairly certain I could not maintain our average speed without her.