Just received the wheels today to complete my XMAS build for my wife and I (better late than never).
Now before anyone goes into a rant about the name, the frame comes from Chuck's Bikes (http://www.chucksbikes.com/) and I had ordered it well in advance of December 24th. With that said, here are the specs (click on the thumbnail for a larger view):
Tsunami Ti-Boom frame (55cm / 50cm) with "Mocha" boom (140-175 lbs.)
Winwood Cross disc fork
Chris King headset (carbon spacers)
Performance Forte 4-bolt stem
Generic adjustable stoker stem
Carbon road bar (captain) & carbon MTB bar w/ carbon barends (stoker)
Ritchey Expert captain post / Ritchey Pro stoker post
Vetta SL carbon captain saddle / LeMond cut-out stoker saddle
Ultegra STI with Jagwire STI barrel adjusters
Performance Gel bar tape (incl. stoker grips)
Avid Road 160mm disc brakes
Teflon brake and derailleur cables
105 triple front and rear derailleurs
Ultegra 12-27 9-speed cassette
Truvativ SL ISIS BB's
Truvativ tandem cranks (39 timing - 52/42/30t drive)
KMC wide-link timing chain
SRAM PC-99 chain
VP "Look" style pedals
3 Avenir cages / 1 Zefal clamp-on with Nashbar sidewinder cage
Vetta V100 front PC / Sigma 600 long-wire rear PC
and the wheels....
DT Hugi TD disc front and rear (145mm), 40 hole 3-cross DT Apline 13/15/14 spokes, brass nipples, Mavic A719 rim, Velox wide rim cotton tape, Performance 700x28-32 tubes, Continental Ultra 2000 folding bead 700x28 tires, Salsa 145mm rear skewer, Nashbar 5mm bolt-on front skewer for "disc safety"
All in time for the predicted 7-10 inches of snow tonight in Milwaukee!
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.
Looks like a great bike. I really like the disc brakes. I am new to this Tandem riding, as I just got our new bike for Christmas. We currently having snow all week. Oh Well, what can you do? Here's to riding alot in the future!!
Take care and congats on the new bike!!
RB
Gus Riley
Nice bike! A bit unique too!
Brian
Too pretty to ride in the snow! Congrats on a decent finish time. We started in January, and went for our first ride in July. Took a trip to the states to source some parts. Here's our baby:
http://www.ozbikesports.com/images/tandem2.jpg
Gus Riley
Oh Yeah!!!! Sweet! And you can break it down for travel!!! Love it!
soundboy
Ride report?
zonatandem
Living in Arizona allows us to pedal while we can see the snow on top of the mountains . . . but don't need to ride in the stuff!
Been there, done that!
Got over 6,500 miles on our tandem now . . .
Mhendricks
Rob,
Where did you find the Avenir Bottle cages. We need that grey color. Thanks.
Roadie Rob
The Avenir cages came from Nashbar for only $2.99 each. What a deal, hey?!
Cage link (should work) (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=72&subcategory=1025&brand=&sku=12398&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=)
I'll re-post where I got the other parts. I buit it rather cheap, for being a custom.
Roadie Rob
Ti-boom frame ($595), stoker stem ($35) and Truvativ cranks AND BB's (best deal $150!) from Chuck's Bikes (http://www.chucksbikes.com/store/)
Custom Hugi disc / Mavic wheels ($600 with Salsa 145mm skewers) came from Speedgoat.com (http://www.speedgoat.com/)
Winwood Cross carbon disc fork $149 at Nashbar (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=86&subcategory=1182&brand=&sku=12387&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=)
Nashbar also had Ultegra STI's at $149 one week. I picked up the teflon tandem cables, the derailleurs ($50 total), the timing chain ($17), the pedals ($25 each) there as well.
Both carbon bars and both 29.8 / 27.2 Ritchey posts came from eBay ($80 total - another steal!).
The Avid road discs were only 69 each!!! at Phat Tire (http://www.phattire.com/avcabac.html)
The stem is from Performance Bike ($20).
The other parts I had layong around including the extra Chris King HS. All total it was under $2,000 for the build. I faced the BB and HS, pressed the HS in, aligned the eccentric, and is 100% built by me. All these years of searching the web for the best onlines shops paid major dividends on this build. Retail would be near $3,000-$3,500 I figure.
I've done all my road bikes (9) and MTBs (3) but this one was the most fun to build up by far.
zonatandem
Roadie:
What is the weight of that Tsunami?
A good price for a built-up tandem. Let us know how the ti-beam works out. This is the first time I have seen the application in full horizontal position for the ti-beam.
Have seen it where the ti-beam sits in the same position as a carbon fiber Softride beam and have ridden one like that; vaguely similar to the Softride beam feel.
Patience and research and do-it-yourself . . . can save you $$$$$$$$$$$$!
wsurfn
This is a really nice build up bike for a reasonable budget. Nice job!
The bike frame tries to address stoker compartment issues without being custom and permanent. It will also be interesting to see:
1) How comfort compares to soft beam vs. suspension post vs. conventional aluminum frame.
2) How the carbon cyclocross fork with disc does especially with those Salsa flip-offs (make sure they are on tight!!)
3) How the Tsunami frame holds up. You put some solid components on her (so I guess your bail out is low to go to a high end conventional custom). There has been some reports of trueness issues and quality issues. Nothing better than first hand information. I hope you guys ride the hell out of it so others may benefit from your experience.
Again, nice build and solid set-up. Keep us posted.
Mark
Roadie Rob
The weight came out to just over 36 lbs. A good cycling buddy of mine plans to bring his digital "fish scale" on our next ride, but based on a few non-scientific measurements, 36-37 is very reasonable.
As for the stoker setup, it should be ideal for rider flexibility. The beam has several inches of slide in and out of the frame, plus the obvious up / down on the post. These coupled with the adjustable stoker stem allows me to size my wife (5' 2") as well as my friend above (5' 9" - CAT 3) both as stokers. THAT alone (plus the cool look) was the main reason why I built it up. I can cruise one weekend with the wife and fly the next with him. Sorry, but captain's orders keep me up front. :D
As for the feel, it should be tight. Ti booms come in "flavors". Check out their site at Titan Flex USA (http://www.titanflex-usa.com/index.htm) . I have the "mocha" flavor which is for 145 - 180 lbs. Perfect for the two riders above (my tank ***** would be too much).
The fork is slick and seriously overbuilt. It came it over 700 grams on my postal scale. That's quite a load for a fork! The crown is huge and the legs are twice the size of my Ouzo's, Look HSC3, and Time Stilleto. They are actually diamond shapped (flat inside, angled with a peak on the outside in the middle). As for the front skewer - I'm crazy but not dumb :rolleyes: I have a Nashbar 5mm lock on skewer up there so the wheel is darn near bonded to the tab. In addition, Winwood did a nice job by making the "lawyer tabs" almost 3mm thick. You have to literally put the wheel in first and add the skewer after - the saftey tabs are that far out. I appreciate the consideration though!
As for the hold up, I'll post ride feel later when the snow melts. In the build, the reaming of the BB's and HS were easily done and both dropped in with just enough snug to satisfy me. No binding, not loose either. The welds are pretty snazzy too. The rear disc tab was straight and machined out very well. I have to say, it was surprising to have it come this nice for the price.
Roadie Rob
FINALLY - the weather in Wiscsonin has turned to spring (50 and windy, not southern Cal, but hey, around here, it's shorts weather)!!!
Got the first 30 mile ride in on the new tandem from above and here is what we found.
Q1) How comfort compares to soft beam vs. suspension post vs. conventional aluminum frame.
A) My wife loved the ti-boom. We have had a few stoker posts (basic up / down movement) and she hated all of them. I put on my Cane Creek pivot post and she liked that OK on our old tandem. But, she said the ti-boom let her feel more of the road and still take the edge off the hard stuff like RR X-ings and wood bridges. It also allows us to adjust the in / out positioning if she feels too cramped or too stretched.
Q2) How the carbon cyclocross fork with disc does especially with those Salsa flip-offs (make sure they are on tight!!)
A) I have on 100mm x 5mm locking skwerers and grabbed the front hard a few times (while solo) and the fork and wheel held tight - really tight!
Q3) How the Tsunami frame holds up. You put some solid components on her (so I guess your bail out is low to go to a high end conventional custom). There has been some reports of trueness issues and quality issues. Nothing better than first hand information. I hope you guys ride the hell out of it so others may benefit from your experience.
A) No ride issues. The frame was much more comfy than our older KHS MTB tandem. It reminded me of riding my Specialized M2 road bike. Quick handling and as captain, I felt the road very well (good balance of vibration and dampening).
Q4) Disc brakes.
A) I swapped out the rear Avid road disc brake for a 203mm rotor and adapter. The feel is fair at best. I'm used to Dura Ace and Ultegra on my road bikes and have them set at 2-3mm off the rim. In other words, I love really, really tight braking. Discs don't allow for that as I noticed by the occassional rubbing back and forth on the pads. I dialed them out as far as possible and now have to grab a full load of brake lever to get any action. This is my first disc adventure (4 MTB's with eiterh canti or V) and I am not overly impressed with their response. I dialed them out so riding a straight line was smotth, but and sudden sprint, climb, or hard corner put the rotor into the pads. MY BOTTOM LONE - while the 160 front and 203 rear look wicked sweet, a good set of Onza H.O. canti's used properly will be lighter and more effective for our riding style. Regardless of wheel build, my Hugi TD hubs were only marginally more expensive for the disc setup. If I can eBay the Avid road discs for 75%, I'll write of the loss to experience and education.
FOR THOSE THINKING DISC ON TANDEM - read all the other posts. You really, REALLY, need to analyze your ride style before making the jump (MTB tandems exclude - you guys are nuts anyways (I tried it once, I loved it - my wife did not)).
More pics hopefully soon after the minor rebuild. Thanks to all who helped me build it up with their disc, carbon, etc... advise. All in all, it was a smooth, fast 30 miles that felt better than any other tandem we've had. Cheers to all of you!
Brian
Switch the rear disc out for a Shimano XT 203mm. We've had no problem with ours. The bigger the disc, the more magnified any wobbles get. Sounds like a fun ride.
LuisB
Bob,
The tandem looks awesome!
I was thinking myself of buying a tandem frameset from Chuck's Bikes and build it up (actually my LBS) because I want to use Campy Ergos. The last time I communicated with Chuck's Bike, he was talking about shipping options on the frameset (UPS vs. Greyhound). Can you give me some advice on this just in case I decide to buy the frameset? Also, I would appreciate any advice on drive train component compatibility if I want to use Campy. And what about the quality of the frameset? Would you readily recommend it? I'm looking at aTsunami brand aluminum frame with a carbon fork.
LB
Lost Coyote
I think you said this was your first tandem build and you said that you are using Teflon cables. Are they compression-less housings? I couldn’t believe how much the braking performance was enhanced on our tandem by going with compression-less housings. Additionally, there are ways to eliminate cable stretch to the rear brake which vastly improve modulation & performance of any cable actuated brake.
Watch the Hugi hubs closely, I have seen several Hugi hubs which have failed, they scare me.
Roadie Rob
Expatriate - I found that the rear downtube is 1 3/8" and will accept a front derailleur clamp with a bolt on rear cable hanger (both from Nashbar) that will allow me to run a set of canti's down the back. I plan to drop on a brake lever so my wife can use the rear disc as a sort of "drag" - I know, I know, it's not intended that way, but since we don't have a drag tab, it will have to suffice and at least give her some additional control.
Luis B - as for Chuck's, I have spent thousands at his shop on wheels, parts, frames, and more. Never had an issue with any of the frames (3rd delivered last week). I went with him to get his Truvativ ISIS BB / road cranks for $160 as well. I don't know about Campy, but since Truvativ runs a more generic set of chainrings, you could be OK. I'd get another Tsunami - no doubt!
Lost Coyote - they are standard cables and housing - I spent a few minutes after the build stretching them out with a Park stretch wrench. No slack or issues on the first ride aside the rear brake. I have a cyclocross friend who has serial number 0003 for a Calfee carbon cyclo frame with ti fork. He also noticed how bad Avid road discs were as well on his build - more so in the rear. I think Avid needs a few more years to get road discs up to an acceptable standard. As for the hubs - I saw all the other posts. Thankfully, we spend only a few hundred miles per year on our tandem (I'm on the single for 8000-10000 myself - the wife enjoys it far less than I do obviously).
Thanks All!!!
Brian
Expatriate - I found that the rear downtube is 1 3/8" and will accept a front derailleur clamp with a bolt on rear cable hanger (both from Nashbar) that will allow me to run a set of canti's down the back. I plan to drop on a brake lever so my wife can use the rear disc as a sort of "drag" - I know, I know, it's not intended that way, but since we don't have a drag tab, it will have to suffice and at least give her some additional control.
Just make sure that she doesn't use the disc continuously on long grades - it needs to be allowed to cool a bit, or terrible things happen.
Lost Coyote
Lost Coyote - they are standard cables and housing - I spent a few minutes after the build stretching them out with a Park stretch wrench. No slack or issues on the first ride aside the rear brake.
No! I'm not talking about the initial stretch of a new cable. What I'm talking about is the flex/compression of the cable housing each time the lever is pulled. With standard cables that flex/compression does not go away. Its easy to see, just apply your brakes untill the wheel stops and then keep squeezing the lever, most of all of that additional lever movement is from flex of the cable housing, not the cable stretching. Many times you will also see the housing actually move as it flexes. The compession-less housing I use is not spiral wrapped (which allows the flex) but is lined like a shift cable, it also has a kevlar wrapping in the housing. Its the same cable used by the Downhill Mountain Bike guys. Seriously, it makes a huge difference!