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going out of phase

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going out of phase

Old 07-17-16, 08:53 PM
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going out of phase

do you have to break the chain or just loosen the eccentric? Want to try 90 degrees oop but want to revert back to inphase if not to our liking.
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Old 07-17-16, 09:26 PM
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You can loosen the eccentric and lift the chain to rotate, no need to break the chain.
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Old 07-17-16, 09:33 PM
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Depending on how tight your synch. chain is you may not even have to do either. We were able to test OOP by just gently pushing the chain over the edge of the chain ring, rotating the crank and pushing the chain back on. After a few rides we decided to go back to in-phase. YMMV
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Old 07-17-16, 10:39 PM
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thanks didn't think about the eccentric till i saw the post below.
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Old 07-19-16, 05:43 AM
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I think it depends on the bike. On ours we had to both loosen the eccentric and break the chain.
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Old 07-19-16, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by reiker
I think it depends on the bike. On ours we had to both loosen the eccentric and break the chain.
that strikes me as very odd. I can't imagine an eccentric that did not have enough adjustment to allow you to loosen the chain enough to derail it.

Unless your chain was sized so that it was so tight you had to have the eccentric rotated to the end of its range to get it on in the first place.

If what you describe is correct, I think your chain was likely undersized by a link or so.
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Old 07-19-16, 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
that strikes me as very odd. I can't imagine an eccentric that did not have enough adjustment to allow you to loosen the chain enough to derail it.

Unless your chain was sized so that it was so tight you had to have the eccentric rotated to the end of its range to get it on in the first place.

If what you describe is correct, I think your chain was likely undersized by a link or so.
I suppose it's possible, The chain doesn't seem too tight, but it probably wouldn't hurt to add a link to the chain. It's a 1979 Santana.
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Old 07-19-16, 11:02 PM
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Been riding OOP for 42 years for over a quarter million miles. We are mow on our 5th tandem.
No need to break the chain or mess with the eccentric.
Your cross over chain should NOT be super tight (no play/bounce at all). You can derail the chain simply by using a thin bladed screw driver between chain and cross over ring and rotating the cranks backward . . . chain will come off.
Reverse the process and rotate cranks forward (lift the rear wheel up) to put chain back on.
You may actually be able to do tha proceduret without using a screwdriver (but watch your fingers!).
Pedal on TWOgether!
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Old 07-20-16, 06:21 PM
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Just give it a few hundred miles to get used to before deciding on if it is for you or not. We have tried it but went back to in sync. Others, like Rudy above prefer it.
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Old 07-21-16, 09:30 PM
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thanks rudy . just came back from the garage and was able to slip the chain by applying side pressure to the bottom part of the captain timing chain ring amd slowly backpedalling . once off, adjusted the cranks and then slipped the chain on the upper half and once on halfway, lifted the backwheel and pedalled forward. now out of phase ...thanks only equipment was a pair of nitrilr glovea to avoid the grease.
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Old 07-21-16, 10:27 PM
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When we were young and strong, we much preferred 90 degrees out of phase; it was just so much smoother. As we got older, we found that while it was still better in the flats and on rollers, it didn't suit us on steeper climbs. Since we now live surrounded by climbs, we recently switched to three teeth out of phase, which seems to work well for us.
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Old 07-22-16, 07:59 AM
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I've wanted to try it for a long time and didnt realize how easy it was to do. i made a gopro video see my "son and i riding a tandem" and when we started going up there was a foward jerk to the bike with each pedal stroke. my son is only 12 so don't know how well it will distribute power to the cycle but will try it today on a flat route.
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Old 07-22-16, 10:34 AM
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After several hundred miles 90 deg OOP we find it smoother on the flats and faster accelerating. Climbing feels smoother but controlling is tougher when we both stand (although getting better with practice). The rear admiral likes OOP so we are keeping it that way.
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Old 07-22-16, 09:51 PM
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Roval:


You can avoid using gloves when handling your chain . . .
We do not use any fancy oil/lube on chains.
We do the hot parrafin wax method which lets you handle the chain barehanded without any chain tattoo marks . . .
Works for us for decades!
Pedal on!
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Old 07-23-16, 10:37 AM
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went on a 27 mile flat ride yesterday and no big issues. too early to tell if we like it better but i do feel his pedal stroke more when I'm at 6 oclock since he's jerky with his pedalling.
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Old 07-28-16, 11:26 AM
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Originally Posted by B. Carfree
When we were young and strong, we much preferred 90 degrees out of phase; it was just so much smoother. As we got older, we found that while it was still better in the flats and on rollers, it didn't suit us on steeper climbs. Since we now live surrounded by climbs, we recently switched to three teeth out of phase, which seems to work well for us.
My wife and I ride in phase but she sometimes complains because I like to spin faster than her and it puts stress on her legs. I was thinking of trying slightly out of phase. When you switched to three teeth out of phase is the captains crank ahead or behind the stoker? We used to be young and strong too, now 59 / 60 but its still just as fun.
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Old 07-28-16, 11:41 AM
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Originally Posted by jnbrown
My wife and I ride in phase but she sometimes complains because I like to spin faster than her and it puts stress on her legs. I was thinking of trying slightly out of phase. When you switched to three teeth out of phase is the captains crank ahead or behind the stoker? We used to be young and strong too, now 59 / 60 but its still just as fun.
We put the captain three teeth ahead of the stoker. However, for us the captain is my wife (5'6" 130#) and the stoker is me (6'2" 185#). Our thinking was to allow her to keep some of that "feel" of powering the bike by having her enter her power stroke ahead of me so that she doesn't feel overwhelmed. Meanwhile, the last of my power stroke helps make the blank-space before hers a little shorter with me bringing up the rear.

I think you're still going to have those cadence issues no matter what phasing you choose. Perhaps longer cranks for you and/or shorter cranks for your wife would help. For the same foot speed, a longer crank will give a lower rpm and a shorter crank would correspond to a faster rpm, so you could have faster foot speed than her at the same cadence.
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Old 07-28-16, 11:57 AM
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Originally Posted by B. Carfree
We put the captain three teeth ahead of the stoker. However, for us the captain is my wife (5'6" 130#) and the stoker is me (6'2" 185#). Our thinking was to allow her to keep some of that "feel" of powering the bike by having her enter her power stroke ahead of me so that she doesn't feel overwhelmed. Meanwhile, the last of my power stroke helps make the blank-space before hers a little shorter with me bringing up the rear.

I think you're still going to have those cadence issues no matter what phasing you choose. Perhaps longer cranks for you and/or shorter cranks for your wife would help. For the same foot speed, a longer crank will give a lower rpm and a shorter crank would correspond to a faster rpm, so you could have faster foot speed than her at the same cadence.
So I guess for us it would be opposite. She already has shorter cranks 165mm, I ride 170mm and can't really go longer as my legs are not that long. I think having her start the power stroke first makes sense, so it won't feel like I am pulling her legs over the top of the stroke.
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