HandsomeRyan

Most of the sub-forums here have a "What did you just buy for your bike" thread. I didn't see one here so I thought I'd start one.

Mrs and I just picked up new saddles. A Terry Rosie for her and a WTB 'Speed' saddle for me.
We also ditched the cheapo suspended seatposts in favor of some rigid 4-bolt BMX posts. We haven't gone riding yet to see if the new posts will be too rigid but I'm hopeful they'll work out; we ride 2.3" tires so we've got a bit of cushion there. Replacing the cheapo suspended posts and comfort saddles shaved almost 4lbs off the bike! I also threw on a pair of cheapo aluminum bar ends on the captains bars for added hand positions.

What have you gotten for your tandem lately?

Stray8

Sunlite Double Kickstand

https://www.amazon.com/Pyramid-Sunlit.../dp/B000AO9Z7K


I just bought this double kickstand for my tandem because I found the centerstand on my motorcycle to be very stable and useful relative to the side kickstand.

I also bought a higher riser handlebar to swap out for better reach when smaller kids stoke.


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bobthib

Velocity Deep V tandem wheelset. Now we keep one set for road, one set for "off road" or more correctly, riding the gravel roads on levees on the edge of the everglades.

rdtompki

11-34 Cassette and a new (longer) chain. The DA chain seems quieter and seems to shift a bit better than the SRAM we had been using.

Fifth water bottle cage - Can't fit to the bike until I figure out where to locate my Topeak Road Morph pump.

$5 route sheet holder. My DW wants the route sheet in larger print in a holder attached to an elastic band around my waist. Sort of a combo of (SWMBO and the stoker is never wrong)

specbill

I most recently bought regularly scheduled maintenance items (tires and chains). The last elective part purchased turned out to be our best purchase ever..IMHO!!!!

We will hit our 20th year on a Tandem later this year and hands down the single best iten we ever bought in cycling (besides a Tandem) falls into the safety catergory that we found just this last summer.

After one of the rest stops on the Lighthouse Century we could see a flashing red light way waaaay up the road from where we were....because of the long distance we had no idea of the source of the flashing red light ....car? police? signage? emergency equiptment ? After a short while we realized we were not getting closer to it and it fact it was actually moving away...finally after many miles it stayed stationary and we eventually got near enough the source of the flashing red light to realize it was coming from the back of a now stationary Tandem Bicycle!!

Ultimately we learned that the riders of the da Vinci that day were Mr and Mrs rdtomki from this very Tandem bike forum. The swapping of a few pm's a week or so later and Rick T. had me in tough with Dinotte Lghting for the following.

https://store.dinottelighting.com/sha...unt2=304084420

When you consider that every time a cyclist gets run over by a car from behind the story is always the same...""the driver just did not see the cyclist until it was too late"".....Well..we still may get run over some day but I am certain that this light is giving us the best chance of being seen by any equiptment out there that I know of. Best wishes.

Bill J.

Ritterview

I purchased a Dinotte 400R for both my bike commuting (e.g. this morning) and for tandem safety as well. I feel a lot safer with the Dinotte. If anyone hits me the "I didn't see him" excuse won't fly. That thing is bright, and can be seen in the daytime, and through fog, and in rain, etc. The difference between a Dinotte and the PB Superflash can be seen in this video.

CGinOhio

Swapped out our FSA 42 tooth middle and 54 tooth large chainring for 39 and 50 tooth rings respectively. The 30 tooth small was changed out last year for a TA 26 tooth ring.

reversegear

Regarding the topic - three new 10 speed chains (on sale) and a new middle chainring. Third middle chainring this year. Apparently we use that one most... I am hoping that we don't need a new cassette yet since we replaced it just a couple of months ago. I am thinking that with this will make it through our training and the 300, 400 and 600 before I will need to replace everything, just before the 1000k. By the way the single speed timing chain that I am using is holding up very well. Chain looks good, chainrings look good. Well worth the few extra grams as far as I am concerned. Probably won't replace it until the 1000.

Regarding the Dinotte light. It is very bright and when there is no ambient light it messes with your night vision. Probably not a big deal for most tandems, but something to consider if you do a lot of night group riding. One thing I think you should consider, is that it is possible to have too bright a light. (I am not saying that the Dinotte it too bright, I don't own one but I am considering purchasing one.) This is based upon a DOT or CalTrans study and a discussion about this with a friend of mine who works in traffic often and gets alerts/memos from his company about safety in construction zones. Basically the deal is that if you have a light that is distracting and causes the driver to focus on the light rather than the road, the driver, especially if impaired (drunk or stoned), is more likely to drive into the light rather than avoid it. Unfortunately, the light that alerts a typical driver to your location from a long distance can also be the one that will attract the drunk driver to plow into you - like a moth to a flame. If I owned a Dinotte I would set it to non-flash to not be so distracting. This is the same way I ride with my two Planet Bike Super Flashes when we ride at night. Your results may vary. Stay safe.

blamp28

I'm buying the parts to build a new front wheel for my Screamer to match the rear I built last year. Shimano hub, Velocity Aeroheat rim and Wheelsmith spokes. These will be a step up from the stock wheels on the bike.

cornucopia72

Excuse my ignorance: In the video which of the tail lights is the Dinotte (the one on top or the one below)?

la2sei

Got some Crank Brothers Acid1 pedals for the Screamer. I like Egg beaters, but sometimes I don't want to be fully clipped in, and a little platform is nice.

TandemGeek

The lower one... the bright one.

Butcher

I just bought a 170mm Record triple crankset since my daughter and I are going to start practicing for the STP in July. I also bought matching 170mm Record crank to take care of the timing chain portion.

professorbob

I'm about to buy a honey colored Brooks B-17. Got one on the single am looking forward to having it on the double.

TandemGeek

In the last year.... and with a little help from Quicken

• May 11 - Reynold Ouzo Pro Tandem carbon fork on close-out ($229 shipped) from Land Shark cycles for some experimentation
• May 13 - A pair of American Classic cassette clips ($31 shipped) to keep my 10 speed Shimano cassettes from destroying my Topolino & Rolf wheelset's cassette carriers
• Jun 06 - ProLink chain lube at the Tennessee Tandem Rally ($7.59 w/tax) just for some experimentation (pending)
• Jul 24 - A lightly used Profile KK2 water bottle cage off Ebay ($19.95 shipped) just to have on hand as a spare
• Jul 24 - A Garmin Edge 705 Edge w/HRM, Cadence and SIM Card ($525 - Bro deal)
• Jul 30 - Some extra Garmin GPS handlebar mounts($43 shipped) to make moving Debbie's Garmin Edge 305 between bikes less of a hassle
• Oct 03 - A DiNotte 140L AA taillight off of Ebay ($55 shipped)
• Oct 16 - A DiNotte 140L Lithium Ion taillight off Ebay ($110 shipped)

rmac

I decided to simplify things and gave up on the JTEK Campy-Shimano converter on one tandem and the Shimano 9sp to 10sp converter on another tandem. Bought a White Industries Campy wheel for the first bike to replace Shimano wheels and a right-hand Shimano Ultegra 10sp brifter for the other bike to replace a 9sp one. Unfortunately, on White Industries hubs you cannot just replace the cassette carrier.

bobthib

Perhaps, but at the risk of hijacking the thread, I would like to see data to support this. I think flashing is safer.

It seems to me that FLASHING says "BEWARE" even to a drunk. A solid bright red light might just say "motorcycle," which someone impaired would assume is in the main driving lane and doing the speed limit.

When they realized too late that you are not doing the speed limit, slow reaction time might make it too late for you.

Fact of the matter is, there is no "sure thing." I'm placing my $ on flashing lights, front and rear.

TandemGeek

Ya think? How about just starting a new thread....

Carbonfiberboy 

We're planning on doing about the same thing to our Speedster, although we have Race Face and we might go with a 52 big ring.

Recent past purchases: Tires! It's wonderful to need new tires. And we've added front and rear blinkies which are on all the time in daylight. White in front, of course. At night we burn steady in the front plus the smaller blinky.

While auto-bound, we once met a rando rider, at night, with an enormously bright front flashing light. We couldn't figure out what the @#$% it was or where it was for way too long a time. Something about the flashing blinding us and the thing appearing and disappearing, so we couldn't range it. Freaky. Sorry, TG.

Ritterview

Well, to help keep the thread from veering off again, I'll post something I bought for my tandem.

A Profile Design E-Pack. These are often called Bento Boxes, and are used a lot by triathletes. The idea is that with its placement on the top tube, aerodynamically shielded by the head and steering tube, its top-loading velcro closure allows a rider to gain one-handed access to bonk-preventing food and electrolytes (or cell phones or whatever).

It will work for the captain, but it might not work for many stokers, as if the stem attaches too low on the captain's seatpost, there may not be sufficient clearance between the stoker's stem and the top tube. A stoker has resort to a captain's saddlebag for the same purposes, but these generally close with a zipper, are not top-loading, and so are not so easily accessed.



The Bento Box TRZ model might work better for stokers, as it slopes downward as the stoker stem slopes upward.

Retro Grouch 

Actually, I'm looking for a new recumbent tandem to hang my pedals from my Santana onto.

DCwom

Most recently a Brooks b17 saddle, and one of the previously mentioned "Bento boxes" for the cell phone (mounted for stoker access).

Ritterview

So, on your bike, is there sufficient clearance between the stoker stem and the top tube? Does it work well for the cell phone storage/access? A pic would be nice.

Monoborracho

Last purchase was a set of 26" Velocity Aeroheat, custom laced up for us by this gentleman.

https://www.youngwheels.com/

Not only does the Burley now ride like a new bike...... with new pads on the brakes, and the new wheels, it is a whole new experience.

cornucopia72

Inspired by this tread, we just ordered a Dinotte 400 tail light.