I have had my tandem for a little while now and have not been impressed by the performance of my drivetrain, was wondering if it is what I should expect or if there is anything I can do to improve it. Slower shifting I can imagine being a problem as there is more friction on the cables/longer cables, but these problems I don't know that they are tandem specific. Front derailler is a Tiagra triple, SRAM X7 Grip shifters. Problems have included dropped chains (even when not climbing or pedaling hard), FD rubbing on chainring, chain rub when even a little bit cross chained (middle ring, small cog; small ring, 3rd cog, etc). Initially wasn't shifting into small ring. I played around extensively, and couldn't get things much better. Took it back to the shop to be re-adjusted, and was told that was the best I could expect. Currently in order to reach small chain ring FD is set up at a slight angle, however this means that unless the chainline isn't perfectly straight or nearly so, the chain rubs on the FD. Also the FD/shifter is set up so that I have no trim and it doesn't use the full range of pull. I have owned a several single road bikes (a 105, and a Campy Veloce in triple and a DA, and some older Shimano double) in the past and never had these issues, also never had these problems with a MTB. Is this what I can expect with this setup? Should I upgrade? Is there a trick to adjusting this properly that me and the pro mechanic are missing? Going to a double is not an option as I haul a lot of crap, plus my two kids around on a routine basis, but I am willing to upgrade to Ultegra or even DA, or slap all XT or comparable SRAM on if needed (stock riser bar in front which I like right now as I am getting used to the tandem, and I can muscle it around if I need to). HELP!