alexxx

Beautiful bike!!! wow...

TandemGeek

Current Road Bikes...

Dean Castanza (Ti) / Campy Chorus 9 spd


Erickson Signature (Steel) / Campy Chorus 9 spd (Now in Storage)


Erickson Signature (Steel) / Campy Chorus 9 spd


Calfee Tetra Pro (Carbon) / Campy Chorus 9 spd


Calfee Tetra Tandem with S&S couplers (Carbon) / Record 10 spd

DasProfezzional

Those are great bikes. Which are custom? And how old?

ninjaman

I have a couple of pairs of those Topolinos and find them very flexy, how do they stand up to tandem riding?

TandemGeek

Erickson Signature is a custom made by Glenn Erickson of Seattle, WA in the Spring of '99
Erickson Signature Tandem is a custom made by Glenn Erickson of Seattle, WA in the Fall of '98
Calfee Tetra Tandem is a custom made in fall '07*

*The Calfee replaced a second custom '02 Erickson tandem

Not sure which ones you have, but these are an '08 set of the Carbon Core Series AX3.0-T models. Our combined rider / bike weight is right at 305 lbs and the Topolino's have been pretty impressive.

We've had five different sets of wheels on the Calfee tandem as part of some personal testing.... A set of 36° Velocity Fusions built up on White Ind MI6/MI5 hubs w/Sapim Leader spokes (1,950g), a set of 36° Velocity Deep-Vs built up with White Ind. MI6/Daisy hubs w/Sapim Leader spokes (2,050g), a set of '08 Rolf Prima Vigor Tandem wheels (1,830g), a set of '07 Rolf Prima Vigor Tandem wheels (1,850g), and the Topolino wheels (1,530g). I should note, the Calfee has a True Temper Alpha Q X2 tandem fork and they are not the stiffest carbon forks by a long stretch, but then again they're about 200g lighter than the other models... so you get what you get which is a bit of lateral deflection on hard cornering.

Overall, the Topolino's were almost on par with the 2nd stiffest wheelset in the bunch, the Velocity Fusions. They track very well even when pushed into hard corners and there's no hit of brake rub when climbing hard out of the saddle... which is pretty impressive as I'm something of a bike thrower who puts a ton of side loading on our tandem wheels. In fact, it was the '08 Rolf's that we had flex-related handling issues with and we ultimately sold those after Rolf's customer support folks declined to take a look at them to make sure they were up to spec for spoke tension. For kicks we picked up a set of the '07 models that had the deeper rim and narrow brake track and they were a vast improvement over the '08 models. They're probably on par with the Topolino wheels for stiffness.

I will note that we did have some front axle issues with our Topolinos but the folks up in Bethel, CT, were very attentive and got everything squared away for us. It's also worth pointing out that we really didn't get a big appreciation for the cited vibration dampening characteristics of the Topolino wheels on our Calfee tandem -- it does a ton of vibration dampening all by itself -- but were really impressed when we fitted them to our '98 steel Erickson tandem. They really transformed the ride qualities by a large margin, soaking up most of shock from big hits as well as road chatter.

ninjaman

I have two pairs of AC29 w/ aluminum rims and carbon hubs. One pair from 2006, one from 2007. I definitely agree about the damping, they really smooth out any road surface. I never fail to flex them in sprints or standing climbs, and always run my brakes a tad wider when I run them. That being said, they definitely are a great comfort wheelset, if not performance-oriented.

ninjaman

Flatballer

I like that frame ninjaman. Very nice paint.

ninjaman

Thanks, you wanna buy it? It's no longer rideable.

xRICHARDx

My first road bike a trek 1.5

Flatballer

That saddle looks awfully tilted down. Is that comfortable for you?

xRICHARDx

Defiantly not, I fixed the tilt soon after the photo was taken.

fskywalker

Mine is a Giant TCR C1, built from the ground up.

Macdad

For some time now I have been reading this forum and have enjoyed the many topics everyone has had to share. I have found that most of the information shared is informative and also entertaining. So today I felt it was my turn to share by introducing my ride. I know she's a cookie cutter bike, but I love everything about her.

2009 Specialized Tarmac SL2 56cm
Campy Record Group
08 Mavic Kysrium SL wheels
Look Keo Carbon Pedals
Specialized S-Works- Carbon seat post , Carbon Bar, Stem, Carbon water bottle cages
Specialized Toupe Seat

10 Wheels

Nice pic. Wear Red Gloves.......

Kai Winters

Here are some pics of my bike:
Merlin Ti 49cm c/t frame, Mavic Ksyrium Elilte 28 bladed spoke rims with varied tires, tyres for you Euros hehehe, Campy Record BB, Campy Record Crank set 170mm arms w/42/39 chain rings...yep you read right, I am a spinner and can use my full Campy 12/23 9spd freewheel and still go as fast as I want to...Look pedals, Campy Chorus brake calipers, rear and front derailleurs, Campy cables and housing, Douglas bar tape, Campy Record Carbon 9spd levers, Easton EC90 carbon bars, FSA alloy/carbon stem, Fizi:k saddle, Campy Carbon seat post, Chris King Head set, Time Carbon fork.
Chain: varies between Campy Record / Shimano Dura Ace 9spd chains
Tires: varies between Vittoria Corsa / Michelin Race Pro or some such...they have the names worn off them and did not have time to look at my replacements in my workshop.
This bike is 6 years old. I was lucky enough to get the frame from the Merlin site in MA before they closed and sold out. Probably the most comfortable frame I have owned, and I have owned close to a dozen frames. I chose all parts myself for a variety of reasons and built it and all my bikes myself.

jonjon0nline

^What kind of stand is that? Awesome bike!

DasProfezzional

Very cool bike. But I think you should swallow your pride and get a "normal" crankset. A compact double would be great. There's no shame in a wider range of gears. There are longer rides.

Kai Winters

Got the stand at the shop I worked at. We used them for our display bikes.
Nope, I like the chainrings I use. My rides are now much easier than racing/training. I no longer "train" but ride for the pure pleasure and exercise. I use the entire freewheel and go as fast as I want. I can easily hold 25mph for a bit...lot less "bit" than racing days LOL...and if I am spinning out my 42/12 I am going plenty fast and having a heck of a time.
To each his/her own.

DasProfezzional

That's a good philosophy. But you should be able to limit your riding to what you feel is reasonable without your crankset doing it for you.

jhamlin38

Fondriest Status (deda 16.5 steel) 2008 record10 reynolds attacks.

AlexTaylor

Need. Picture. Now.

Kai Winters

Perhaps missing the point a bit. I have 18 useable gears and use the full freewheel in the 42. I would never do that at my current riding level with my old 53...It hangs on my workshop in a proud spot.
I have spun out the 53/12 more than once at the Killington Stage Race wishing I had my team mates 56/10 lol. He won that stage while I got 10th. I am now able to ride the way I like and have access to every gear maximizing pedaling efficiency and maintaining a smooth, fast spin.

MarathonBiker

I have a 2005 Trek 2300. Shimano Dura-Ace components. Sorry, no pics.

xbikeridex

99' Trek 1000 w/full ultegra. just started riding so im pretty pumped about it. pics will come later.