JSNYC

Zona--you win the prize for the coolest braze on's. A mini garage door opener--i love it!

I spoke with the builder today, and it looks like things are going to get rolling next week. We'll work out final drawing & specs over the course of the next few days. Timeline should be a little less than 2 months, which ain't bad at all. Just in time for summer and evening spins in Central Park.

Now, the hunt begins for parts!

If anyone has DA7800 triple brakes, shifters & derailleurs in gently used condition that they'd be interested in selling, please PM me.

Thanks!

(p.s. pathdoc--I appreciate your suggestion, believe me. But, I have a certain madness....and it's definitely not curable!)

JSNYC

Couple of novice questions:

1) Does an FSA Gossamer tandem crank come in one spindle length only?
2) On the front eccentric, how does the BB get installed? Does it require a cartridge BB (vs. outboard cartridge)?

Thanks.

Chris_W

1) All cranksets with an integrated axle only come in one axle length, and this includes the FSA Gossamer tandem.
2) You can install any type of BB inside an eccentric; ones with external/outboard bearings are equally easy to install as the old cartridge type.

WheresWaldo

So now that we are nearly done with final welding and it is really starting to look like a tandem and not just a bunch of aluminum tubes, where are you on the component list?

This thread had a lot of good questions and suggestions, I am now curious how any of these responses shaped your decisions regarding component choices. For your convenience I included a link to the Google docs spreadsheet I used to track parts for our tandem.

Tandem Build

JSNYC

Components will be pretty straightforward: Ultegra 6700 group, Gossamer cranks, Velocity wheels, a mishmash of parts that I have already (spares for my road bike) and a few trinkets here & there like cable splitters and chain catcher. Goal is affordable & reliable. The frame itself should be nice platform for future upgrades as needs (or rather, wants!) and budget permit.

Weight should be in the 28lb area, which in my dumb guy math (28lbs/2 people = 14 lbs per bike) seems pretty darned good.

Big decision now is paint. I'm leaning towards gloss black, or maybe white. Really like white, but such a pain to keep clean (I have a white bike so I can speak from experience on that one...).

p.s. Oh and yes every response (posted or via PM's) that everyone has generously made has helped me in choosing equipment or, at minimum, helped me understand what's involved in assembling a tandem. Lots of little things involved to get these tandems up & running & maintained indeed.