Julian, thanks for the video! I had already read about that method as I bought the original book and also found the information online. However, seeing the video clarified the one element I was struggling with when applying the technique. It will also help tremendously to show both my son and my wife.
Regarding the disc brake tab, aside from the alignment issue, which I don't know if it's common or not, probably the main issue I forgot to mention is that the caliper is already pushed all the way to the side to try to clear the rotor; on the Paul brake, it just wasn't enough. On the TRP Skype, while also being completely pushed outwards, there is somewhat slightly more "adjustability". Neither of the Paul or TRP calipers come with washers to allow the caliper to be rotated, the caliper can just slide in or out, which requires the tab/adaptor to be perfectly parallel to the rotor. Having used Avid's mechanical brakes in the past, I know they do come with the washers, just like rim brake pads do, that allow the pads to be set perfectly parallel to the rotor, even if the caliper/adaptor isn't. For now, it's working well. I just want to see if there is a way to adjust for this discrepancy. It may have been an individual quality variation on my frame, or it's just the normal variation in the process, I don't know that part. I'm sure I'll figure out how to completely solve for it as I research the topic more. Thanks again! René On Sun, Jun 4, 2017 at 10:31 AM, Julian Westerhout <westerh...@gmail.com> wrote: > Rene, > > Congratulations on the first ride! > > Bill McReady of Santana tandems is a promoter of what he calls "the proper > method" for starting and stopping. I can't find a link on their website to > his now old original article, but did find a short Youtube video of a > couple demonstrating the method. https://www.youtube.com/watch? > v=pm4Hf4izxtw > > I find it really works to make things smooth -- that plus communication to > your stoker of bumps, etc. as much as possible. > > You might want to take it out for a few short rides on your own w/o a > stoker just to get the feel for the long bike in turns, stopping, etc. > > As far as your disk mount goes, I'm not sure I follow. On my setup the > brake caliper is attached to an mount/adaptor, which is attached to the > frame bosses. The mount/adaptor has a fair amount of side to side > adjustment possible so a parallel setup of the caliper is fairly easy. Does > your setup not have that adjustability? > > As far as the tire pressure goes, what is the recommended max on the > Switchback Hills? We ride Hetres on our Bilenky -- usually at 50 +/- psi, > even loaded and pulling a trailer I do not go over 60 psi, and we're (at > least me) not a small team. On the HHH I'm running Maxxis Re-Fuse at > about 45 psi so far, although they're a bit wider than > the Switchback Hills. > > Julian Westerhout > Bloomington, IL > > > On Sunday, June 4, 2017 at 11:29:18 AM UTC-5, René wrote: >> >> After being away for two weeks for work and waiting for parts, the >> Hubbuhubbuh is finally finished! >> >> https://flic.kr/p/Vpyjod - keep scrolling. >> >> I still want to add Fenders, and the front one will be Rinkoed, but I >> need more time for that. In the meantime, it's ready to roll and start us >> on the tandem riding learning curve. >> >> First maiden ride was with my son, and it quickly highlighted the fact >> that we do need to learn how to coordinate our action and do the team >> dance. Very short maiden ride in front of the house, and by the end things >> were much improved. I still was petrified to take my hands off the grips, >> no shifts were done, starting and stopping successful but not smooth yet. >> >> It has made me realize that he and I need to practice plenty before I'm >> comfortable enough to try to go for a try with my wife. I don't think it's >> going to take long, but it's going to take some work for sure. Tandem >> riding seems to be an exhilarating experience, it just adds another >> dimension to the experience of riding a bike. >> >> I'm very happy I followed my "gut" and ordered the Hubbuhubbuh when >> announced. If you're thinking about getting one on the next order, do so. >> It's a whole new experience. >> >> A few notes: >> >> - The recommendation to use the Spar Urethane for the cork grips was >> excellent. I really like how they turned out after three coats. Beautiful, >> very smooth and great feeling when holding them. >> >> - On my frame, it seems the disc brake tab is not perfectly parallel to >> the disc rotor. I swapped the Paul disc brake that like most mechanical >> disc brakes only has one piston on the outside which would run the rotor a >> lot, with a TRP Spyke mechanical disc brake which has pistons on both >> sides, and after adjusting it, almost all of the ribbing was removed, with >> the wheel spinning freely. I'm sure the little rubbing that remains will >> disappear once I brake-in the pads and rotor, but I'm going to explore how >> difficult it would be to straighten that tab, or what can be done about it. >> I have a lot of experience with disc brakes on my mountain bikes, but have >> never had to deal with this issue before. >> >> - I tried to use a quick link on the timing chain with the idea that it >> would make it easy to open the chain to try different front/back pedal >> positions, but found that it didn't allow me to get the proper chain >> tension, essentially resulting in a extra link. So I removed it and now >> only need a very minor twist to the eccentric. With the link and the >> eccentric at its maximum chain length adjustment, it still seemed the chain >> had too much slop. I saw a chain length recommendation from Mark/Grant but >> have yet to count the number of links I currently have. I'll still bring >> the Hubbuhubbuh to my LBS mechanic so he can check it and review the disc >> brake tab issue. >> >> - Love the Compass SwitchBack Hill 48mm tires. They roll super smooth and >> fast. They come to about 50mm mounted on the Hubbuhubbuh rims. I did have >> to inflate them beyond their recommended maximum since the tandem plus >> riders is so much higher. I'll experiment with the pressure over time to >> find the best one. How do folks with tandem experience deal with the tire >> pressures? >> >> This is all for now. I'll report as I get more riding experience. >> >> René >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
