Tandem(what make)

[Johan Bornman]

Something two-uppers may want to consider when buying a tandem is to ask for the new 160mm wide rear hub. This is fast becoming a standard for tandem use.  It makes the rear wheel much stronger and more durable.

Just to put it in perspective, MTB rear hubs are spaced for 135mm from drop-out to drop-out. Road bikes 130mm.

 

Sensible tandems are spaced for 145mm hubs but I notice with disappointment that many manufacturers are trying to get by with MTB hubs.

 

On the tandem wheels I  build I recommend going to 145mm if the current hub is unserviceable and has to be replaced. Most aluminium tandems can easily be respaced to 145mm but not 160mm.

 

Also, you may want to consider a rear wheel that can be upgraded to accept a drum brake. These Japanese Arai brakes are drag brakes and made for scrubbing off speed on long hulls through continuous application - soemthing that neither disks or rim brakes can do.

 

 

[Azonic]

 

Also' date=' the spokes are supposed to be stainless steel, but mine are showing serious corrosion. Should probably ask Brandon Els what he thinks of that.

[/quote']

 

Corrosion? I sincerely doubt those spokes are galvanised iron. But why not take a good macro photo of it and post it here, we'll quickly identify the corrosion...or not.

 

 

 

Well, I've tried cleaning the spokes with everything from Silvo to Mr. Muscle and then they still only come one medium shiny. LBS rates its probably a very cheap stainless spoke, or galvanized. I can only do one side of a wheel at a time because you have to put seriaas elbow grease into it and frankly I'm poked afterwards.

 

[Guest Big H]

I have the 2008 Raleigh T6000 (blue & black). It is a M/XL' date=' so I had to replace the
120mm stem with a 60mm to accommodate me at the front. I also had Doug
Paterson put in an extra two water bottle points, since there was only one for the
pilot and my stoker is a thirsty lad (must be Irish blood). He's also going to rebuild
the wheels with stainless steel spokes and solder them for me. The cassette is..................
[/quote']

 

Johan het jy DIT gemis!!!!!????????

[jmaccelari]

 

Also' date=' the spokes are supposed to be stainless steel, but mine are showing serious corrosion. Should probably ask Brandon Els what he thinks of that.

[/quote']

 

Corrosion? I sincerely doubt those spokes are galvanised iron. But why not take a good macro photo of it and post it here, we'll quickly identify the corrosion...or not.

 

Doug Paterson said the spokes are not stainless. I don't know what it is but he

can't solder them. He's getting us some that he can solder. I see no where that

states the spokes are stainless.

 

[Azonic]

 

Also' date=' the spokes are supposed to be stainless steel, but mine are showing serious corrosion. Should probably ask Brandon Els what he thinks of that.

[/quote']

 

Corrosion? I sincerely doubt those spokes are galvanised iron. But why not take a good macro photo of it and post it here, we'll quickly identify the corrosion...or not.

 

Doug Paterson said the spokes are not stainless. I don't know what it is but he

can't solder them. He's getting us some that he can solder. I see no where that

states the spokes are stainless.

 

As per the Raleigh website.

 

[Johan Bornman]

 

Doug Paterson said the spokes are not stainless. I don't know what it is but he
can't solder them. He's getting us some that he can solder. I see no where that
states the spokes are stainless.

 

Clearly a photo is not forthcoming. Now, since you're going to trash them in anyway, why not rub a little bit of pool acid on the spoke you like the least. If the zinc disappears, some hydrogen comes off and the spokes after a day or so start to rust, you know you have galvanised iron spokes.

 

You don't want to ride with them, so they're better relegated as handy bits of wire to fix the exhaust pipe on your lawnmower.

 

If on the other hand, the spokes are stainless, no harm would have come to them and apart from the holes burnt in your clothes, all's well.

 

If they were galvanised iron, the bike was specced to deceive the buyer - 105 bits and galvanised spokes on one bike is a crime.

 

Now, why on earth do you want to solder the spokes?

 

 

 

[Windbreaker]

 

 

 

Clearly a photo is not forthcoming. Now' date=' since you're going to trash them in anyway, why not rub a little bit of pool acid on the spoke you like the least. If the zinc disappears, some hydrogen comes off and the spokes after a day or so start to rust, you know you have galvanised iron spokes.

 

You don't want to ride with them, so they're better relegated as handy bits of wire to fix the exhaust pipe on your lawnmower.

 

If on the other hand, the spokes are stainless, no harm would have come to them and apart from the holes burnt in your clothes, all's well.

 

If they were galvanised iron, the bike was specced to deceive the buyer - 105 bits and galvanised spokes on one bike is a crime.

 

Now, why on earth do you want to solder the spokes?

 

 

 

[/quote']

My wife just asked me what I was grinning about. Who said JB doesn't have a sense of humour? Classic!

 

Windbreaker2008-05-05 10:32:41

[Azonic]

 

Clearly a photo is not forthcoming.

 

This time tomorrow I'll post a picture, as good as my Canon can take.

 

[mdk555]

 

 

I love my RAVO

[limosine]

Hi mdk555. Dit lyk na 'n mooi fiets. Net ng nooit van 'n Ravo gehoor nie

[mdk555]

Thanks Vespa. Cape Cycles System brought the frame in from Europe and then assembled them here with carbon forks, Ultegra shifters, XT, carbon cranks and much more. What was also very neat on the Ravo is that there is place for 5 water bottles. One more can fit on the back post.

[phoenix]

We have a Ravo. Great bike, well spec'd, light and stiff.

 

When we bought ours, it came out with 172,5cm cranks front and back. We changed this to 175cm front and 170cm rear for me and wifey respectively, and it made a big difference for us. The shop we bought from also upgraded our seats, free of charge when we bought.

[phoenix]

Vespa.

 

Quite a few bikeshops in Pretoria stock the Ravo's. We bought our's from Joss. PM him.

phoenix2008-05-06 00:50:40

[mdk555]

. The shop we bought from also upgraded our seats' date=' free of charge when we bought.[/quote'] Yep the factory fitted seats where quite KAKA. Also changed mine.

[jmaccelari]

 

Clearly a photo is not forthcoming.

Now' date=' why on earth do you want to solder the spokes?

 

 [/quote']

I can't give a photo of corrosion as my spokes have none.

 

As to why I "want to solder": Doug offered to do it for me. I have heard

about soldering. It's supposed to make the wheels stiffer and reduce

maintenance (especially in tandem wheels which take a lot of strain).

Apparently with a well built wheel set it can help reduce the chance of

spokes breaking and the wheel going out of true.

 

Please don't start frothing at the mouth about this, as it is what I (me -

personally) have understood about what I have read and heard about it.

So I am not putting this down as gospel truth - it is what I understand

about the subject.

 

It's quite controversial as a lot of people say it does nothing and is a

leftover from the old days before laced spokes. So it's an experiment.

I want to try it out and see if I can notice any difference.

[bob_the_builder]

 

Clearly a photo is not forthcoming.

Now' date=' why on earth do you want to solder the spokes?

 

 [/quote']

 

Some interesting views on tying and soldering spokes...

http://yarchive.net/bike/tying-and-soldering.html

 

and off http://bikewiseoxford.com/page.cfm?pageID=71

 

" I

also "tie and solder" wheels for certain applications. This is the

process of tying the spokes at the last crossing before the rim. It can

transform a pair of wheels! Keener steering response and better power

transfer are but two of the advantages. It also enhances safety. If a

spoke were to break, it is attached to the adjacent spoke, and doesn?t

become entangled in the derailleur or hub. Tying and soldering has no

effect on the ability of the wheels to be trued should they ever need

it. There are a lot of myths floating around about negative ride

quality issues with tying soldering. Wheels were never intended to act

as a suspension element for the rider any more than the Golden

Gate bridge was intended to act as a cushion. Wheels can be likened to

pre-stressed concrete structures in that each spoke is under several

hundred pounds of tension. That high tension helps prevent spoke

breakage. If your wheels are soft enough to be cushy, they will almost

certainly be breaking spokes as well."