# How often are you out of the the middle ring?



## agriholic (Jan 30, 2007)

I am asking because I have been thinking about using a drive train that is entirely right hand. 
Also what size chain ring do you use on the captain cranks? 38 tooth is what I have been seeing commonly. 
I was thinking about a 1by 9 drive train with a 36 tooth chainring, granted I currently live in KS. 
Thoughts or comments would be appreciated


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## bsdc (May 1, 2006)

If your area is flat a 1x9 might be good. If your area is hilly, you might find yourself spending a lot more time in the large and small rings than you think. A tandem is amazingly slow going up hill and amazingly fast going down hill. I'm always surprised how quickly you gain and lose momentum on hills with a tandem. I find myself working the front derailleur MUCH more on a tandem.


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## Trails4Two (May 12, 2008)

*kansas tandem*

Where are you at in KS? Lawerence is way different than Dodge...Overall I think you would want to keep your gears, you will want them if you take your big bike on a road trip to locations with more elevation change.

+1 on slow uphill. We use our granny (20T) a bunch in our neck of the woods.


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## agriholic (Jan 30, 2007)

We are in Manhattan, but will be leaving KS later this year. It will primarily be a gravel road machine. I plugged some numbers on a spreadsheet and it would appear that there is not really enough of a spread in a 1x9 setup to be feasible. Does the size of the timing chainring matter as long as both the Capt and Stoker chainrings are the same size?


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## Trails4Two (May 12, 2008)

agriholic said:


> Does the size of the timing chainring matter as long as both the Capt and Stoker chainrings are the same size?


Does size matter!?! Not really, it can make clearing obstacles slightly harder/easier, but I usually hit the crankarm long before hitting the chainring anyways. Someone might have a different opinion but a 1:1 ratio is a 1:1 ratio to me.


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## banks (Feb 2, 2004)

Did you forget about the Wind?

Ok, NYC, 5 boro tour 2008, we did Not use the granny, but hammered middle & big rings; stock Specy Dejau Tu cranks & rings.

Smaller timing rings are better for clearance, but can wear out faster then larger timing rings which have more chain wrap.


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## TandemNut (Mar 12, 2004)

We keep timing rings around 32T because we've bent a few hitting them on logs and such. A larger timing ring would be more succeptible to that, as it's more exposed, and probably not as strong.
You may be able to make a 2x9 setup work for you, maybe a 26/40 or something similar.
Problem is, if you need the gears, you need the gears. Nothing like being over- or under-geared for the terrain to make a ride unpleasant.


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## winbert (Sep 22, 2005)

*2x9*

As has been mentioned, I've been surprised how much we use the front derailleur on our Cannondale (even w/ a 34t cassette on the relatively mild rolling trails of SE Michigan). I'm a singlespeeder at heart so am normally happy with only one gear, but climbing on a tandem is a whole different story - we use the 26t granny all the time on the harder trails. And I thought we'd never use the 48t :eekster: big ring off-road, but we do (especially when racing). FYI - middle ring is 36t.

I very much like your idea of a 2x9, especially for primarily gravel road use. I'm hoping to try that soon myself, including the right-hand timing chain. As BigNut has pointed out before, the main reason for considering a right-hand-only drivetrain would be for increased crank choices. I'm assuming that's your motivation, or are you just wanting to tinker? I'm pursuing right-hand-only to enable 185mm cranks up front w/ 180mm in back (yeah, tall team ). The plan would be 2x9, with the granny & middle ring controlled by the front derailleur, and the outer ring for the timing chain. I think even the largest granny rings would be too small for timing rings, and apparently if you drop your drive-chain down into a granny-mounted timing chain it takes "chain-suck" to a whole new level.

As for your timing chainring size question, we originally had problems dropping the timing chain w/ the stock 32t rings (no matter how tight I ran the timing chain). We up-sized to 36t timing rings and have seen a noticable improvement. Ground clearance in back was not affected due to the aforementioned giant 48t ring on the drive side, and I run a bashring on the captain's cranks for the rare occasion when front clearance isn't enough.

Good luck & keep us posted!:thumbsup: 
winbert


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## hoovermd (Dec 22, 2007)

agriholic said:


> I am asking because I have been thinking about using a drive train that is entirely right hand.
> Also what size chain ring do you use on the captain cranks? 38 tooth is what I have been seeing commonly.
> I was thinking about a 1by 9 drive train with a 36 tooth chainring, granted I currently live in KS.
> Thoughts or comments would be appreciated


My buddy Greg & I ride a "right hand" tandem.
Most of the time it is a Single Speed, but we recently did some riding with it as a 1x9.
Actually, we find 9 gears to be plenty. Really 3 would be enough IMHO.

Pics here: http://gallery.me.com/hoovermarkd#100198


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## reamer41 (Mar 26, 2007)

I would think a 2x9 might be a good way to go. I very often use the 22t ring, and the 44t big ring isn't really big enough. Most often in the 32t middle.

On my prior tandem I used a right side timing setup. There was enough space at the rear bb to keep all three rings and add a 4th ring inside. I used steel 24t rings for the timing and had rings of 22/34/46 to choose from. I used long steel chainring bolts and spacers to mount the timing and granny rings. Space was tight I used a 9-speed chain for the timing chain (and drive) and had to grind down, slightly, the heads of the chainring bolts to clear the suspension pivot.

We never dropped the drive chain into the timing chain -- there was no room for it to go there. Never had a single problem with the setup, if I recall.


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## Cleve Lansteamer (Mar 26, 2005)

agriholic said:


> I am asking because I have been thinking about using a drive train that is entirely right hand.
> Also what size chain ring do you use on the captain cranks? 38 tooth is what I have been seeing commonly.
> I was thinking about a 1by 9 drive train with a 36 tooth chainring, granted I currently live in KS.
> Thoughts or comments would be appreciated


go singlespeed.


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## ktm300 (Aug 7, 2006)

agriholic said:


> We are in Manhattan, but will be leaving KS later this year. It will primarily be a gravel road machine. I plugged some numbers on a spreadsheet and it would appear that there is not really enough of a spread in a 1x9 setup to be feasible...


What did you come up with? I'm building up a tandem for bike paths and gravel roads (Flint Hills), and am starting with a 1x8.


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## agriholic (Jan 30, 2007)

Well I personally would tell you to err on the side of the big ring, but that depends on your stoker. I run a 24 36 44, and I have never used the cranny ring even on on the steepest offroad climbs here. Granted none of it is sustained. If you do not want to use true "tandem" cranks you could set up a 'single side" drive train like this
I think that you will find that a 1x8 does not offer a wide enough gear range for the power that two set of legs can put out. 
Myself and a local cat2 racer found our selves spun out at 44:12 and were wishing for a bigger big ring on a local gravel road ride:thumbsup:


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## ktm300 (Aug 7, 2006)

I have 42T and 36T chainrings so I can experiment. My stoker is an unknown quantity, but I hope we get to the point where we spin out at 42:12.

Thanks for the link on the single side drive. I just scored a pair of tandem Deore cranks on [email protected], so I'm going conventional.


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## ekloco (Apr 20, 2007)

We have an Ellsworth Tandem. We live in Santa Fe (big mountains +desert plains) Our gear set up is 22-36-50 with 11-34 . The 14 tooth jumps is a little hard to shift but the extreme range is sure worth it. I had to grind the front derrailler to make it work but other then that no problems....Yes we use all the gears.

Living in Kansas with flat to rolling terrain I would favor the higher gears due to the "twin engine" and momentum factors.

You could definatly do an "All Right" drivetrain... the advantage would be that you could use regular cranks instead of tandem cranks. i would recommend at least a 48T chain ring ...Tandem go downhill realy well and your top end disappears fast....same with momentum on the flats ....same with a good tailwind.

Whatever you want to do for lower gears will probably be fine assuming some kind of 2x9

Factors to consider...are you young wild thrill seekers or mellow veterans just cruising around ?


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## ktm300 (Aug 7, 2006)

*Schwinn Tandem!*

Project done. Well, it was done last fall, so we got a few rides on it.

Bought the new frame off craigslist (thanks, Dude!). Most parts were from a Giant Yukon and my bin. The forks are soft, need some help there. Had to buy a few tandem specific parts like stoker stem and cranks. Frame is a 20/16, but a little short on the front TT, 22". A little flexy, too, but we're not a small team @ 350 lbs. Benefit is that you can run 700c wheels.

It's working well for it's intended purpose, getting the wife out on the gravel roads. Running 1x8 is okay for now. We'll gear up as required, hope to do RAGBRAI some year.


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## TandemNut (Mar 12, 2004)

Nice setup. I like the big fat tires!
I'd go ahead and add a 203mm rear rotor and adaptor now; you'll need it if you go downhill at all.


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## ktm300 (Aug 7, 2006)

The fat tires are cush, so far no complaints from the stoker. Not many long hills in Kansas, but it certainly could use more brakes. Thanks for the tip.

We can't wait for this snow to melt away so we can hit the gravel again.


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