Beth and are going to commission an off road tandem from Victor and
wanted input from the group as to frame design and components.

Since it's from Victor, it will be a fillet brazed steel frame. Dual
suspension is a must on local trails, so we are planning to purchase a
Witness rear triangle from Tony Ellsworth. I'm not sure what rear
shock to choose, Ellsworth uses a Romic, but I'm thinking that a Fox
might be the best choice. At any rate, a coil-over seems the best
choice.

Beth is set on an independent pedaling system from DaVinci tandems and
I'd like a Rolhof speedhub. With this setup we should be able to get
between 28 and 56 gears depending on how many chainrings we use. The
DaVinci system also makes the chainrings much smaller so that we won't
need a bashguard. I'm planning on exceeding Rolhoff's maximum gear
reduction recommendation by a little bit, but the general response has
been that the hub can take it. We'll see how the chain does, but
there's potential for using a track chain with this setup if the
torque is too great.

The frame will have a dropped top tube so that I can straddle it even
with a big fork and tires. We're thinking about adding a couple of
S&S couplers for travel, but may retrofit them.

I'm undecided as to which fork to choose. I don't buy the arguement
that a tandem rated fork is essential. It will have to be dual crown
and thru axle, since I've tried off roading without one, the other, or
both, and it's not something that I would recommend.

The Marzocchi Jr. T is a great value, but I wonder if I shouldn't lay
down for the Maverik fork.

Brakes are the other tough choice, but I'm so happy with Avid's Juicy
7 brakes that I will probably use them.

Anything that I'm forgetting? Any design or component pitfalls just
waiting for me? Let me know, because I'll be happy to share the
captain's or stokers chair on this bike.


Chris Hatch