Our Calfee Journal

After just 10 days following the frame's arrival, enough of the parts were on hand to support a full build-up and first ride this past weekend.

First Impressions: Rather than sharing my comments, let me share Debbie's... as they truly conveyed the first impressions:

"I had no idea I would notice that big of a difference."

"That's the best ride I've ever had... on any bike"

"What other tandem? This is the only one I want to ride"

"I know what my next single bike will be"

"It just felt lighter, faster, and easier to ride"

"Tell me more about that beautiful-looking bamboo tandem"

There was nothing Debbie said that wasn't spot-on. It truly has the same amazing ride qualities that I found in my Calfee Tetra Pro single bike: light, responsive, and smooth as silk. Of course, there in lies the problem with the Calfee bikes: it's very hard to convey to someone else in words how and why they feel the way they do because there's more to it than simply feeling 'light, responsive, and smooth as silk." It's these unique and hard to describe ride qualities more than simply the often touted weight savings that I was interested in and thought that Debbie would appreciate: the new tandem did not disappoint.

The Build: Although the Thomson stem, my new saddle, and a few other minor bits weren't here yet, I went ahead and did the final assembly on Jan 11 & 12 so that we could take our first little 25 mile spin on the afternoon of the 12th.

The build itself was easy with only one or two head-scratching moments along the way. The first was the two-piece eccentric which is quite different from the designs with which I'm more familiar. The second was the rear rim brake cable routing. Calfee did a nice job of locating the rear brake cable run down lower on the top tube. However, while the location of the cable stop near the stoker's seat tube is positioned perfectly for the rear disc, when used for the caliper rim brake the cable housing had to be looped around the rear stays and stoker's seat tube mast. It's a bit unconventional looking but it works just fine with no perceived loss of performance or stopping power.

The head tube and bottom bracket were nicely faced and needed nothing, all of the threads were chased, and the seat tubes were properly reamed to accept the 27.2mm seat posts. However, the latter did eventually required the use of some FSA installation compound on the aluminum seat posts to snug things up. For those not familiar with composites, Calfee uses a fiberglass insert in the top of each seat tube to prevent Galvanic corrosion from developing between aluminum seat posts and the metallic particle matter in the composite frame. This is also why it is essential to use the fiberglass sleeve that Calfee provides for front derailleurs on the raw, unpainted carbon (aka, nude) frames like ours.

Cable routing is also a bit different in that rather than using traditional cable stops mounted to bosses on the head or down tube, and other brazed on stops or guides elsewhere on the frame, Calfee molds several of them into the frame. There are three guides that go into the head tube and then an internal guide at the captain's seat tube mast for the brake cable plus two more under the stoker's bottom bracket: tolerances are tight. Anything other than a cleanly cut and unfrayed cable will not make it through these precision guides. There are also two cable channels under the captain's eccentric bottom bracket that the front and rear derailleur cables simply pass over, held tight to the frame by cable tension instead of being captured in a closed guide. The rear-most brake cable stops and rear derailleur stops are more conventional, bonded fixtures. Because traditional cable stops are missing from the head or down tube, cable tension adjusters are also absent from the frame. In-line cable adjusters can be installed between the shifter and brake cable housings just in front of the molded-in stops but I have not done so just yet. We'll see if I give in to practicality vs. aesthetics.

Update: By Update #8 in April, an inline adjuster had been added by Update #11 in August it was joined by an in-line rear brake cable adjuster and a front derailleur gear position indicator.

How It Looks: Nearly perfect, but then again I'm a bit biased. While I'm sure some folks will scratch their head when looking at the unpainted frame, it's the perfect look for us.... and there's no paint to scratch or nick, which is really a plus given this is a travel tandem.

With regard to aesthetics, while I originally envisioned a nearly all-black tandem I came back to something closer to my Calfee Tetra Pro's look where the nude frame is set off in stark contrast to a few selectively bright brushed or polished aluminum components, e.g., headset, seat post clamps, derailleur parts, etc... As it turns out, this was a good move since I ended up sticking with our tried & true daVinci cranks, which have a jewelry-like polished finish to the crank arms and spider, now set-off nicely by black FSA chain rings (at least on the drive side). You might note that we presently have something of an asymmetrical look to our drive train and black timing rings would most certainly tie-in nicely with the black chainrings, wheel set and other hardware. Interestingly enough, Todd Shusterman at daVinci previously mentioned he was considering a run of black timing rings and we have put our request info for a set or two if that happens. I should probably point out that neither Calfee nor anyone else I could find sell polished seat post clamps. To get the desired look I simply sanded off the black finish from the exposed parts of the clamps and then used a high-speed polishing wheel to give the clamps a high gloss finish. This was also something I'd done on my Calfee Tetra Pro and it really did a nice job of framing the tandem in combination with a polished headset, the titanium drop-outs, bright brake tracks on the wheels and other aforementioned bright aluminum parts on frame. Also as mentioned, the last two missing parts of the aesthetics package are the black timing rings and the black Thomson X2 stem to replace the Ritchey WCS Model that I installed for the initial build and test ride. I should probably make mention of the water bottle cages, since I'm sure that some will wonder why I didn't install any of the uber-light carbon cages. Although there is definitely a ~60 gram weight penalty, I opted for the $9.99 stainless steel models because they are understated and don't interfere with or draw your eyes away from the lines of the frame. I'm a bit odd, but I simply appreciate the simplicity of the basic, conventional bicycle frame design and am not a fan of anything that detracts from it. Nicely matched mud guards even look better than a loud or eye-catching bottle cage, as does an elegant luggage rack like the models by Tubus.

Update: Disregard all of the comments about brushed and polished bits. The Calfee went stealthy (black) during May. See Update #9.

The First Ride: After doing all of the bench testing and a few lone test rides up and down the street I had all of the initial kinks worked out of the build. The kinks included abandoning the use of a standard-length rear brake brake cable for a tandem-length cable so that the daVinci Easy-Split in line cable connector would fall on top of the rear frame coupling instead of rattling up against the side of the rear top tube, repositioning the cam in the JTek shiftmate to the 1:00pm position, and being reminded that I'd forgotten to set the upper cable stop on the rear derailleur (oops, but no harm done).

The drive train was set-up with Campy 10 ergo shifters, a Campy 9/10 rear derailleur, a JTek #1 Shiftmate, and Shimano 9/10 cassette carrier with a 12x32t Shimano XT cassette.

Update: By Update #11 in August the JTek Shiftmate was removed as it wasn't really necessary.

The aforementioned daVinci cranks with FSA chain rings (53/42/30) are mounted on 116mm Phil Wood bottom brackets with a current chainline of 54mm. Shifting was crisp and flawless throughout the day, although the chainline may be the source of some chatter when the chain's in the 32t rear cog in all but the granny gear. I'll likely change the 9 speed out for a 12x27t 10 speed cassette (which also works with the JTek #1), but for the first couple rides I wanted to limit my attention to basic, tried-and-true configurations. I'm also rethinking the bottom bracket width as I'm more accustomed to 111mm and it appears as though I can make that work without putting the rear stays or rear bottom bracket area at risk. I also decided to run the rear rim calipers for the time being noting that while I had installed and dialed-in the rear disc during my build, I opted to go back to the rear rim brake for the first several outings to eliminate the distraction of breaking in a new disc brake.

As already noted, the ride qualities are outstanding. It met all of my expectations and completely took Debbie by surprise. While there is definitely a little bit of a tail wag, it's on par with what I've experienced on our uncoupled Erickson. I suspect it's coming from the rear chain stays and not the main frame tubes or seat stays. Then again, it could very well be the wheels. Once we have our 36° Fusion wheel set we'll be able to sort that out as the only real evidence is Debbie's rear speed sensor and the spoke mounted magnet coming in contact with each other (1mm clearance) when we stand and coast with our weight pushing down on the right side of the frame or during hard, out of the saddle climbing noting that I do tend to throw the bike from side-to-side.

Update: The '08 Rolfs provded to be the source of the initial handling issues. Once the conventional wheelset was mounted the handling was vastly improved. You'll find futher discussion on how various different wheelsets performed in all of the subsequent updates.

The frame soaks up most of the road noises and makes very few of it's own. In fact, the only noise I heard all day was a slight pin from the brake cable against my top tube when we hit something big enough to jar the bike. Even with the the low spoke count racing wheels and 700x23 tires @ 145 psi, the bike felt more smooth than our exceptionally smooth Erickson's running 36° Deep-Vs with 700x25 tires @ 135 psi. The steering will take a bit of getting used to, which says more about just how much steering trail was used on our Ericksons than anything else. Although it's hard to imagine a tandem with what is essentially the same steering trail as a Co-Motion Supremo or Robusta running an Alpha Q fork feeling sluggish, that's how the Calfee initially felt compared to our Ericksons. Instead of thinking "turn left" like I do on the Erickson which then immediately dives into a corner, the Calfee needed a bit more engagement on my part. However, the upside was that it climbs like an arrow with nearly no steering twitch coming from the pedaling action... something that we've always had on the Ericksons to some extent. I suspect that the steering will become more familiar on subsequent rides and is also part of what's behind the "effortless" ride feel I experienced during 98% of my saddle time yesterday. Again, it was only in those fast, criterium-like cornering dives that the handling of the Ericksons seem to be more familiar. Of course, this is merely analogous to comparing a Porsche Carrera S to a Carrera S4, where one gives you the added exhilaration of hanging the tail out on the ragged edge when cornering and the other gets you through just as fast but with better manners. Update: See previous note regarding handling issues and more details in Update #5, Update #6, and Update #9 There were only two real 'nits' during the ride: 1) I elected not to put any cable-bagels on the brake cable that runs along side my top tube and son of a gun if it didn't rattle up against the frame on big bumps. A 'cable bagel' will resolve that. 2) The aforementioned eccentric apparently wasn't snugged up enough and it clocked back to the 9 O'clock position during the ride. Fortunately, the sync chain didn't have all that much slack to begin with so throwing the chain wasn't a concern. On a subsequent ride and after retorquing the bolts it held fine. It's also been suggested that the same FSA installation compound used on the seat posts will also work well on the eccentric so I'm good to go. Update: See Update #11 in August for a description of the eccentric retrofit that permitted the use of a Bushnell eccentric which was more to my liking. What's it Weigh? As it sits ready to ride, but with the pump, water bottles, and saddle bag removed, about 30 lbs, 9 ounces. Update: Now at 29.5 lbs with Topolino wheels. To get to a comparison weight as used by most tandem builders, you'd need to subtract 505 grams for the pedals, another ~200 grams for the water bottle cages, and you'd probably use a saddle that's not as heavy as my 325 gram Selle Italia Prolink, which puts you in the 29.3 lb range. Now, if you back out the weight of the four couplers (2 @ 1.75" diameter and 2 @ 2" diameter), another 900 grams (~2 lbs) comes off and you're down into the 27.3 lbs. range for a small-size tandem with a 30" rear stoker compartment (compared to most tandems with 27.5" - 28.5"). Putting the rear disc on in lieu of the rear caliper increases the net weight of the tandem by 330 grams when used with the low spoke count racing wheels s, and a bit less with the Fusion wheel set which uses a rear disc hub instead of the thread-on disc adapter used by the the low spoke count racing wheel manufacturer. What'd it Cost? Right off of Calfee's pricing sheet, you're looking at $8,163 for the frame & fork, where $2,895 of that was for the S&S couplers. If you back out the couplers and $500 for the custom sizing you're looking at something closer to $4,768. There are less expensive fork options than the Alpha Q X2; however, our tandem's nude finish was el freebo. If you want paint, you pay extra. For components, $3,500 - $4,500 would put you in the ballpark depending on what kind of deals you might be able to find on Ebay, sales, or if you have an inside track to wholesale pricing. Was it Worth It? A tandem like this is kind of like that Porsche Carrera S4 that I mentioned earlier. You buy one because you want to and because you've got the means to write the checks. It's noteworthy that a significant chunk of the change for this tandem came via the proceeds of selling our '02 Erickson travel tandem. Were it not for the ability to limit our out-of-pocket expenses to something more on the order of a nice new premium travel tandem or second-hand high-end exotic this would have been a non-starter. Moreover, many of the parts came from Ebay or were picked up on sale for a net savings of about 23% compared to Internet pricing and substantially below MSRP.

There are many, many fine tandems out there that will do everything that this one does for a fraction of the cost; after all, it's the motors that really make the biggest difference. However, if for whatever reason you are inclined to want the Porsche Carrera S4 instead of the Chevrolet Corvette, or that Mustang GT convertible, then by all means work with one of Calfee's long-time authorized dealers... dealers who have built several of Calfee's tandems and who can add value to your purchase vis-a-vis their past experience while giving you competitive pricing on a component package that will work as well as ours does right out the door. You really don't want to be the beta test case on a $9k - $13k exotic tandem. So, was it worth it? Time will tell. Hey, we've only ridden it once for a grant total of 25 miles. However, it fit like a soft Italian leather glove and everything worked the way it should (damn, I'm good) on that first ride. Working with Craig and the folks at Calfee Design was fantastic and my "suppliers" were all great to work with. If there was one thing I wish we could have changed it would have been to omit the couplers: those were the budget buster. However, as a practical matter, this tandem would not have made sense without them. Well, that and I should have stuck with my initial inclination and used 111mm bottom brackets: any one need a nice pair of barely used 116mm square taper Phil Wood BB's? Details: (See most recent updates for current data) Frame: Custom Calfee Tetra Tandem w/S&S Couplers Fork: True Temper Alpha Q X2 Headset: Chris King No Thread set Stem / Captain: Thomson Elite X2 ** Stem / Stoker: Zona carbon Stoker Rests: Cane Creek Ergo Handlebars: E3 Curve carbon wing Front Brake: Campagnolo Record ('02) Rear Brake: Campagnolo Record ('02) Alt Rear Brake: Avid BB7 Road w/203mm rotor seat posts:Thomson Masterpiece** Saddles: Selle Italia C2** & Terry Fly Pedals: Speedplay Frog ** Bottom Bracket / Captain: Phil Wood, 68x 108mm (Ti) Bottom Bracket / Stoker: Phil Wood, 68x 108mm (P-Ti) crank set: daVinci cross-over w/FSA rings Shift/Brake Levers: Campy Record Ergo ('06) Front Derailleur: Campy Record Titanium Triple ('04) Rear Derailleur: Campy Record Long cage ('02) Cassette - A: Shimano Ultegra, 12/27 teeth 10 spd Cassette - B: Shimano XT , 12/32 teeth 9 spd Wheels - A: 36° White Ind. w/Velocity Fusion rims** Wheels - B: Brand X low spoke count racing wheels Tires: Vredestein Fortezza 700x23c / 700x25 Bottle Cages: Blackburn Chicane Stainless Steel Frame Pump: Blackburn Carbon XS   **Still waiting on parts   Sources / Suppliers: Calfee Design, Craig Calfee, James, et al.. Precision Tandems, Mark Johnson MTB Tandems, Alex Nutt daVinci Design, Todd Shusterman Bilenky Cycle Works, Stephen Bilenky Tandems East, Mel Kornbluh Performance Bike Jenson USA BikeTiresDirect.com Air Bomb Beyond Bikes Ebay