mtnbikej
J-Zilla
Most of you know me....I like simplicity. I love my SS. I get out on my FS bike every once in a while, but I really don't like to ride it.
There has been one bike on my radar for a long time. Due to the cost, I have been denied. Hard to justify $6000+ on a brand new bike I may ride once a month.
We have borrowed a tandem from our friends in the past. It was fun to ride. It was a challenge to ride. It actually hurt to ride.....but that was because the owner was taller than I was and I didn't want to mess up his settings when we borrowed it.
As luck would have it, our tandem friends decided that it was time for an upgrade. So they bought a new 29er tandem. Immediately I inquired about the old one. I had heard secondhand what they were gonna sell it for. That price was a deal.....all the ones I had seen on Ebay and such were all going for over $3000 used, and another $350 to ship it here. This one was 3 miles from home, the sizing is perfect for myself and my wife. I figured I could flip it for what I paid for it if we decide it is not for us. In fact I was working for the bike shop when we sold them this bike.
Sunday he gave me a price....lower than my original thought. Even a better price.....a price one cannot pass up. So we jumped on it. My wife was as excited about it as I was. So we went by, paid the man, and went home to take it for a ride.
So what did we get?
2008 Ventana El Conquistador de Montañas(ECDM)
Full suspension w/ 100mm rear travel. 19/16"
2008 Marzocchi 66 RC3 170 or 180mm
Middleburn Cranks
3x9 XT drivetrain
Mavic XM321 / DT 540 rear wheel
Mavic XM321 / DT 440FR front wheel
Magura Gustav M brakes 203mm F/R
2.4 Conti Trail King rear tire
2.5 Bontrager G5 front tire
We immediately swapped out the saddles and pedals. It had narrow bars for the pilot(685mm) and a shorty stem. I ordered up a longer Truvativ Stem and Spank Spike Race 800mm bars
The Marzocchi was leaking oil, so I bought new wipers and seals and serviced the fork. The rear shock was showing a small oil leak, so a quick rebuild was also done on it. My idea of clean and other people's idea of clean are not the same....so I started to tear it down and really clean it.
It still has the original drivetrain....but will need to be replaced sooner rather than later. We will most likely bump it up to 10 spd when that happens....or perhaps 1x11.
The Gustav M brakes are beasts. 8" rotor will lock the rear tire with 375 lbs of bike and riders.
The fork is too much for the bike....but in 2008 forks were not rated for tandems....so they went with the 66 RC3 w/ 38mm stanchions....it is stiff. Coil w/ Air Assist.
The DH tires are heavy, and running tubes. We have 2x the output, so it is not as noticeable as it would be on your single bike.
I wish it were a 29er.....or (gasp!!!!!!) a 27.5. I could maybe put a 27.5 up front....but doubt it would fit the rear.
Like I said above, we have ridden this bike before. It is an adjustment. Fortunately my wife and I have similar pedaling styles(mashers). Otherwise it is just communicating while on the ride.
She says why do I need an e-bike, when she has a j-bike? Best part is, I'm legal in all county parks.
It does take a little bit of adjusting to ride it. Even with 26" wheels it still feels like driving a bus. You gotta take turns wide....to prevent smashing your stoker's hands. When the stoker puts down more power than the pilot, it feels like a boost, but it also makes the bike want to go straight. Switchbacks are really interesting. I have the rear tire pivot down on the single bike.....but on the tandem, it is hard to judge, especially when the back wheel is 4' behind you. The same also goes for obsticles in the trail. The front tire goes over, but seems like an eternity until the rear tire hits it.
The overall weight is so high, that it is super stable at speed. It is like a freight train going DH.
We took it to the Oaks on Sunday.....up Oak, down Yucca, up Bumblebee, down Goat.....the switchbacks on Goat were tricky.
Oh yeah.....it doesn't fit in the back of my truck.
There has been one bike on my radar for a long time. Due to the cost, I have been denied. Hard to justify $6000+ on a brand new bike I may ride once a month.
We have borrowed a tandem from our friends in the past. It was fun to ride. It was a challenge to ride. It actually hurt to ride.....but that was because the owner was taller than I was and I didn't want to mess up his settings when we borrowed it.
As luck would have it, our tandem friends decided that it was time for an upgrade. So they bought a new 29er tandem. Immediately I inquired about the old one. I had heard secondhand what they were gonna sell it for. That price was a deal.....all the ones I had seen on Ebay and such were all going for over $3000 used, and another $350 to ship it here. This one was 3 miles from home, the sizing is perfect for myself and my wife. I figured I could flip it for what I paid for it if we decide it is not for us. In fact I was working for the bike shop when we sold them this bike.
Sunday he gave me a price....lower than my original thought. Even a better price.....a price one cannot pass up. So we jumped on it. My wife was as excited about it as I was. So we went by, paid the man, and went home to take it for a ride.
So what did we get?
2008 Ventana El Conquistador de Montañas(ECDM)
Full suspension w/ 100mm rear travel. 19/16"
2008 Marzocchi 66 RC3 170 or 180mm
Middleburn Cranks
3x9 XT drivetrain
Mavic XM321 / DT 540 rear wheel
Mavic XM321 / DT 440FR front wheel
Magura Gustav M brakes 203mm F/R
2.4 Conti Trail King rear tire
2.5 Bontrager G5 front tire
We immediately swapped out the saddles and pedals. It had narrow bars for the pilot(685mm) and a shorty stem. I ordered up a longer Truvativ Stem and Spank Spike Race 800mm bars
The Marzocchi was leaking oil, so I bought new wipers and seals and serviced the fork. The rear shock was showing a small oil leak, so a quick rebuild was also done on it. My idea of clean and other people's idea of clean are not the same....so I started to tear it down and really clean it.
It still has the original drivetrain....but will need to be replaced sooner rather than later. We will most likely bump it up to 10 spd when that happens....or perhaps 1x11.
The Gustav M brakes are beasts. 8" rotor will lock the rear tire with 375 lbs of bike and riders.
The fork is too much for the bike....but in 2008 forks were not rated for tandems....so they went with the 66 RC3 w/ 38mm stanchions....it is stiff. Coil w/ Air Assist.
The DH tires are heavy, and running tubes. We have 2x the output, so it is not as noticeable as it would be on your single bike.
I wish it were a 29er.....or (gasp!!!!!!) a 27.5. I could maybe put a 27.5 up front....but doubt it would fit the rear.
Like I said above, we have ridden this bike before. It is an adjustment. Fortunately my wife and I have similar pedaling styles(mashers). Otherwise it is just communicating while on the ride.
She says why do I need an e-bike, when she has a j-bike? Best part is, I'm legal in all county parks.
It does take a little bit of adjusting to ride it. Even with 26" wheels it still feels like driving a bus. You gotta take turns wide....to prevent smashing your stoker's hands. When the stoker puts down more power than the pilot, it feels like a boost, but it also makes the bike want to go straight. Switchbacks are really interesting. I have the rear tire pivot down on the single bike.....but on the tandem, it is hard to judge, especially when the back wheel is 4' behind you. The same also goes for obsticles in the trail. The front tire goes over, but seems like an eternity until the rear tire hits it.
The overall weight is so high, that it is super stable at speed. It is like a freight train going DH.
We took it to the Oaks on Sunday.....up Oak, down Yucca, up Bumblebee, down Goat.....the switchbacks on Goat were tricky.
Oh yeah.....it doesn't fit in the back of my truck.
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