Santana Rio Tandem

[Sundayjumper]

Thanks to MatBH5 I became the owner of another Santana yesterday CLICKY

Like many of us Mat has rather too many projects on the go at once (!) and this was one he decided to move on. The important tandem-specific parts were still there - the frame (obvs), 40 spoke wheels & crossover drive, but the original bars, stems & saddles were long gone, replaced with some super-nasty parts and it had been fitted with cheap v-brakes. It looked a bit sorry for itself really.

I picked it up yesterday and with the burst of enthusiasm that only comes with a new purchase I cracked right on with it. Rummaging through the garage I found boxes of parts I'd totally forgotten about

So from my collection of "stuff that might be useful one day" I've fitted:

M095 shifters
M735 cantilevers
M735 front mech (not necessary, but it was just sitting there)
Long stem + ProLite bars
Kenda Small Block skinwall tyres
Turbo & Avocet saddles
Flat pedals, but I'll put SPDs on once we start using it properly

I reckon it's looking pretty good now !

I still need a decent stoker stem to suit a 26mm seatpin. I've got a 28.6mm one - I can shim down but I'd rather get one that fits 100%.

The other important thing I need is a set of kiddy cranks. My daughter is 5yo and VERY excited about going on a tandem.

I've just ordered taps & inserts so that I can convert some spare regular MT60 cranks into a set of tandem cranks. Not necessary, but the current cranks don't match front/rear and I know it'll bug me. Nice tandem cranksets are expensive. Plus it's always good to acquire new tools.

 

[MatBH5]

Re:

Looks really good - projects always seem to go better when I offload then to someone else! I like the changes, looks a proper 90’s off-road tandem again.
Make sure to add a ride report when you get out and about!

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Lovely.

 

[Dr Dremel]

Very nice and sympathetic corrections to the build! Have some doubts though that a 5yo would fit on this bike, no?

Slightly off topic: Never saw the Kenda Small Blocks in skinwall. As these are my favorite tires I have to ask: Where did you get them?

Cheers
Dr

 

[Sundayjumper]

I'm fitting kiddy cranks for The Child. She's tall for her age but not THAT tall

The tyres came from ebay, keep an eye out for them, IIRC they were OEM fit on something and occasionally turn up. I really like them. They're 2.35" FWIW. Might be a bit tight on some frames.

 

[Sundayjumper]

Rio Update

I picked up some basic kiddy cranks on ebay along with stoker bars. I'd still like the proper Santana unit if anyone has one ??

The front cranks on the tandem aren't original and don't match the rears. It makes my skin hurt so they all have to go !

I've ordered four sets of s/h MT60 cranks from various sources so that I can build up my own fully-matching set. Fronts need to be 175mm for me. The kiddy cranks need to be extra-short so maybe 130mm ? I'll cut down & rethread. I can always make another longer set in the future. The lower rear cranks don't even need to be cranks any more so I'll see if I can cut them right down to make them just a spider. I think it'll turn out pretty neat.

 

[Dr Dremel]

Re:

Thanks for the heads up reg the Kendas, I shall keep an eye out for them. 2.35 looks meaty and fitting on the Santana.

I can understand not sleeping well with 2 different cranks fitted. That´s just barbarian If you should need yet another set of MT60s let me know, I have a (rather rough) set as spares.

 

[mattr]

You mean like that?

 

[Sundayjumper]

You mean like that?

Yep.

 

[Sundayjumper]

I've just made my first pair of tandem front cranks. I invested in the special tools for repairing crank threads - they're meant to be for fixing damaged cranks, but they work just as well converting left to right & vice-versa.

The tool is a combined reamer & tap and makes the job really easy. Then you pop in the threaded insert (with a dab of threadlock) and you're good to go. If the cranks are already off the bike it's a ten minute job per side.