adkoch
07-09-2003, 03:15 PM
Okay, I am buying a tandem bike as my last ditch effort to hook my hubby on biking with me. Our ride this last weekend was again unsuccessful, therefore, reinforcing his desire to never get back in the saddle. He insisted on buying a mountain bike when I bought my trail bike, even though he had no intentions of ever off-roading; therefore, his bike is a good deal heavier than mine and still has the knobbies on. His pedal broke during the ride, he has no water bottle carrier (so I outfitted him with one of my front bags) and his front brakes rubbed for half the distance. Combine all of that with his basic lack of knowledge about shifting/spinning and you can understand his frustration! (Of course, *I* can't tell him how to bike!!)
Anyway, the problem is that I would like to be the captain. I would also like to buy the bike used, since I'm not sure he won't still totally hate it. The ones I've seen on eBay are either 5-speeders or have the captain be 6 ft and the stoker be 5 ft. Should I try a cheap leisure bike or go for the gusto and spend some bucks getting a nice one? If I get a nice one, my husband likes trail riding, yet I am a total roadie. I commute to work and ride invitationals, so I love the open road. I thought a trail version would be a nice compromise, just in case I could ever drag him out on the road (but until then, will be confined to the trails) but then what do I do about the whole 6 ft captain thing? I confess that I know NOTHING about tandems and am looking for advice of what to look out for...
Thanks so much in advance! I love this group!
~Angie
Anyway, the problem is that I would like to be the captain. I would also like to buy the bike used, since I'm not sure he won't still totally hate it. The ones I've seen on eBay are either 5-speeders or have the captain be 6 ft and the stoker be 5 ft. Should I try a cheap leisure bike or go for the gusto and spend some bucks getting a nice one? If I get a nice one, my husband likes trail riding, yet I am a total roadie. I commute to work and ride invitationals, so I love the open road. I thought a trail version would be a nice compromise, just in case I could ever drag him out on the road (but until then, will be confined to the trails) but then what do I do about the whole 6 ft captain thing? I confess that I know NOTHING about tandems and am looking for advice of what to look out for...
Thanks so much in advance! I love this group!
~Angie