Tandem Questions-Mimi, Veronica??

[mimitabby]

Steel isn't that heavy.

I'm sorry, i'm not going to be able to tell you which brands to buy, but it sounds like you ought to go custom, with your leg length problem and the couplers and all...

We ride an old heavy aluminum Burley (okay, not that old, at least 10 years old)
if you are a control freak, or even someone that likes control really a lot, it could be hard. Do you trust your DH's driving? then you'll trust him on the bike.
What we've learned is that I like to be on the tandem out in the country, but in the city it's much too stressful for me.
We've also learned that the tandem beats HANDS down 2 singles in ANY wind.
It's fun to be able to pat your Dh's butt while you are riding.

[Triskeliongirl]

Thanks Mimi! Oh, and I love steel, I ride my steel bike more than my titanium one, its just DH loves his featherlight carbon trek........... But, it we want s/s couplers I think we have to go with steel since you can't couple the lighter aluminum bikes, and I am not sure my body can take aluminum. I am a control freak but I do trust my husband's driving, and his bike handling skills, so I think I could adjust. It would be more fun than having to ride with my head glued onto his wheel. Sometimes when we try to ride together I end up in tears (and/or injured), he says, 'I am doing all the work, all you have to do is hold my wheel', but he doesn't get how hard that is for me (or maybe he finally does which is why he suggested the tandem). In a way it is admitting defeat, or at least weakness, but maybe it is just the practical conclusion he is and always will be a stronger cyclist than me.

Have you ever tried to travel with an uncoupled tandem bike. Does it fit into a standard sized trico iron case?

One more question. What about wheel sizes? For an S/S coupled bike does it make more sense to get 26" instead of 700c to facilitate packing? I know Veronica's is S/S coupled so maybe she has a better idea.

[Triskeliongirl]

Another naive question. On a tandem, is the peddling coupled, i.e. to we both always have to work at the same cadence? If he pushes hard do I have to also, or if my knees are hurting can I back off a little. He's controlling the gears, so I can't downshift and spin faster like I might if my knees are hurting, or can I?

[tprevost]

Another naive question. On a tandem, is the peddling coupled, i.e. to we both always have to work at the same cadence? If he pushes hard do I have to also, or if my knees are hurting can I back off a little. He's controlling the gears, so I can't downshift and spin faster like I might if my knees are hurting, or can I?

I just got an aluminum burley on craigslist... it was a great deal... however, DaVinci makes a tandem where you can each pedal at your own cadence. I saw one last weekend and it looked pretty wierd to me but if it helps, I'm sure its nice to have that option.

We haven't even ridden on ours yet... well, SO has ridden it solo to get used to it and we are riding it together tomorrow I think it'll add another fun dimension to cycling and am now going through our organized ride list to see which ones we can ride on the tandem

[mimitabby]

from Raleighdon: "YOu can too buy a used tandem!"

honey:

here's the link I told you about. Maybe share with your forum.

http://www.tandemmag.com/classified/

The magazine site itself is pretty cool, but this is a fantastic resource for used tandems. They will list both for sales and wanteds.

Happy searches, girls!

D

http://www.tandemmag.com/classified/

[tprevost]

from Raleighdon: "YOu can too buy a used tandem!"

honey:

here's the link I told you about. Maybe share with your forum.

http://www.tandemmag.com/classified/

The magazine site itself is pretty cool, but this is a fantastic resource for used tandems. They will list both for sales and wanteds.

Happy searches, girls!

D

http://www.tandemmag.com/classified/

I found mine on craigslist in Salt Lake City... bought it sight unseen and hoped for the best I was SO happy that it was actually even better than I expected!

Although I'm pretty sure it was also listed on the tandemmag.com site too

[salsabike]

And we found ours, a 91 steel Burley Duet, at Recycled Cycles in Seattle for $350. Considered the S&S coupler thing and decided against it for now. We love ours, have done about 5,000 miles on it in the last couple of years.

Here's a link with a bundle of different tandem articles, links, etc.--

http://www.thetandemlink.com/Learnin...anchor10417632

[singletrackmind]

, DaVinci makes a tandem where you can each pedal at your own cadence.

On a Da Vinci you can coast whilst the other pedals, but when pedaling you maintain the same cadence, when the stoker begins to pedal, they time it so the pedals are in the proper position on the pedal strokes.

The biggest advantage to this that I could see is butt-rests at will, less need to get it together when starting off and lack of knee jerks when the captain forgets to mention a sudden stop or begin in pedaling.

[KnottedYet]

Anybody use those "Tandem Talk" headsets?

We're researching tandems because the person I want to ride with and I just don't have matching paces.

I'd get to be captain, cuz I'm bigger (and bossier!) and can hear. Stoker doesn't hear well, and sign language just ain't gonna happen on the bike. (and I only know a few "universal" signs, anyway... so far. )

Do the headsets help?

[Triskeliongirl]

I just want to thank everyone who posted for all the great suggestions. This is not going to be something we do overnight. I guess we'll start by borrowing a friend's tandem to see how we do. We are lucky that a really good friend recently bought a tandem to ride with his son/wife that is both light and exactly our size, so if I can figure out how to put my dropped pedal on it we are in business.

[mimitabby]

we have 26" wheels and 1.25" tires on our tandem. I LOVE the stability.

I think steel is a good way to go. We have friends who have spent THOUSANDS on ultralight tandems and they have so many problems.
you're hurtling through the air at speeds up to 60mph and you weigh combined about 3-400 pounds (loaded) you don't want to scrimp on structure here.

Good luck finding the bike used. I don't think you can. Unless you get something like what we have.

[Triskeliongirl]

.......you're hurtling through the air at speeds up to 60mph.........

oooh, this part scares me............sounds too dangerous, maybe its not for me. maybe i just have to get stronger on my single bike..............

[mimitabby]

Trisk
WE have never gone faster than 49. You don't have to go that fast.
but you CAN...
I have heard of others going much faster. and I think it's reckless.
The point is, YOU CAN.
and you can easily cruise at 20mph when a single cannot

about him pushing hard while you not.
we do this.
Specifically on hills, when he starts getting tired, I can kind of give him a rest and "supercharge" for a bit.. then he takes over again.
Tandems are great this way.
or you can BOTH give your all for 10 strokes and end up way ahead of everyone.

[SheFly]

Mimi has given you some great advice, and I know that V will chime in as well.

For us, having a tandem is GREAT. My DH is a much stronger rider than I am and always will be. The tandem is the perfect equalizer, and lets us ride together. We started out tandeming on trails (yes, singletrack trails), so trust was a MAJOR issue there, and translated easily to the road when we made our switch.

It did take some getting used to re: pedaling styles. After a number of years, however, I think we finally have figured out a style that works for both of us on the road. There was a company that was making independent linkages (meaning that the captain and stoker could each pedal at their own cadence or coast independently), but I never heard much about them, and it looked like it was complicated and proprietary to me.

We ride aluminum Cannondales (we have one for the road, and one specifically for Time Trials). We really like the ride, but I don't think that this will work for you if you are looking for some customization and/or S&S couplers. One of the couples with whom we ride has an S&S coupled tandem and they have traveled from New England to CA and Europe with it. They love the ride on theirs as well.

As for speed - it's all relative . I'm a bit of a speed junkie, so going fast doesn't worry me, as long as it is safe. We've hit a top speed of 59 mph on ours on a local descent, and I wasn't concerned. At the TT, we can average 28 mph over a 9.75 mile course. Naturally, not everyone is comfortable doing that, but you will definitely be faster on flats and downhills than on a single bike - climbing is another story .

Good luck with your decision! As I said, we love our tandem, and have lots of great adventures together.

SheFly

[SR500]

We bought a Fuji entry level tandem to try it. We really liked riding together, so about a year later we bought a Trek T2000. The Trek is wonderful, full Ultegra, AL frame, fast and beautiful. I've seen S&S couplers, but they are real expensive. My DH rides a Madone, but he really enjoys the tandem. Co-Motion and Santana are big names, but there are many smaller companies making great tandems.