#1
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
The wife and I are a year away from a tandem. We know nothing about them at
this point. Weight and speed are not big issues. Touring, low gearing, carrying capacity and comfort are issues. Not interested on one that folds. My preference would be to get the frame and have my LBS build it up from their. I have a very good relationship with my bike-builder and my wheel-builder and it's worth the little bit extra to get exactly what I want rather than have the thing come in a box with a lot of stuff on it I'd like to get rid of. All opinions/experiences appreciated. Thanks bob |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
Thu, 25 Sep 2003 03:22:13 GMT,
. net, "bb" wrote: The wife and I are a year away from a tandem. We know nothing about them at this point. Weight and speed are not big issues. Touring, low gearing, carrying capacity and comfort are issues. Not interested on one that folds. My preference would be to get the frame and have my LBS build it up from their. I have a very good relationship with my bike-builder and my wheel-builder and it's worth the little bit extra to get exactly what I want rather than have the thing come in a box with a lot of stuff on it I'd like to get rid of. I think you'd be better off to buy a used one and ride it for a year. Then you'd have a better idea of what you really want and whether you even like riding a tandem. -- zk |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
bb wrote:
The wife and I are a year away from a tandem. We know nothing about them at this point. Weight and speed are not big issues. Touring, low gearing, carrying capacity and comfort are issues. Not interested on one that folds. My preference would be to get the frame and have my LBS build it up from their. I have a very good relationship with my bike-builder and my wheel-builder and it's worth the little bit extra to get exactly what I want rather than have the thing come in a box with a lot of stuff on it I'd like to get rid of. All opinions/experiences appreciated. My sister and bro-in-law just bought a Burley tandem and like it a lot. But...they rented one a few times first before actually buying. I've heard a few horror stories of people buying tandems only to find it was a more demanding enterprise (the actual riding) than they were really comfortable with. It takes coordination, subordination and compromise to ride one and even the best relationships can be tested by using one! Just talked to a couple three weeks ago who owned a tandem for one day! They didn't like it, and the new Burley my sister bought was actually second hand with perhaps only a 100 miles on it. It wasn't the ride the first owners thought it would be. Rent a tandem and test your relationship with your captain/stoker, then buy if you're still talking. SMH |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
"bb" wrote in message link.net...
The wife and I are a year away from a tandem. We know nothing about them at this point. Weight and speed are not big issues. Touring, low gearing, carrying capacity and comfort are issues. Not interested on one that folds. My preference would be to get the frame and have my LBS build it up from their. I have a very good relationship with my bike-builder and my wheel-builder and it's worth the little bit extra to get exactly what I want rather than have the thing come in a box with a lot of stuff on it I'd like to get rid of. All opinions/experiences appreciated. I have to agree with the opinion that you and your wife first rent or borrow one in order to find out if you will like it. My wife and I bought one (used) and we love it but riding it is different from a single bike. Besides the obvious, like the fact that you can't independently coast and the captain has to alert the stoker about upcoming bumps, I can add a case in point. Once our timing chain broke when we were still about 10 miles from home. Being the stronger rider I offered to become the stoker while my wife steered. I never imagined how much trust the stoker must have in the captain. When the bike started to lean and I couldn't correct for it (since the stoker can't steer) I had this extremely strong urge to jump off. As to your other questions, I think having a tandem set up with the gearing and accessories that you want is a good idea. I did that with our tandem. Buying the frame and components separately a good way to do that. Good luck, Tom |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
Regarding the rent first before buying issue: My LBS owner expressed the
same reservations and will loan us his for as long as it takes to figure out if we still want one when the time comes. His wife can't stand it. bob "Thomas Reynolds" wrote in message om... "bb" wrote in message link.net... The wife and I are a year away from a tandem. We know nothing about them at I have to agree with the opinion that you and your wife first rent or borrow one in order to find out if you will like it Good luck, Tom |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
My preference would be to get the frame and have my LBS build it up from
their. I have a very good relationship with my bike-builder and my wheel-builder and it's worth the little bit extra to get exactly what I want rather than have the thing come in a box with a lot of stuff on it I'd like to get rid of. #1: Tandems can bring out the best in a couple, and sometimes the worst. Consider that you're essentially riveted to the other person and cannot get away; he/she can bring up whatever conversation they wish because they have a captive audience. In my wife's case, it was vacations (something she thought we didn't do enough of; in retrospect, she was right). The other fun thing, for us, was that we'd be climbing some really nasty hill, and she'd be trying to have a conversation with me and actually get mad because I couldn't, since I was out of breath. Care to tell me what's wrong with this picture? #2: Getting a tandem custom-built with exactly what *you* want can be a bad way to go. If you're looking at a stock bike and thinking, why don't they spec this or that cool part... well, install this or that cool part and you'll find out why! I fell into that trap with my first tandem. The better tandem companies have chosen boring, mundane stuff that actually works. Tandems are terribly hard on equipment, and a lot of the stuff that you'd think would work great, dies in the field. So, if you go to a reputable dealer who sells lots of tandems, their recommendations may be worthwhile. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com "bb" wrote in message ink.net... The wife and I are a year away from a tandem. We know nothing about them at this point. Weight and speed are not big issues. Touring, low gearing, carrying capacity and comfort are issues. Not interested on one that folds. My preference would be to get the frame and have my LBS build it up from their. I have a very good relationship with my bike-builder and my wheel-builder and it's worth the little bit extra to get exactly what I want rather than have the thing come in a box with a lot of stuff on it I'd like to get rid of. All opinions/experiences appreciated. Thanks bob |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
"bb" wrote in message link.net...
The wife and I are a year away from a tandem. We know nothing about them at this point. All opinions/experiences appreciated. I bought a Cannondale MT2000 tandem in June. It gets ridden by several combinations: When I ride with my wife or son, I captain. When I ride with my main biker buddy, I stoke. With riser bars on the back, my wife can have the upright position she likes, but I can set them low enough for myself. In Washington, DC, where we live, we are lucky to be at one end of the C&O Canal, one of the best bike rides anywhere (but not for a road bike). I can't afford two tandems, so it's got to be an MTB. Even so, we're not giving up that much on the road. My son and I or my pal and I blow away almost all the single road bikes we encounter. You've got twice the horsepower on a tandem with less than twice the drag. Even in the MTB configuration, it is really fast. We haven't had any conflicts. The captains have been considerate and the stokers have been trusting. I think it's a good idea for the captain to spend some time stoking. I actually prefer stoking. I have more confidence in my captain than I do in myself. All I have to do is pedal and enjoy the scenery. You've probably read about the advantages of a tandem: easy conversation and ability of cyclists of differing abilities to stick together. That has been the case with us. None of we four who ride it regularly are well-matched on singles -- one is always waitiing impatiently and the other is struggling to catch up. But we are perfectly matched on the tandem. It's been a real dream boat. Why wait a year. Pat O'Neil |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
|
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Tandem opinions
"David Kerber" wrote in message ... says... thought we didn't do enough of; in retrospect, she was right). The other fun thing, for us, was that we'd be climbing some really nasty hill, and she'd be trying to have a conversation with me and actually get mad because I couldn't, since I was out of breath. Care to tell me what's wrong with this picture? When it doesn't feel right, I back off too! I think the toughest part for my wife and I would be cadence-matching. I expect the only way we would be successful would be with one which allowed each of us our own cadence, and those appear to be rather expensive. True. I'm not a great-spinning super-cyclist but this was a problem. At a suitable cadence for me, I could feel my "passenger" bouncing. Would it be possible to have different sized chainrings between front and back to allow one rider to be always 20% higher cadence than the other. I imagine it would be odd when starting off, but wondering whether that would be impractical. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Burley Tandem Question Please | Bob Newman | General | 3 | September 24th 03 06:08 PM |
HYBRIDS: Gary Fisher / Trek / Cannondale - Your Opinions Please | RJRider | General | 1 | July 29th 03 10:33 AM |
Tandem Trikes? | brian hughes | General | 8 | July 18th 03 04:22 AM |