Does Tha Ride Tandem?

[Uncle Grumpy]

We have a tandem, old KHS MTB tandem that I restored and hotted up with some more modern bits. Been out a few times with the wife and it's actually really good at teaching communication like "slowing down", "hard left", gentle right", "coasting", "pedalling" etc. My wife no longer calls it "the divorce bike". Sometime I ride it on my own which tends to make people wonder what happened to the stoker.

I have done a small endo on it.

Still can't wheelie it though.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

My wife no longer calls it "the divorce bike".

We refer to ours as The Relationship Test. It is the cycling version of building IKEA furniture together

 

[hamster]

Had one for a long time, initially with a kiddy crank setup, then shortened cranks, then standard. It allowed family cycling and touring without pressure and longer distances. We did Devon C2C, several Normandy trips and down a good chunk of the Rhine. It was brilliant fun.

Sadly my wife now has arthritis and restricted movement in her hip precluding her using it with me.

The only thing that was a total pain was trying to use trains with one. We always put it flat on two roof bars with the pedals off on one side to carry on the car.

 

[bagpuss]

Just out of interest. What's the stopping distance of your tandem with two people onboard from 50mph?

The hill in question is called Piston hill near Melbourne Derbyshire..it only has one junction on the left from a very minor road .
Once the bottom is reached a gradual ascent follows . This slows you down .

The Magura rim brakes are very effective they allow good modulation.
I did not have a drag brake .
The magura' replaced Campagnolo cantis which without a drag brake were ineffective.
An all up weight of 25 stone takes a lot of stopping. 15 of it is mine .

As said rim brakes are prone to over heating.
I have friends who done 1,000s of miles on tandems without issues. Just road craft and knowing limits of brakes.
Two tandems and a youngest each on the back seat . Camping gear carried as well.
They are in their 90's now and have only recently stopped cycling.

 

[hamster]

@bagpuss Agreed - I ran mine with Maguras - a big advantage with hydraulics is that there is no significant loss of braking at the rear due to cable stretch. My Maguras comfortably stopped a loaded tandem with child trailer down a 1 in 5 in Devon in the midst of a downpour where water was running a couple of inches deep down the road.

 

[Coalfield]

I'm the buyer's remorse guy.
Wife never took to it.
Limited success with 2 kids who became stokers.

 

[Canuk]

I'm the buyer's remorse guy.
Wife never took to it.
Limited success with 2 kids who became stokers.

My wife is not really that keen, but my nephew is desperate to go cycling. He's got very poor eyesight and needs a stick to walk with. He's an excellent runner, so maybe this could be a start for tandem racing, which is apparently pretty popular round here on the track with sighted pilots.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

We refer to ours as The Relationship Test. It is the cycling version of building IKEA furniture together

We have 3 kids, one of which has Aspergers, so we have plenty of relationship tests. At least with Ikea furniture you get an Allen key at the end of the process. I think I have about nine or ten of those double end, double bend 5mm/4mm Allen keys in one of my bike tool drawers.

I was going to buy a double kayak and my wife said "please no, isn't the tandem bike enough!?"

 

[bikeworkshop]

My wife is not really that keen, but my nephew is desperate to go cycling. He's got very poor eyesight and needs a stick to walk with. He's an excellent runner, so maybe this could be a start for tandem racing, which is apparently pretty popular round here on the track with sighted pilots.

For modern practical usage, a modern practical tandem would be best. It's not always a great idea to foist vintage kit on the uninitiated.

 

[hamster]

Good point - modern tandems are much stiffer and handle better. As said upthread, it will also make modern braking possible.

When two tandemists meet, the conversation always ends up about braking!