Tandem and Tandem Rack Questions

[cmbicycles]

I'm thinking about getting a tandem to ride with my kids before the grow up too much, they are 5'2" +/- and I'm 6'5". Other than whether they will enjoy it, what are considerations I should be thinking about? Leaning towards a road tandem and taking it on the Capital trail in Richmond... but probably not a deal breaker to have flat bars.
Ive just started looking at used prices... How well would a mid 90s Burley duet hold its value? There is one with a $1200 asking price not too far from me... the price seems a bit high for a bike of that age.

[Tandem Rider]

At 5'2" you won't need crank shorteners, a big plus. Any of the big mfgr"s will be a good bike for what you want. 1200 seems pretty high for that tandem, look around, Craigs, Ebay, https://www.rtrmag.com/classifieds.htm and https://tandemclub.org/classifieds/browse-ads/ are good paces to start.

[jwalther]

Sent you a pm.

[buddybikes]

We raised our kids on 2 tandems, beginning at age 3.5, till they became bratty teens. It was real center point of our lives. Began with kiddie cranks, but grew out of that quickly and then used crank shorteners (with adjustable stem) for number of years. We had Belinky's which are now in hands of other paceliners.

[oldpotatoe]

We raised our kids on 2 tandems, beginning at age 3.5, till they became bratty teens. It was real center point of our lives. Began with kiddie cranks, but grew out of that quickly and then used crank shorteners (with adjustable stem) for number of years. We had Belinky's which are now in hands of other paceliners.

:eek:POTM

[zennmotion]

If you're up for an approx 3 hour (one way) schlep from Richmond, you might consider a road trip to Mount Airy Bicycles west of Baltimore- they have a large selection of tandems including pre-owned for test riding. The trip might be more enticing if you realize that there are some beautiful rolling roads from the shop door so you could have a great ride even if the tandem shopping was a bust. Tandems should be test ridden before purchase IMO, the differences between makes and models and sizes are much more significant than just picking out a road bike that fits from CraigsList or whatever. FWIW, I've ridden on a late 90s Burley Duet and liked it very much- medium size fit well for 5'10" captain and 5'4" stoker. After the ride I ultimately bought a Samba which is essentially the same bike, only with the softride beam (wife's decision, she loved the beam at 110lbs, I think a heavier rider would "bounce" more on it and it's fugly, but like I said wife's decision...) We still have the tandem (in CA unfortunately otherwise I'd say come and try it out) but mostly ride a Co-Motion now (with a beam;)) with couplers that feels very similar, I need to replace the cables and brake shoes to get the Burley ready for sale- probably thinking to ask around $800 in the Bay Area market which is a higher price than I think I could get around VA/DC.

Edit: by the way, I saw a recent Bob Roll interview where he described tandems as "divorce machines". Bob Roll knows bikes but I think he don't know squat about relationships! Avoid use of the word "captain" and understand that the person in charge (at any age) is the person on the back seat. Always. Your "half bike" riding experience doesn't translate well to tandeming, it's a different vibe altogether. And when you figure out how to make it click, ride different tempo for different reasons, stop for ice cream, maybe walk some hills that you'd rather grind up on your own... tandem riding is a beeyouteefull ting!

[summilux]

Tandems are great. We bought a used Burley about 15 years ago just so I could ride with the kids and the wife. They seem to hold their value pretty well. I paid $800 Cdn for ours and probably could sell it for more now but it ain't for sale.

Used tandem prices are all over the map mainly because they are rare and tough to ship. See if there is a local tandem club. There might be one for sale. I drove 4 hours one way to pick up ours.

6'5" captain and 5'2" stoker may be a bit of a tough fit. Our Burley is a medium and in worked fine for 5'11" captain and 4'6" to 5'6" stoker.

[Polyglot]

It does not respond to the OP's needs at all but if anybody is interested, I have a triplet for anybody who wants to take out two kids at a time. My daughters loved riding it with me until they, just as described by Steve, became bratty teens. I have owned tandems continuously since 1979 and it is truly a case of "love it or hate it." My daughters loved it until being seen in public with a parent became uncool. I suspect that now that they are at university and beyond, they would be ready to ride once again.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697950518&stc=1&d=1512392747

If there is any interest, I would like what I believe to be a very inexpensive price of $1000 with pick-up at my home in the Philadelphia suburbs. (a few modifications have been made to the triplet since this photo was taken, but it is largely as shown and I can take updated photos if necessary)

[CNY rider]

It does not respond to the OP's needs at all but if anybody is interested, I have a triplet for anybody who wants to take out two kids at a time. My daughters loved riding it with me until they, just as described by Steve, became bratty teens. I have owned tandems continuously since 1979 and it is truly a case of "love it or hate it." My daughters loved it until being seen in public with a parent became uncool. I suspect that now that they are at university and beyond, they would be ready to ride once again.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=1697950518&stc=1&d=1512392747

If there is any interest, I would like what I believe to be a very inexpensive price of $1000 with pick-up at my home in the Philadelphia suburbs. (a few modifications have been made to the triplet since this photo was taken, but it is largely as shown and I can take updated photos if necessary)


You guys are making me sad.
I’ve had a blast riding our triple for the last several years with our daughters .
Now ages 11 and 9.
Sigh.
I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

[Polyglot]

You guys are making me sad.
I’ve had a blast riding our triple for the last several years with our daughters .
Now ages 11 and 9.
Sigh.
I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

I had no problems getting a Spanish teenage exchange student who lived with us for a year to ride the tandem. She rode a few 40 mile rides with the local club with me. The same with a Russian exchange student. He even rode with me in 20° F weather. So it is not age alone, but rather being embarrassed to be riding with dad, especially if you wear lycra...

[mikoglaces]

I have ridden a tandem with each of my three boys. My 17 year old who is physically and intellectually disabled has ridden with me occasionally since age 4 (when he was just starting to walk with a walker) and then regularly beginning at age 8. We ride a Bike Friday family tandem that we bought second hand for $1000. The brakes are now pretty bad (front brake is a drum brake that probably can no longer get parts for), and it needs some othger work, or I'd try to interest you in the bike as we have a new Hase Pino with e-assist on order. My current tandem might also be too small for you though with a longer stem who knows.

Sites with second hand tandems:

https://tandemclub.org/classifieds/browse-ads/

http://www.tandemclassifieds.com/

There's also e-Bay.

Larry Black (Mt. Airy) does have quite a selection of used tandems. The website has a list of used bikes. I'd call to make an appointment before going.

I don't think you need the latest and greatest to ride with a kid. I have another tandem, a 1994 Trek, that I did a century on a couple years ago (after replacing the cantis with direct pull though because stopping is pretty important).

I can't say whether the tandem you are looking at is worth 1200, but what's your time worth and how long do you want to go without a tandem while you're looking for a deal?

[cmbicycles]

Well after talking to the owner a bit I think I've made a deal on the Burley for a much better price, so now I gotta figure out how I'm going to transport it home this weekend with a car full of kids. It won't fit on the one up hitch rack, or the Thule side arm on the roof, possibly the Thule fork mount carrier with both wheels off and finagled a bit to secure the lower frame tube, or go full Sandford and sons and tie the bike to the roof rack. ;) Probably making a second trip, unless I find a rack locally.

Who makes the better tandem roof carrier... looks like just Thule and Yakima making one. Seems rockymounts (I actually liked their design better) is out of making tandem racks, but figuring there are probably one or two other companies out there that I'm not aware of.

[Gothard]

If you have (3) roof bars, you can mount (2) single bike supports slightly diagonally and attach the fork/front wheel of the tandem to the front one and the rear wheel to the rear one. Watch for the front chainring, though.

[cmbicycles]

If you have (3) roof bars, you can mount (2) single bike supports slightly diagonally and attach the fork/front wheel of the tandem to the front one and the rear wheel to the rear one. Watch for the front chainring, though.I could do this as I have an extra single tray, but am missing the third crossbar. I'm thinking about a mounting a 2x4 with a bolt on fork mount to the cross bars... simple and cheap. I could also make a visit to the local grainger to get some 80/20 and diy a slightly better looking rack that way too.

Macguyver solutions aside, anyone have a tandem rack they prefer?

[dave thompson]

You might look at the Draftmaster tandem rack, pretty nifty and easy to use. I had one when we had our Burley tandem. You can carry singles at the same time. http://www.atoc.com/draftmasterlong.php

[Tandem Rider]

We have had a Yakima, sold/gave it away and currently have a Draftmaster. You will need a 2" receiver hitch but they are the easiest to use. We have many thousands of miles on it, heavy and solid.

[radsmd]

If you already have a roof rack, then the Thule is the way to go. It is the same as the ATOC tandem topper. I have the triplet version that I also use for the 2 person tandem.

The draft master is great but $$$$.

[pdmtong]

I could do this as I have an extra single tray, but am missing the third crossbar. I'm thinking about a mounting a 2x4 with a bolt on fork mount to the cross bars... simple and cheap. I could also make a visit to the local grainger to get some 80/20 and diy a slightly better looking rack that way too. Macguyver solutions aside, anyone have a tandem rack they prefer?
You have never ridden one so I would just DIY to get it home and then see if the kids take to it. As cycling hobbyists we always want to spend a bunch of money on stuff ... resist until the experiment is deemed a success.

[joosttx]

Best of luck finding a tandem. If I had all the money in the world I would own this.

https://www.moustachebikes.com/en/electric-bikes/tandem-electrique-samedi-27-x2/

It would be ideal for tooling around Mount Tam with the kids.

[CNY rider]

You have never ridden one so I would just DIY to get it home and then see if the kids take to it. As cycling hobbyists we always want to spend a bunch of money on stuff ... resist until the experiment is deemed a success.

Agree.
Can you borrow or rent a minivan?
Our Sienna handles the double with ease, and we put the triplet in with 10 minutes of prep work like removing pedals and padding the back and center console.

[weisan]

We have an old regular Thule 4-bike hitch rack on our Odyssey minivan. When we are transporting our comotion tandem, we simply take the front wheel off and place it somewhere in the middle. The rear wheel is protruding out a bit but no big deal, you just have to be careful of the limit while you are driving. We have never been stopped by the cop or encountered any problem in the past.

Alternatively, we can also put it inside the van in the middle, in between the captain seats, with the rear row seats folded down of course and when we needed to haul fewer people....

Not the most ideal setup, but either way works.

[stien]

I can second the minivan...with a car full of kids how do you not have one already? We have two dogs, one infant and a heavy bike habit between my wife and I. Our Sienna has been super handy.

Secondly, just take wheels off and strap it to the roof rack with some generous foam and ratchet straps. That'll get you home with little to no hassle.

I can remember each tandem we have bought. We were lucky to borrow a truck a few times, one was shipped from California, and one I had to ride home solo!

[cmbicycles]

Negative on the minivan. Two kids, plus one extra this weekend, plus their luggage in the back. I think I have a friend to loan me some extra crossbars so I'll double up the singles and make it work.

Sometimes two dogs plus a roof box for vacations works with either our subaru outback or Toyota highlander... although once the outback dies in another 150k miles +/- or gets to be a total eyesore I'll likely get an extended cab pickup or a 4runner... not that that helps this weekend.

[flydhest]

If you find your self tandeming a lot, the. The roof racks that swing down are great. Makes a huge difference for ease of putting the tandem up on your own. The other thing if you do it a lot is to invest in a coupled bike. I used to have a Co-Motion with S&S couplers. Sold it to Zap. It is so solid but it also means putting it inside a car is easy. Whether with or without the cases it fits in.

[cmbicycles]

Well I got the tandem on Sunday, made a few adjustments and changes when we got home and then spent the next 2 hours giving rides around the neighborhood to my kids, my nephew, and my wife. It was a lot of fun... now the kids are asking me to get a triplet or a quad. Baby steps to the tandem, baby steps to the triplet, baby steps to the quad.

I ended up using three load bars and two single bike racks staggered front to back. It was not easy getting that sucker off the rack. (Had help getting it on). I'm considering building a swiveling fork mount rack out of 80/20 and a leftover Thule roof tray figuring I can make something for less than Thule or Yakima charge that is as good or better... plus the exercise of designing and building it will be fun (for me anyway... maybe not everyone's cup of tea).

Thinking of a 3"× 0.75" 80/20 channel for the base, the slots underneath for adjustable mounting hardware to the roof rack... similar to Thule with long washers in the slots and carriage bolts sticking down for wing nuts. That allows the rack to move easily between cars. The thule tray will get bolted to the top side with enough room under the tray for the wheel strap to slide back and forth from single to tandem length. Then a second 80/20 foot long piece on a swivel with a locking fork mount attached... similar to the Yakima tandem mount. Of course as soon as I spend my time designing it and buying materials one will pop up used for next to nothing so the sooner I start, the better. If someone here has a better idea, which I'm all ears, chime in as right now it's still very much in the "drawn on a napkin" phase.