New to the tandem-thing...Rolly Polly-Ruffy Tuffy's?

[trophyoftexas]

Just purchased a nice older tandem and it needs new shoes...I've got some Rolly Polly's and Ruffy Tuffy's here that I've been wanting to use on something...I had intended to use them on a nice old McLean that I have but I'm going to sell that frame and fork soon and now I've got tires I don't need...sort of thought about putting the Rolly on the front and the Tuffy on the back, any thoughts about doing this? I'm about 185 and my stoker is about (don't tell her I told this here!) is about 140 OR SO!...so......? Also...just who out there in forum-land would y'all consider to be the resident authority on tandems?

[Ti Designs]

I have two tandems, an older Ritchey Skyliner and a new Co-Motion Robusta. I find that tires make a huge difference, but what works well on a road bike doesn't always translate well to the tandem. I've tried a lot of different tires on both bikes. About the only tire I'll run on the road tandem is the 25c Pro2. I've tried just about everything else, I keep putting the Pro2's back on. I'm running the AlphaQ fork, so I'm limited to the 25. On the 26" tandem I've tried about 20 tires. Too large is a mistake, the tire rolls off center in corners. Tread patterns that work on singles don't work at all on the tandem. I run SpeedMax tires on my fixed gear and my mountain bike sometimes, but they suck on the tandem. It's all trial and [expensive] error, so try 'em all out and let us know what you think. I also sell tandems so it's good for me to know which wider tires do well...

[Bradford]

I tried the same thing and it didn't work well for me. The Ruffy Tuffy blew off the back rim 3 times. I moved them to my touring bike and they have been fine ever since.

Back to Gatorskins on the tandem.

[NateM]

I run the speedblend version of this tire on my Cannondale tandem.I weigh 145 and my daughter weighs 110. 85 psi and we rock,good choice.

[trophyoftexas]

The Ruffy Tuffy blew off the back rim 3 times.

Interesting....please explain...do you mean "blew off" as in flatted or as rolled off the rim, etc.?

I've run a couple of sets of these on an old Mercian I have and really like them, all aspects, looks, feel, cornering, duribility....these are the reasons that I thought I might give them a try on the tandem, that along with the fact that they are sitting here unused! Too bad, they woulda been very cool on the McLean!

[fiamme red]

I tried the same thing and it didn't work well for me. The Ruffy Tuffy blew off the back rim 3 times.What was the rim?

[trophyoftexas]

...It's all trial and [expensive] error, so try 'em all out and let us know what you think.......were never spoken! But then, in the bicycle world, what type of experimentation ISN'T expensive!!! I'm sure the NEXT expensive experiement will be getting my stoker's position set up! MORE saddles....MORE stems....MORE handlebars! :crap:

[Bradford]

Interesting....please explain...do you mean "blew off" as in flatted or as rolled off the rim, etc.?

I got a flat, and when I went to change the flat the tire was off the rim around the flat. Flats on Tandem are very bad because my stoker gets upset and is annoying until I get the tube changed and get back on the road.

I'm assuming that the tire was not seating correctly on the rim. I never discount the possibility (liklihood?) of operator error, but having the same problem three times in a row with the Ruffy Tuffy, and never having it with the Gator skins, is enough for me to just put the Ruffy Tuffy back on my touring bike, where it had been before.

I have had zero issues with the touring bike and those tires, in fact the opposite, they are really nice tires on that bike.

I don't remember what rims are on the Co-Motion...whatever came stock back in 2003.

I don't know if it is the weight of the tandem, the rim, or just the combo of the rim and tire, but whatever it is, it just didn't work for me.

[zap]

Tandem rider for 15+ years with probably over 30,000 miles. We've done a few TT but mostly AA club and race team rides. Our combined weight is a little less (5-10lbs) than the op.

My all time favorite tires are Conti 4000 S 23c pumped to 130psi. Folks here freak but well, we ride differently. It's the best combo for high speeds on flats, wicked twisty descents and hammering out of the saddle on climbs.

Conti 4000 25c@100psi is good for dirt roads with some gravel. It is also a bit more comfortable for civil rides with friends but too soft for out of saddle hammering. We have Conti 28c on our travel tandem so that's perfect for pave and tracks commonly found in Europe but it's not a go fast tire for us.

[palincss]

I used Ruffy Tuffies on my tandem for a year and liked them a lot.

[Vancouverdave]

I have used Ruffy Tuffy's on our tandem, they are good tires and faster rolling than the Ribmo's we're currently riding. RT's are my favorite "fast fat" tire--until Michelin brings out a "Pro Rando 700 x 30."

[RPS]

....were never spoken! But then, in the bicycle world, what type of experimentation ISN'T expensive!!! I'm sure the NEXT expensive experiement will be getting my stoker's position set up! MORE saddles....MORE stems....MORE handlebars! :crap:
With a quality adjustable tandem stem you shouldn’t have to buy many stems to get it right for your stoker. Once you get her position dialed in perfectly you can always switch to a standard stem to save weight or for other reasons, but it shouldn’t require buying a lot of different stems to make adjustments. By the time we got our second tandem, a custom Co-Motion, we didn’t need an adjustable stem at all.

Regarding tires, I can’t really help much because my stoker and I weigh just under 250 pounds combined (I keep gaining and she lost a lot – neither a good thing) and both of our tandems use 26-inch tires. My favorites for speed and ride were Continental Grand Prix 26X1 inflated between 110 and 120 PSI, but lately have used various 26X1.25 road tires at 80 to 100 PSI because they are easier to find and less expensive. The fatter tires are also less likely to pinch flat while riding on trails on the way out of town, but once on the road they don’t ride as nice. I plan to go back to Continentals when I need new tires – probably try Ultra Gatorskins in 1-1/8 size which is in the middle of what we have used (about 28 mm equivalent size).

[sg8357]

Interesting....please explain...do you mean "blew off" as in flatted or as rolled off the rim, etc.?

A quess,Rollys are Panaracers, they fit looser than other tires.

GranBois are also Panaracers and are loose on Velocity rims,
meaning having to pump them up and adjust the bead sometimes.
Velocity Dyads are popular tandem rims.

Contis + Mavic rims, needed a bead jack and many naughty words,
to get them on and off.

If you want to try Rollys, get wire bead Paselas, they fit tighter.