Fixing a Tandem?

[ABlipInContinuity]

Just wondering, with two experienced riders, whether a fixed tandem would be possible?

[Wowbagger]

Just wondering, with two experienced riders, whether a fixed tandem would be possible?

Charlotte, Liz and I were discussing this as a possibility during some ride or other not too long ago.

I think we concluded that you would have to be terribly perverted to wish to try such a thing. 

[Charlotte]

It's possible.  Track tandems exist and are raced.  I've yet to see a fixed tandem on the road.  Not even at a TT.

Liz was egging me on to fix Margaret Hilda, but there were two very good reasons not to:

1. She's a stately lady who deserves better (M-H, as opposed to Liz...)

2. I don't want to die.

[Wowbagger]

I think we concluded that you would have to be terribly perverted to wish to try such a thing. 

Liz was egging me on to fix Margaret Hilda,

I rest my case, M'lud!

[andygates]

2. I don't want to die.

[sandahl bergman role="valeria"]

Do you want to live forever?

[/little moment]

[alexb]

It's possible.  Track tandems exist and are raced.  I've yet to see a fixed tandem on the road.  Not even at a TT.

Even my old club's two fixed hardmen didn't ride fixed on their tandem. Their (single) chainring was about the size of a serving platter though. I seem to remember comparing it to the wheels on a mate's mini!

I did still manage to beat them in a really blustery 25 mile time trial once, they could never get it up to speed. However the same team did manage to get up to and sustain nearly 60mph along the A130 one time. A Police car stopped off at the finish line to say he'd clocked them on radar.

[clarion]

*Posts this again*

[Butterfly]

At Mildenhall we met a lady from the East Sussex CTC who was reminising about riding a fixed tandem in her youth.

[damerell]

The late great Sheldon Brown did it.

Sheldon Brown's Picchio Fixed-Gear Tandem Bicycle

[Phil]

I'm still kicking myself for passing up a Claude Butler fixed tandem on ebay.  It went for £80, and wasn't in bad nick

[Chris N]

*little moment*

[αdαmsκι]

People are racing tandems on the track in the paraolympics, e.g:

[nuttycyclist]

Our tandem doesn't have very high gears (and only has 5 or 6 of them).

Last time I got going in top gear I got a scream from behind.  Apparently an infrequent cyclist doesn't like stoking at a cadence of 120rpm

I am not allowed to fix it.  Freewheels are good.

[Che]

*Posts this again*

Chain's a bit slack.

[tatanab]

I rode fixed  on my first tandem in the early 70s.  A heavy post war job with vastly heavy Chater Lea chainsets, 26 1 3/8 steel wheels on double fixed tandem Airlite tandem hubs.  Stopped by a pair of Weinemann 999 centrepulls.  We rode 76" for club rides (and occassional commuting) and 95" for timetrialling.  So you don't have to be "hard", I did it because that was the kit I had and I was a pauper

[clarion]

*Posts this again*

Chain's a bit slack.

Chain's working a bit hard

[Luke]

I've been thinking about this for a while.

Fixed running gear on the left of the bike for the captain, with the sprocket attached to the disk mount of a standard rear hub.

Conventional derailleur setup for the stoker.

Could it work? 

[clarion]

Lorra lorra chain...

[Ian H]

I've been thinking about this for a while.

Fixed running gear on the left of the bike for the captain, with the sprocket attached to the disk mount of a standard rear hub.

Conventional derailleur setup for the stoker.

Could it work? 

Feet would collide unless it was a very long tandem. Also, pedalling out of sync creates wobble problems.

[clarion]

The tandem trike we rode on at Mildenhall had a separate freewheel for the stoker (though the pilot's drive wasn't fixed).  Several tandems, particularly in the USA, used to offer this option.

[Thing2]

The Things would like a fixed tandem - but then we are a bit odd. If either of us saw a reasonable one for sale there would be a significant chance that an "accidental" purchase could occur.

Tandems on a track look the coolest thing ever. I really, really want to have a go on one. Could you imagine how much fun a points race for tandems would be? 

Emma

[Che]

Or a Madison?

[Thing2]

Or a Madison?

Sounds fun 

[scherrit]

We have been considering tandem fixed...  flushed by our success (that'd be self-defined success) in Sunday's 25mile at Gt Missenden. No crash, one minor mis-direction at a roundabout (easily fixed) and a certain amount of out-of-the saddle acceleration after roundabouts- success!

Some of the "issues" you might like to consider would be: track stands, lifting the back of the fixie to get a pedal up at the lights.

I have been trying to persuade Corinne that borrowing the track tandem at Newport is a good idea- I think they have 3 there.

[clarion]

Cool.  Let us know how you get on if you go for it.

In 'Dancing Uphill' by Frances Holland, Charlie, in one of the chapters he'd written, comments:

[My brother] Walter had bought another tandem, one built by Joe Cooke and, although second hand, it was in fine condition.  The Birchfield Cycling Club had organised a 50-mile tandem event and Walter and I decided to ride in it.  We had one or two training rides and went to the start feeling fairly confident on our 90-fixed gear.  The course took place on Watling Street, starting and finishing by the Parson and Clerk pub near Sutton park.  The 25-mile point was about five miles short of Wellington.  We had quite a good ride and won fairly comfortable in a few seconds over 2 hours.

The Birchfield event gave us the confidence to attack the MRRA Unpaced Tandem '50', which we did although it was almost at the end of the season.  We managed to beat the existing record by 10 minutes in spite of a puncture, necessitating the changing of a tyre; the time was 1hr 53min.

The course that was most usually used for these record attempts started on the outskirts of Bristol and went north through Gloucester and then turned north east at Tewkesbury.  My outstanding memory of this ride was the scare I got on the descent of the hill in Thornbury with the sharpish bend, almost at the bottom, how we negotiated the bend, at the terrific speed we were doing, I just don't know.  I was on th eback seat, my legs were flying around, but I was keeping the back steady, Walter did the rest. The art of tandem riding is 'nicking' together - I think we demonstrated our ability in that respect in more ways than one.

Impressive.