Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Tandems => Topic started by: Blodwyn Pig on 02 August, 2023, 02:28:26 pm
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The 'Mrs' doesn't ride a bike, but is now quite interested if someones does all the 'stuff'. I'm 6'2", shes 5'5". looking for a cheap introduction, but not a BSO. Not sure whether to go 26" for comfort or 700c. I've never ridden a tandam , and she's hardly ever ridden a bike (closes eyes). Anything out there? Seen a few on t'bay, ....a Dawes duet, and a Dawes Horizon twin (handbuilt).
presumably a smaller frame can be adapted with a longer seatpost to a degree.
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Anyone heard of Tsunami Tandams
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https://tandem-club.org.uk/
Lots of tandems come up for sale on there, many have been little used.
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https://tandem-club.org.uk/
Lots of tandems come up for sale on there, many have been little used.
ok thanks, arr you a member of this site?
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I have a login but don't subscribe, as there don't seem to be local activities in west London. I get an email whenever anything is put on the sales list.
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Optima Duet? ;D
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We have a Dawes Horizon Twin which we might sell.
Haven't ridden it for years.
This one:
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=33907.msg635085#msg635085
It's currently in Northumberland and needs some TLC- mostly because it hasn't been ridden for ages.
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If you aren't averse to Facebook join the tandem club group. There are some lower cost (sub £500) tandems for sale there, and also links to higher priced ones advertised on the website.
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Not sure whether you can open this as an example https://www.facebook.com/groups/tandemclubuk/permalink/2236264933237089/
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I might have located one, a Thorn Discovery Twin ( I think) in L/s flavour. It’s got , apparantly, woodman hydraulic rim brakes. I googled until my fingers bled, but can find no such thing. I have however found that ‘Woodman’ is a name, and that they used to produce special adapters that allowed the fitment of
Magura hydro rim brakes to std V brake bosses, (other way round actually?) Aptly, Thorn designed the brake boss to be higher than normal, so that the v brake pads are at the bottom of the slot in the arm, to allow for more mudguard clearance.
Also it seems one has to deflate the tyre to remove the wheel, as there is no quick release for the brakes. It has a rear disc and a rear hydro rim brake, and reading Thorns most excellent info sheets, the brake set up is C1 preferred option. Rhs is front rim brake, Lhs is rear disc, and thumb lever is rear rim, as using a disc as a drag brake is a big nono. Interesting reading, the thought that seems to have gone into every aspect of Thorn bikes is astounding, never really thought about them before, but they are the Volvo of the cycling world me thinks.
Anyone any experience of Thorn tandems etc, does £250 sound about right, looks immaculate and not ridden much, they’ve gone solo, and kids have grown up. I’m 6’2” ,a nd my lovely is 5’5”, web says L/ S is ok for 5’9” -6’5” and 5’1” +. Thing is, it’s 300 miles away, bit of a road trip comin on me thinks. Works out approx £80 in fuel, which is prob about the same as courier. . I’m quite taken with Thorns ethos, actually, I is. Now if only they made a recumbent……..
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Oh , and its got a Schmidt dyno hub, but no lights.. :P
Discoverd you can get QR levers for the brakes (assuming they are Maguras.) :thumbsup:
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ok more googling.............the brakes are Magura HS66 , quite rare hydraulic rim brakes, that fit onto canti studs, but with drop bar levers. More googling shows that a set of HS66 , are going for £200 + on Retrobike. I think the 'woodman ' bit is the brake booster arch. Folks want them for old retro MTB to drop bar gravel bike conversions. Probably be going up there Monday or Wednesday to collect.
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We bought a Thorn Discovery a couple of years ago, a 2004 model made not long before they they went to Rohloff hub gears and welded frames. This Discovery model was launched in early 2002, or there abouts, so not a long production run. The frame is super strong, edge brazed butted Reynolds 725, slightly thicker gauges than used previoiusly or since and double marathon tube layout. It is very stiff and solid and a real load carrrier and on the heavy side for a high-quality tandem. They were by no means cheap and often have very good Reynolds 531 racks and Shimano XT components.
The drive system is odd as it has the synch chain on the right with small synch rings, the back one on the inside of a Shimano XT triple, sharing special bolts with the granny ring. Our first brush with this system was on a Thorn Adventure from the same period and it was not a happy experiment for us and we changed it to conventional cross over drive. Our next Adventure, which we got as we needed a coupled frame, also had the same side drive but it worked well at once. The main difference as far as I could see was that the later Adventure has 30t alloy synch rings rather than the steel 27t Shimano rings used on the earlier bike. By the time we got the Discovery I had bought the last two of the Talon (made for Thorn) rings from SJS stock and thought I would have some fun sorting out the synch chain in the same way. As expected when we went to get the bike (found on FB Market Place) the two chains were tangled up and stuck between the rings. The space inside the triple turned out to be a bit tighter than on the Adventure so I had to reduce the length of the spacers between the granny and synch rings by about 0.8mm in a lathe. This has worked out very well indeed although of course it means we are dependant on non-standard parts. It needs to be said that we have seen a couple of Thorns with the same side drive and the original smaller steel synch rings at Tandem Club rallies going along nicely. The sych ring running inside the granny works very well to prevent overshoot on the change to the granny ring - often a problem with triple chainsets on a tandem.
If the bike you are going for is like ours, same side drive inside the other rings, you should budget for new chains straight away and not let the synch chain run with more than recommended slack. If it gets slack, it readily falls onto the granny ring with interesting results often including damage to the chains.
Another thing to look out for. These bikes were often fitted with a nice stoker's suspension seat post by USE that is fitted into a shim with a slot in the back. If this slot and the seat tube slots are left aligned and not capped or grease filled, water can enter the seat tube in quantitiy. There is a drain but that only helps if it is used. Serious water ingress should be obvious if you take out the seat post and take a look down. A bit of light surface rust inside is not a problem.
We took the Discovery on our trip to Brittany this year, the first time we have had a full camping load in France since 2007. Very slow indeed up the steeper hills but reliable handling and good comfort. The catalogues for the older Thorn bikes are linked from the Thorn forum.
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Thank you for such a detailed answer :). I pick up / view the big wee beastie next Sat. It’s a 5 hour journey each way. But I feel it could be a bargain, similar bikes I’ve seen have been £500 -£800. I’ve had a look at the photos again, bearing in mind your comments. I think it might be pre 2002, te earlier discovery, not the marathon version. Interestingly it looks to have thorns trademark forks, but with the brake mounts in front, rather than behind the blades. The sync rings are on the left of the bike fitted to Thorn branded crank arms, with the ‘business’ side on the right as you would expect. A non std ‘black’ seat post is fitted, so will check inside, but it looks very well cared for. Some tandems I’ve seen advertised for more than this, have obviously led hard lives, living outside, with rust the prevalent. Colour, and seat covered peeling off from the base, ( and I’m not talking about Jack Taylor’s , or anything fancy). As said ^^^, it’s got Maura HS66 drop bar hydraulic rim brakes, so someone has presumably spent some extra money on it either at time of order or after.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bikes/thorn-253506/ This should be a link to an identical bike, even same size, but his has brakes behind the fork blades.
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It sounds like a bargin indeed especially with the upgraded brakes and SON. These frames are Reynolds 531 tubing, most with the single marathon tube layout like the one in the SJS link but double marathon was an option. One of the down sides of all of the Thorn drop bar tandems of this period was the use of Suntour SE brakes both ends. I found I could get them to work for one or two rides then they were off the sweet spot and more or less useless.
The former chairman of our local cycling club had a single marathon Thorn Discovery from new and only sold it a few years ago. It went to a couple who planned to do a European tour then pass it on again but in the end they arranged to ship it home to Australia so it had proved to be a solid success with its second owners. That bike has same side drive but with the synch chain ring outside of the other rings.
If the frame is good I would snap it up even if the rims are well worn as there are still just about ways to get 48h rims in 26". If you need to go down that path let me know and I will go into excruciating detail :)
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hmm<it would appear from the photos , that the rims are 40 h 26", Are these still available?
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Any rims with more than 32 hole are becoming rare = more rare as the number of holes increases. There are only a few 40h rims still available regardless of size.
https://www.velocityusa.com/product/rims/dyad-26
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maybe this bike is not such a good idea after all, good price et al, but if the rims are toast, that's going to start to get spendy, specially as 26" is history, and limited options. I feel sorry for all those Thorn tandem owners. Hummmmm!
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Anything to do with tandems/ trikes/ recumbents/ folding bikes will involve some stuff that won't be on the shelf of your local bike shop. If that really concerns you, stick with boring cookie-cutter bikes and boring cookie-cutter rides.
https://www.bricklanebikes.co.uk/rims-5 regularly bring Velocity rims into the UK and in the past have taken orders for specific models and drillings. There is nothing stopping you from doing that, if there is a problem with excessive rim wear.
That tandem's price is a steal, even if you have to spend some time and effort to get it into perfect condition.
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Perhaps I shouldn't have planted seeds of doubt with my comment on rims. We have bought four Thorn tandems made between 1999 and 2004 and none have had significant rim wear when we got them the only problems were due to a traffic or air carriage accident (bent forks easily solved for £100 with new Thorn Raven forks) and on a different bike failure to drain the frame which I have not solved so far.
We do eat rims here in Cornwall with lots poor sight line descents and abrasive mud from hard rock below. The Sun Rhyno rims on our non-coupled Thorn Adventure were getting thin in 2017 (about 8,000km in our ownership) with the rear rim at 1.1mm thickness so I replaced it before a big tour. Ryde Andra CSS as a replacement has been a great success, first with the special Swiss stop blocks then with Kool Stops. It shows no sign of any loss of thickness. I've just picked up a couple of NOS 36h Rhynos from ebay and am putting one on the front of that bike with a second hand SON. Good quality unused 26" rims come up quite often on ebay. I've had a good half dozen Velocity rims that way and now the Sun Rhynos by keeping a search going with email alerts.
I've also got Velocity 48 hole rims in hand to get a bit of extra width for the Discovery when using 50mm Marathon Mondial tyres. The excuse for getting that bike in 2020 was a planned trip to Iceland which still just might happen in 2024.
As far as tyres go, I got in a panic when Schwalbe dropped the Marathon Supreme from their catalogue and stocked up enough for another twenty years, so we should still have good free running tyres in our early 90s. There are plenty of other choices. Continental have put three 26" widths into their Contact Urban range so availabilty isn't contracting that much even if 26" won't be get marketing blather any more and you may have to search a bit for supplies at sensible prices.
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maybe this bike is not such a good idea after all, good price et al, but if the rims are toast, that's going to start to get spendy, specially as 26" is history, and limited options. I feel sorry for all those Thorn tandem owners. Hummmmm!
Thorn have spent such a long time selling quality tandems with 26" wheels that I'd be very surprised if they would stop stocking appropriate rims.
I requested the Rigida Andra Carbide rims on our tandem when we bought it, and I've been so impressed with them that I put some on my solo machine when I rebuilt the wheels at about 10,000 miles. They've done over 30,000 miles since I fitted them and I'd have to live to about 200 to wear them out, I think.
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36 hole don't seem to be a problem, its the 40 and 48 that are scarce.
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are tandem hubs the same width as normal hubs, ie 135mm for 26" or wider?
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It sounds like a bargin indeed especially with the upgraded brakes and SON. These frames are Reynolds 531 tubing, most with the single marathon tube layout like the one in the SJS link but double marathon was an option. One of the down sides of all of the Thorn drop bar tandems of this period was the use of Suntour SE brakes both ends. I found I could get them to work for one or two rides then they were off the sweet spot and more or less useless.
The former chairman of our local cycling club had a single marathon Thorn Discovery from new and only sold it a few years ago. It went to a couple who planned to do a European tour then pass it on again but in the end they arranged to ship it home to Australia so it had proved to be a solid success with its second owners. That bike has same side drive but with the synch chain ring outside of the other rings.
If the frame is good I would snap it up even if the rims are well worn as there are still just about ways to get 48h rims in 26". If you need to go down that path let me know and I will go into excruciating detail :)
Thorn may still have 48h 26" rims available. I bought one of their 48h 26" rear wheels for my daughter's child-carrier bike in february. Built in shop apparently. Sun Rhino rim IIRC that was a real swine to get a cheap Decathlon tyre on (solved with generous application of washing-up liquid).
ETA I have 36h on my tandem, never had a problem with my own wheels but the first ever ride loaded over 40 years ago was a real disaster with cheap factory wheels. But mine isn't intended for anything heavier than a grandchild or two now!
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Tandem derailleur rear hubs may be 140mm, 145mm (probably most common) or 160mm, sometimes 130mm or 135mm.
Tandem wheels frequently came with 40 spokes for a sporty ride or 48 spokes for loaded touring. With stronger modern deep-section rims and more fatigue-resistant spokes, 36 spokes or fewer is commonplace now.
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It sounds like a bargin indeed especially with the upgraded brakes and SON. These frames are Reynolds 531 tubing, most with the single marathon tube layout like the one in the SJS link but double marathon was an option. One of the down sides of all of the Thorn drop bar tandems of this period was the use of Suntour SE brakes both ends. I found I could get them to work for one or two rides then they were off the sweet spot and more or less useless.
The former chairman of our local cycling club had a single marathon Thorn Discovery from new and only sold it a few years ago. It went to a couple who planned to do a European tour then pass it on again but in the end they arranged to ship it home to Australia so it had proved to be a solid success with its second owners. That bike has same side drive but with the synch chain ring outside of the other rings.
If the frame is good I would snap it up even if the rims are well worn as there are still just about ways to get 48h rims in 26". If you need to go down that path let me know and I will go into excruciating detail :)
Thorn may still have 48h 26" rims available. I bought one of their 48h 26" rear wheels for my daughter's child-carrier bike in february. Built in shop apparently. Sun Rhino rim IIRC that was a real swine to get a cheap Decathlon tyre on (solved with generous application of washing-up liquid).
ETA I have 36h on my tandem, never had a problem with my own wheels but the first ever ride loaded over 40 years ago was a real disaster with cheap factory wheels. But mine isn't intended for anything heavier than a grandchild or two now!
That reminds me actually, some years ago I had a Sun rim, Not sure which one, MTB flavour anyway, and I had a beastly job getting a a tyre on, and when I got a puncture….I nearly cried, it was cold and wet, and my fingers bled. I vowed…never again!
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ok more googling.............the brakes are Magura HS66 , quite rare hydraulic rim brakes, that fit onto canti studs, but with drop bar levers. More googling shows that a set of HS66 , are going for £200 + on Retrobike. I think the 'woodman ' bit is the brake booster arch. Folks want them for old retro MTB to drop bar gravel bike conversions. Probably be going up there Monday or Wednesday to collect.
Some years ago I bought a tandem, Burley I think, just to get the Magura HS66 brakes off it. I paired the levers with newer brakes that are QR (with built in booster arch) as the original brakes just bolted on which would make wheel removal a pain. Still have them on our Dawes. My feeling is that they work well to start with but increasing pressure does not result in as much braking as a V does. The action is harder without the spring of a cable so maybe it is the fact that the lever doesn't move that much closer to the bars.
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Deal's off btw, I asked the seller to check the rims for wear with a straight edge, and i got a tirade of abuse,that I was asking far too many questions to travel 5 hours to view it, and they would NOT sell it to me......W^NKERS. And I'd managed to source a sekrit stash of 26" 40 hole sputniks. double W^nkers.
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Is it time to repeat, I have a Dawes Horizon Twin we are looking to re home?
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Is it time to repeat, I have a Dawes Horizon Twin we are looking to re home?
Yes i hear you, but you are a very very long way away. I think I've found something reasonably close, 26" wheel, super condition. Thank you for the nudge tho.
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So sorry to read of the experience that you had with the seller of the Thorn. It sounded like a great deal, even if it needed new rims. What is wrong with some people?!
With regard to your question about wheel size I wouldn't hesitate to go with 26"if that's what presents itself. We had a tandem with S&S couplings built last year and I specified 26"wheels for a few reasons. Smaller wheels are stronger (an important consideration on a tandem), tyre options are good and readily available (We've been running Schwalbe Marathon Supremes for the last few years but have recently fitted Schwalbe Evolution Plus, which we're currently touring on around Normandy and Brittany, and I'm very impressed with them), smaller wheels give lower gearing :-)
I've had to replace the rear 48 hole rim and picked one up from JD Tandems. I built a new front wheel around a dynohub and opted for 36 spokes, which tbh is perfectly adequate, and we carry more weight in our front panniers than the rear.
I hope you find something suitable. I see plenty of 26" wheeled Dawes Tandems advertised at reasonable prices which I'm sure would make an ideal introduction to tandeming.
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So sorry to read of the experience that you had with the seller of the Thorn. It sounded like a great deal, even if it needed new rims. What is wrong with some people?!
With regard to your question about wheel size I wouldn't hesitate to go with 26"if that's what presents itself. We had a tandem with S&S couplings built last year and I specified 26"wheels for a few reasons. Smaller wheels are stronger (an important consideration on a tandem), tyre options are good and readily available (We've been running Schwalbe Marathon Supremes for the last few years but have recently fitted Schwalbe Evolution Plus, which we're currently touring on around Normandy and Brittany, and I'm very impressed with them), smaller wheels give lower gearing :-)
I've had to replace the rear 48 hole rim and picked one up from JD Tandems. I built a new front wheel around a dynohub and opted for 36 spokes, which tbh is perfectly adequate, and we carry more weight in our front panniers than the rear.
I hope you find something suitable. I see plenty of 26" wheeled Dawes Tandems advertised at reasonable prices which I'm sure would make an ideal introduction to tandeming.
Thank you, yes we pick up a Dawes Kickback two tomorrow, assembled by SJS with extras appntly,. Saw a Beaut of a Dawes galaxy tour, in Light metallic blue, but it was 2" too big for the stoker, even with the seat right down, sh would have barely reached the ground,and had NO standover space...ouch. I'll post up pics on here when I get it.........oh hang on..........
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53108246722_7b95edce44_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oUZDuf)s-l1600 (4) (https://flic.kr/p/2oUZDuf) by mark tilley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/yo_stumpy/), on Flickr
Yes I know the front mudguard is broked, and the cranks are out of phase.
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That looks like a great bike. I'm a huge fan of bar end shifters. If you want to improve the braking fitting linear pull brakes will IMO make a big difference. We picked up a second hand Jack Taylor as a daily "runaround" tandem, as we don't have a car and prefer not to use our best tandem for daily use and leaving locked for hours on end. I found the cantilever brakes that it came with very poor but fitting linear pulls transformed the braking. I also changed the brake levers to match for Tektro ones suited to linear pull. Not expensive. Looking forward to hearing how you get on.
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Agree, I have a set ready to go on, just need some fresh cables( maybe) and new noodles. If I stick with drops I’ll get the Tektro RL 340 ? Levers, but may………swap to staightish riser bars and bar ends, and I have the levers and shifters for those, not sure yet. Still miffed about that Thorn tho.
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Well, I have it. I must say it is in exceptional condition, and apart from the bits mentioned ^^^ could honestly pass off a ex demo, (or better ) I was surprised how light it is, considering the size of it, I suppose smaller frame, no heavy disc brakes etc, but, it did have a girt big D lock attached.
Initial plans , sort out crank position, fit Spa Nidd saddle to a longer post from shed(just on max, but it is quite short), swap to V brakes from shed with cables etc, not sure on bars yet, have to try it as it is first, I guess, as I don't want to buy RL 520's then decide to go flat bar. Fit Schwalbe land cruisers from shed (bit of tow bar type stuff), fit spd's to front, flats to rear from shed, rack bag from shed ............some shed!, then work out best way to transport it. We have a Volvo estate, and it went in ok with the wheels off, but placed diagonally, this is not ideal when we go to That France, as we will have our luggage stuff as well.,mudguards sort of got in the way a bit. might try rigging up a timber frame so it can stand upright, with seats out, and front wheel off, have to try various things I guess. Volvo is a big car, long in the back, but not ever so tall , like a berlingo etc.
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Whereabouts are you? I have a roof rack that I made for our tandem that I no longer need as we no longer own a car, and should we ever need to transport our tandem in a car we'd just split it in two. You'd be very welcome to it.
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Whereabouts are you? I have a roof rack that I made for our tandem that I no longer need as we no longer own a car, and should we ever need to transport our tandem in a car we'd just split it in two. You'd be very welcome to it.
Very kind of you, but I have no need. I spent about 1/2 hr today after much fettling, thinking of the best way to get it in the back of the Volvo. Well success. open tailgate, fold down rear seat backs, take off both saddles/posts, lift rear of bike up into rear of car, second person holds it steady. spin bar/stem round 90 deg,remove front wheel, tilt bike sideways at about 20 deg angle, and roll it in, then stand it upright again ( this to avoid the rear rack taking out the overhead light unit)the rear wheel sits in the well between the rear seat and the central cubby box, 2 quick strap through the seat fixings at the side and its done, door shuts, and its very solid, and secure. honestly, it has taken me longer to write this that it takes to put it in the car, and drive away. but thanks again.
EDIT: someone is looking for one in the wanted section.
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(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53108246722_7b95edce44_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oUZDuf)s-l1600 (4) (https://flic.kr/p/2oUZDuf) by mark tilley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/yo_stumpy/), on Flickr
Yes I know the front mudguard is broked, and the cranks are out of phase.
I am sure that you already know this but, you will need to position the front and rear cranks to the same place. Otherwise it will feel very wobbly when you ride it. (There may be other issues, but that's the only one I know of)
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Whereabouts are you? I have a roof rack that I made for our tandem that I no longer need as we no longer own a car, and should we ever need to transport our tandem in a car we'd just split it in two. You'd be very welcome to it.
Very kind of you, but I have no need. I spent about 1/2 hr today after much fettling, thinking of the best way to get it in the back of the Volvo. Well success. open tailgate, fold down rear seat backs, take off both saddles/posts, lift rear of bike up into rear of car, second person holds it steady. spin bar/stem round 90 deg,remove front wheel, tilt bike sideways at about 20 deg angle, and roll it in, then stand it upright again ( this to avoid the rear rack taking out the overhead light unit)the rear wheel sits in the well between the rear seat and the central cubby box, 2 quick strap through the seat fixings at the side and its done, door shuts, and its very solid, and secure. honestly, it has taken me longer to write this that it takes to put it in the car, and drive away. but thanks again.
EDIT: someone is looking for one in the wanted section.
I find strapping it flat to the roof bars - like a ladder - is the most straight forward way of transporting the tandem. I usually then stick a D lock around it, just to make sure it doesn't make a break for freedom half way along the M4.
(Obviously, if I had a tandem specific bike carrier, that would be easier, but they are expensive, and I don't have one - for the 2-3 times I need to move a tandem by means other than it's pedals)
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The Dawes looks nice, and quite long in the rear, which is crucial for stoker comfort. As is so often the case, tandems are the entry drug to get a non-cycling partner to accompany their other half. If MrsBP isn't an experienced cyclist, her expectations of comfort may be very different from yours. Things you can do to avoid early disappointment include fitting the fattest rear tyre your frame's clearances will permit, adding a sprung saddle like a Brooks B67 or similar, and changing the rear seatpin for a suspension seatpost. Or indeed a combination of any or all of these. Our two tandem frames have 23" and 22" rear top tubes, which are short in tandem sizings, so to compensate, the stoker saddle is a wider gel padded thing, allegedly shaped for the female derriere, which is fitted on a suspension seatpost, to give a little added bounce. A fatter tyre is pending as an upgrade. As I've never ridden as stoker, I can not vouch for the effect from personal experience except to say that comments now are limited to asking for a higher gear than I prefer - I like to spin at about a 75 rpm cadence - whereas she prefers a slower, grindy-er cadence. I've heard this from other mixed teams too. One other thing is that new-to-cycling riders often like a more upright position than you might, so adjust the stoker bars to allow for that, and maybe double tape them for extra comfort. Finally, if she's distracted enough to pinch yer bum then you've got a happy stoker and you'll both enjoy the ride.
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(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53108246722_7b95edce44_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2oUZDuf)s-l1600 (4) (https://flic.kr/p/2oUZDuf) by mark tilley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/yo_stumpy/), on Flickr
Yes I know the front mudguard is broked, and the cranks are out of phase.
I am sure that you already know this but, you will need to position the front and rear cranks to the same place. Otherwise it will feel very wobbly when you ride it. (There may be other issues, but that's the only one I know of)
That was my first job, and surprisingly easy, but thanks.
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The Dawes looks nice, and quite long in the rear, which is crucial for stoker comfort. As is so often the case, tandems are the entry drug to get a non-cycling partner to accompany their other half. If MrsBP isn't an experienced cyclist, her expectations of comfort may be very different from yours. Things you can do to avoid early disappointment include fitting the fattest rear tyre your frame's clearances will permit, adding a sprung saddle like a Brooks B17 or similar, and changing the rear seatpin for a suspension seatpost. Or indeed a combination of any or all of these. Our two tandem frames have 23" and 22" rear top tubes, which are short in tandem sizings, so to compensate, the stoker saddle is a wider gel padded thing, allegedly shaped for the female derriere, which is fitted on a suspension seatpost, to give a little added bounce. A fatter tyre is pending as an upgrade. As I've never ridden as stoker, I can not vouch for the effect from personal experience except to say that comments now are limited to asking for a higher gear than I prefer - I like to spin at about a 75 rpm cadence - whereas she prefers a slower, grindy-er cadence. I've heard this from other mixed teams too. One other thing is that new-to-cycling riders often like a more upright position than you might, so adjust the stoker bars to allow for that, and maybe double tape them for extra comfort. Finally, if she's distracted enough to pinch yer bum then you've got a happy stoker and you'll both enjoy the ride.
I should explain, this was the sellers photo, and the stoker was 5'5", and this threw me until I went to pick up, and was told that one of the lanky sprogs had been on the back also, hence the seat as shown. Consequently 'her seat' is now very low, and I doubt there is enough room to fit a sus post, as she is also 5'5", but slightly shorter legs maybe. I moved the saddle forward, and things are now in proportion. spot of lunch then off again for another wee ride, (her idea) ;D .
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We have a Brooks B18 Lady saddle for the stoker, which mounts on a straight seatpost and has suspension coils that sit below the seatpost attachment -- essentially this is the lowest possible height over the top tube and on a sprung saddle, too. I don't know if they are still available.
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Edited my post but the quote doesn't update: Brroks B67 not B17. Whatever: a springy thingy
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I like to spin at about a 75 rpm cadence - whereas she prefers a slower, grindy-er cadence.
Is this where I'm going wrong? I thought 75 was slow grindy cadence.
Finally, if she's distracted enough to pinch yer bum then you've got a happy stoker and you'll both enjoy the ride.
Certainly agree with that!
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Went out again today, along a long bumpy canal path, then up to visit an old church, then I was about to go back the same way, but thought no, and cut across a field on a track, down through the woods, along through the farm, and back on the road. All went surprisingly well, no shouts of ''STOP!'', but she was chatting away , as usual. About 20km ,3/4 of which was rough stuff. Not bad second time out.
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I like to spin at about a 75 rpm cadence - whereas she prefers a slower, grindy-er cadence.
Is this where I'm going wrong? I thought 75 was slow grindy cadence.
I may be about to fall into a 'missed-the-point-entirely' trap but.... I could never rev at 90 even as a youth in my club training days except when riding on fixed. I still rev higher on the 70" fixie than on any of my other machines. 75 is my comfy keep it up all day cadence. What cadence is 'spinning' for anyone else? Rather than you Russell, it's very probably me that's got it all wrong. Either way, Mrs653 always wants to pedal more slowly than I do.
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Whereabouts are you? I have a roof rack that I made for our tandem that I no longer need as we no longer own a car, and should we ever need to transport our tandem in a car we'd just split it in two. You'd be very welcome to it.
EDIT: someone is looking for one in the wanted section.
Noted. I've replied
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Went out again today, along a long bumpy canal path, then up to visit an old church, then I was about to go back the same way, but thought no, and cut across a field on a track, down through the woods, along through the farm, and back on the road. All went surprisingly well, no shouts of ''STOP!'', but she was chatting away , as usual. About 20km ,3/4 of which was rough stuff. Not bad second time out.
Sounds like a great success. My wife and I have cycled all our lives. When we were first married (34 years ago) we rode together a lot but I was always a much stronger rider. We did some cycle touring as well. Then children came along and thereafter did very little riding together. Scroll forward to 2017 (children grown up etc) and we decided to gave a tandem a go. We've never looked back. We ditched the car 3 years ago after I built a cargo bike for shopping and carrying our musical instruments, and travel everywhere by bike and train where necessary. This moved us to get a frame built with S&S couplings to that we can split it and put it on the train, which has opened our horizons for touring holidays.
The tandem has made riding together a real pleasure for us (I'm still a much stronger rider) allowing us to combine our efforts and share the experience. We've just returned from a couple of weeks touring in Normandy and Britanny enjoying wonderful French food and campsites.
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Bit of an update on this. Been to France and rode along the Loire in both directions , plus other excursions and then a long 105 km trip along the Somme , from Amiens to Abbeville and back, and clocked up over 350km in 5 rides. So far we have covered 570 km in total in a little over 5 weeks. I'm rather proud of the way my lovely has taken to it, but she insists, she is 'not a cyclist', ie not for going out and riding around in a big loop everday, but it's ok to use it to go places with.........pub. :thumbsup:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53213303839_d0d0cc5cf7_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2p5h6iR)380423066_6530905056962690_3760570783737054059_n (https://flic.kr/p/2p5h6iR) by mark tilley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/yo_stumpy/), on Flickr
Somewhere along La Somme
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Impressed and jealous, well done both.
R&R
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I know (a) this is a slightly stale thread (b) there's a for-sale board thataway (c) it's an eBay link, but this is our large tandem for sale (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=127747.msg2869361#msg2869361).
It sold. Money has been handed over, a collection date agreed. I'm a bit surprised.