Three wheel tandem?

- Bob - said:

Anyone ever seen a three wheel tandem (outside of maybe a Shriner's
parade) ?

I'm thinking it could be essentially two bikes with the rear wheel of
the front as the front wheel of the rear. Thoughts? How about if the
bikes had separate drive trains so that each rider could choose to
gear as they see fit?

Thoughts on the practicality of riding this contraption ?

Tandem trikes are a fixture of the UK cycling scene. The most well
known maker, George Longstaff, died last year.
Phil Brown

philcycles said:

Tandem trikes are a fixture of the UK cycling scene. The most well
known maker, George Longstaff, died last year.
Phil Brown

Any pointers to photos or other info ?

"- Bob -" wrote: (clip) I'm thinking it could be essentially two bikes with
the rear wheel of the front as the front wheel of the rear.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When I was a kid we set one up that way by taking the front wheel off the
rear bike, and stretching the fork onto the rear axle of the lead bike.
This produced an articulated three-wheel tandem. It also resulted in
independent pedaling for the riders, but gearing? Everything was single
speed and coaster brakes in those days. I can't remember how it rode, but I
know we didn't keep it that way very long. That may have been because the
owners of the two bikes went their separate ways.

philcycles said:

- Bob - said:

Anyone ever seen a three wheel tandem (outside of maybe a Shriner's
parade) ?

I'm thinking it could be essentially two bikes with the rear wheel of
the front as the front wheel of the rear. Thoughts? How about if the
bikes had separate drive trains so that each rider could choose to
gear as they see fit?

Thoughts on the practicality of riding this contraption ?

Tandem trikes are a fixture of the UK cycling scene. The most well
known maker, George Longstaff, died last year.
Phil Brown

Tony Oliver used to build (and ride) them until he packed it in to
become a photographer.

"- Bob -" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever seen a three wheel tandem (outside of maybe a Shriner's
parade) ?

I'm thinking it could be essentially two bikes with the rear wheel of
the front as the front wheel of the rear. Thoughts? How about if the
bikes had separate drive trains so that each rider could choose to
gear as they see fit?

Thoughts on the practicality of riding this contraption ?

I saw this big trike recumbent at the GDB Lancaster Country Ride in Texas a
while back
http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c163/earlwb/Organized%20Rides/?action=view&current=0c992f7d.jpg
It appears to be very functional, plus the stoker gets to really enjoy the
ride a lot more than the Captain does. :-)
http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c163/earlwb/Organized%20Rides/?action=view&current=481b819f.jpg

On Fri, 07 Jul 2006 16:50:12 GMT, - Bob - <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Anyone ever seen a three wheel tandem (outside of maybe a Shriner's
parade) ?

Yes, in several variations.

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking it could be essentially two bikes with the rear wheel of
the front as the front wheel of the rear.

That's not really a tandem, it's a bike with a trailer; the Adams
Trail-A-Bike is a common example.

Quoted message said:

Thoughts? How about if the
bikes had separate drive trains so that each rider could choose to
gear as they see fit?

The Trail-A-Bike provides just that. Its usefulness as a feature is
debatable.

Quoted message said:

Thoughts on the practicality of riding this contraption ?

I've never tried one, but as a kid-toting method they're reportedly
OK. I have seen more serious three-wheel tandems including several
tandem recumbent trikes, one of which was in tadpole layout. I see no
advantage in the Trail-a-bike layout if a permanent tandem is the
goal; it's a makeshift that permits part-time tandem configuration on
a regular bike, but the classic tandem is going to provide a better
result if performance is an issue at all.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Earl Bollinger said:

I saw this big trike recumbent at the GDB Lancaster Country Ride in Texas a
while back
http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c163/earlwb/Organized%20Rides/?action=view&current=0c992f7d.jpg
It appears to be very functional, plus the stoker gets to really enjoy the
ride a lot more than the Captain does. :-)
http://s27.photobucket.com/albums/c163/earlwb/Organized%20Rides/?action=view&current=481b819f.jpg

Tandem recumbent trikes are available from several manufacturers:
Greenspeed:
http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Bike=1025384633
WizWheelz:
http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Bike=1139351005

Hase offers a kit for coupling their trikes together to form a tandem:
http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Bike=984613142
which is closer in spirit to what the OP was asking for. With this,
there's no limit to how many trikes can be linked together:
http://www.hasebikes.com/ens/worldrecord/index.php

Jeff

http://images.google.com.au/images?q=%22tandem%20trike%22&cr=countryUK&sourceid=mozilla-search&sa=N&tab=wi

"- Bob -" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

philcycles said:

Tandem trikes are a fixture of the UK cycling scene. The most well
known maker, George Longstaff, died last year.
Phil Brown

Any pointers to photos or other info ?

"Werehatrack" wrote: (clip) That's not really a tandem, it's a bike with a
trailer;(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you want to quibble about words, then I would call it a bike with a
"semi-trailer."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(clip) I see no advantage in the Trail-a-bike layout if a permanent tandem
is the goal; (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think most parents see it as a step toward a permanent tandem. They
see it as a halfway choice between a trailer, and a separate bike for the
child. (Sans training wheels, I hope.)

Werehatrack said:

I see no
advantage in the Trail-a-bike layout if a permanent tandem is the
goal; it's a makeshift that permits part-time tandem configuration on
a regular bike, but the classic tandem is going to provide a better
result if performance is an issue at all.

The real advantage of an 3-wheel, "articulated" tandem is off-road
riding. Without the long "keel tube" it doesn't "school bus" on rocks
and logs. It also turns well on narrow tree-lined trails. I pulled my
daughter for many years, both on & off road (mostly off) with an Adams
trailer-bike. Having unsynchronized drive trains is also a necessity in
technical terrain, otherwise you'll smash pedals (feet) on rocks and
logs. The other big advantages over a tandem are price and transportability.

I liked the trailer-bike so much for off-road riding that I'm building a
3-wheel articulated tandem now (for 2 adults). It may be interesting to
ride on the road, too. The Adams was certainly very capable there. I'm
not sure what you mean by "performance", but the trailer-bike went very
well, the only limit was it's max weight restriction and child-size
proportions, or I'd still be using it.

Peter Cole said:

The real advantage of an 3-wheel, "articulated" tandem is off-road
riding.

Pre-note: To the other posters... I was thinking of either articulated
or the three wheels in-line, not a trike tandem.

OK, back to the thread... I'm thinking that anytime the two riders are
mismatched in ability, strength, or dedication to grunting that the
three wheel or articulated design would be an advantage to a teamed
drive train. Pick your own gear, push as you will, each to his own.

Anyone ridden an articulated bike much? It seems like the rear rider
could easily derail the train, but perhaps no more than reasonable in
regular riding conditions. Any experience ?

Werehatrack said:

The Trail-A-Bike provides just that. Its usefulness as a feature is
debatable.

It's not so much the different gear, but the different cadence it
allows, including coasting.

Quoted message said:

I've never tried one, but as a kid-toting method they're reportedly
OK. I have seen more serious three-wheel tandems including several
tandem recumbent trikes, one of which was in tadpole layout. I see no
advantage in the Trail-a-bike layout if a permanent tandem is the
goal; it's a makeshift that permits part-time tandem configuration on
a regular bike, but the classic tandem is going to provide a better
result if performance is an issue at all.

The biggest advantage is that it's about 1/10th the price of a classic
tandem. Plus most regular tandems will require an assortment of add ons
and modifications to handle extra small riders.

Leo Lichtman said:

"- Bob -" wrote: (clip) I'm thinking it could be essentially two bikes with
the rear wheel of the front as the front wheel of the rear.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When I was a kid we set one up that way by taking the front wheel off the
rear bike, and stretching the fork onto the rear axle of the lead bike.
... I can't remember how it rode, but I
know we didn't keep it that way very long.

I've thought about trying this, too. But I never figured out a good 'n
cheap way to clamp the fork on the axle while allowing it to pivot about
the axle, which would be necessary to keep all three wheels on the
ground on uneven terrain. That might be the reason the your friends
disconnected their homebrew tandem.

Surly makes a fork for their Pugsley with 135 mm OLD spacing. That might
be the ticket for this job. But you still need to solve the articulation
problem....

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)

Peter Cole said:

I liked the trailer-bike so much for off-road riding that I'm building a
3-wheel articulated tandem now (for 2 adults).

That sounds interesting. I'd like to see photos or read a description.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)

dvt said:

But you still need to solve the articulation
problem....

But is it a "problem" or a "feature" ? Would it make it impossible to
ride or just something to get used to ?

- Bob - said:

dvt said:

But you still need to solve the articulation
problem....

But is it a "problem" or a "feature" ? Would it make it impossible to
ride or just something to get used to ?

Two points make a straight line. If you ride over uneven terrain, one of
the three wheels will want to be off the ground. So either a wheel lifts
of the ground (bad news) or something flexes a lot to allow all three to
stay on the ground. That flexing is likely to create a lot of stress
somewhere.

I'd say that having three wheels in a line with no vertical articulation
is a really bad idea.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Everyone confesses that exertion which brings out all the powers of body
and mind is the best thing for us; but most people do all they can to
get rid of it, and as a general rule nobody does much more than
circumstances drive them to do. -Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and
novelist (1811-1896)