Tandem riders? Anyone?

My wife and I get out on an old Cannondale tandem on occasion. Lots of fun, definitely a change of pace, and that sucker will fly, especially on the downhills.

You actually take a tandem off road? My experience is that our 'dale handles like a truck, and it's supposed to be one of the best handling tandems built. I just couldn't see trying to manuver that big tank down some of the singletracks I usually ride... hard enough staying on the trail when it's just me...

i did a specified search on tandem and found some others.
my wife and i have a norco evolution. which we bought for a wedding aniversary. we enjoy it but going off road i think would hurt. i have seen 2 other tandem bikes around town. where all do you live?

I have a tandem back in the US at my "official" girlfreinds house. My parents have a Mtn. Tandem with slicks on it, and I always liked being able to go hammer with my girlfreind (whoever it was at the time) occaisionally. When I got involved with a cyclist we bought one together. I do miss it sometimes! Not only is it faster on many types of rides (sometimes a 55-11 isn't enough!), but people are so much nicer to you when you are riding. Everyone smiles, many wave... on a single you are a PITA to motorists, on a tandem you are a fun diversion.

kathy and i got a Cannondale rode tandem a couple of months ago. it is a fine ride here on Delmarva. we are still playing with some of the seat and handle bar adjustments, but overall we are very happy riding.

the bike was a great buy because it had only been used for a photo shoot... so we got it for $900 off the $2400 list price. the bike is in as new condition... we didn't blink on that offer from the LBS. kathy likes the blue paint.

cu,
larryb

hey there are others! luvsfreebeer started this thread last year. perhaps we need a poll to convince the administraters that we need a tandem section? actually polls are controversial around here and i would have to say that we need a poll to decide wiether or not to have a poll. wife and i got up to 65 kms an hour. how fast have you gone?

aa9t8 said:

hey there are others! luvsfreebeer started this thread last year. perhaps we need a poll to convince the administraters that we need a tandem section? actually polls are controversial around here and i would have to say that we need a poll to decide wiether or not to have a poll. wife and i got up to 65 kms an hour. how fast have you gone?

Yeah it is kind of funny there is a forum for unicycles but not for tandems 😄

Regarding top speed I have hit 95kmph downhill on our tandem and that was before I put the disc brake on... I guess it is very dangerous since it stops about as fast as a runaway train but it sure is fun... I am positive there are places where I can't break 100kmph on a single you could easily sail past 110 on a tandem if only there weren't turns 😉

wilmar13 said:

Regarding top speed I have hit 95kmph downhill on our tandem and that was before I put the disc brake on... I guess it is very dangerous since it stops about as fast as a runaway train but it sure is fun... I am positive there are places where I can't break 100kmph on a single you could easily sail past 110 on a tandem if only there weren't turns 😉

We were clocked at 78 mph on Jackson Pass. My betrothed didn't have a brake at the time...we bought a Santana Arriva for our wedding present 16 years ago last week, and we just sold it last week as well. We have been riding a Cannondale for the last few years (fits much better). Did the Tour of the Swan River Valley in Montana in May this year (back to back centuries - in the rain...) Can anyone tell me where to get an adapter to go from threaded rear hub to six-bolt disk? And, yeah, a tandem thread would be great!

i thought i was pushing the envelope. you guys are nuts.
has anybody ever tried a recumbent tandem?

luker said:

We were clocked at 78 mph on Jackson Pass.

Holy [censored]! I have hit just a few pegs past 60 (63 IIRC) on my single and that is super fast on a bike, of course I would like to experience faster but I have never ridden out west where the roads may allow it. Back east my tandem experience is limitied to the mountains of PA and Western NC, and the roads just aren't steep enough to go much over 60 even if you could... come to think of it though, I had a descent that was 15% grade over a mile long with a long straight stretch and I couldn't break 60 without spinning out the 11 cog and tucking like crazy. What is the grade and altitude of Jackson Pass? I know the thinner air at high altitude would make it easier to reach speed, but 78mph is really fast!

wilmar13 said:

Holy [censored]! I ... but 78mph is really fast!

I have seen 62 mph on a single, and I'm thinking that that is about the absolute max without resorting to aero helmets, skin suits and disks. (Lone Pine State Park in Northern Montana. A steady steep grade for about 2 miles and a tail wind). Tandems go faster...Jackson's about 10% for three miles, but the main gain was about 1/2 miles from the top on the Idaho side. There's a stretch of about 3/4 of a mile of smooth straight road that we started at about 45mph. A tight right-hand corner at the bottom of the straight stretch had me slowing considerably before the end. I'm pretty sure we could have gone faster. We started at the top with a bunch of roadie dogs from Jackson, and, ummmm, testosterone kept the hammer down until we dropped 'em all. A car that was following reported the speed when we stopped at Coal Creek. I was afraid to look at the cyclometer until he stopped. After he ratted me out, my wife insisted on a rear drag brake.

so wife and i have 2 grandkids over for the weekend, and we put the trailer on the tandem, with about 60 lbs of kids, boy is that hard work! not breakin any speed records i tell ya!

aa9t8 said:

so wife and i have 2 grandkids over for the weekend, and we put the trailer on the tandem, with about 60 lbs of kids, boy is that hard work! not breakin any speed records i tell ya!

The correct application for a tandem. I can't even imagine letting one run any more (kids tend to make you use the brakes more often...).

When we first started tandem'ing, one thing that surprised me was how quickly a tandem picks up speed on a downhill. Definitely quicker than a single bike, and the brakes heat up quicker, too. The drag brake is not overkill.

new speed record for us! i think we hit 68.5 km/h twas a little hard to tell my eyes were tearing (watering) so bad. ma did not even scream! what a hoot!