I just paid $230 "vintage" Schwinn Twinn De-Luxe. I'm no collector; The Twinn was just the only bike I could find under 1500 bucks that fit our "special" needs. You're gonna' hear me rant about what makes us "special" in a future post.
Anyhoo...The bike's got specks of rust here-and-there. It's original brown, so it shows little. The frame is solid with no cracks or bends.
Theres some rust on the chrome handlebars and fenders, as well.
The rear five-speed cog-set was replaced with a seven. The seller threw in the original cogs in case I was a collector - or a hill-climbing masochist.
The front brake is a boring side-pull caliper.
The rear brake is a large sealed drum actuated by a typical brake lever. It's not a "coaster brake" (thank God).
One rear pedal is bent.
The bike's in riding condition. In fact, I test drove it solo. The frame felt solid. The brakes were very good. Shifting was just fine with the frame-mounted friction shifter.
Finally...this Schwinn is heavy; I'm gonna' guess 65 pounds.
My questions...
Was 230 dollars a "fair" price for this 30 year-old bike ?
This bike is going to get ridden regularly. Once we are in shape, would 50-mile rides be out of the question ?
Thanks.
Marco
galen_52657
06-15-05, 06:15 PM
Is a 50 mile ride out of the question? Hell no! as long as you start at the top of a mountain with a 50 mile descent....
Retro Grouch
06-15-05, 08:27 PM
Sounds like our first tandem. 50 mile rides aren't out of the question. My wife and I did several on our Schwinn Twinn before we bought our first Santana. There used to be a local weekend ride called the Grand Tour of Hermann that was 50 hilly miles on Saturday with 50 more on Sunday. Lon Haldeman and Susan Noterangelo streaked by us on their coast-to-coast record setting tandem. At the overnight, Susan took the time to look us up and offer some encouragement.
That's an Atom hub brake on the back. I think that the rear wheel assembly weighs something like 8 pounds!
I converted mine to a 10 speed using a front chainring assembly from a Huffy and I rebuilt the wheels with some alloy rims. Eventually I sold it for $200.00 to a family which had a 16 year old blind daughter who loved it. That was the kind of buyer I was looking for or I would have been looking for more money. If you are happy with paying $230.00, I'd say that price is probably fair.
TandemGeek
06-16-05, 08:51 AM
Was 230 dollars a "fair" price for this 30 year-old bike ?This bike is going to get ridden regularly. Once we are in shape, would 50-mile rides be out of the question ?
The price was probably a bit on the high side given that a lot of these are often "found" at garage sales being sold for a mere pittance but not obscene in the big scheme of things; after all, a new high end saddle sells for $50 - $80 nowadays. The true value will be based on how much enjoyment you can derrive from riding and/or tinkering with it.
As for what's possible... with a good set of tires and verification that the derailleur cable, brake cables, drive chain and hubs are all in good serviceable condition, 50 miles is hardly unreasonable so long as the most important parts of the tandem are in good shape: those would be the two engines. After all, the Tour de France and all of the other classics were ridden on single speeds or using flip-flop hubs for many years and folks still ride centuries on highwheelers and fixed-gear bikes.
Retro Grouch
06-16-05, 09:29 AM
The price was probably a bit on the high side given that a lot of these are often "found" at garage sales being sold for a mere pittance
Consider the alternatives if you want a tandem bicycle. You can cruise garage sales endlessly hopeing to find one for a lower price, or you can bag the bird-in-the-hand for $230.00 and start having fun. I'd take door number 2.
TandemGeek
06-16-05, 09:49 AM
Consider the alternatives if you want a tandem bicycle. You can cruise garage sales endlessly hopeing to find one for a lower price, or you can bag the bird-in-the-hand for $230.00 and start having fun. I'd take door number 2.
Wholeheartedly agree...
However, it's those garage sale prices that often times get quoted when someone asks "what's a reasonable price", i.e., hey, I know a guy who only paid $50 for a bike just like that. So, like I said, the value becomes pretty subjective and $230 for a tandem that you use and enjoy is a great deal. $230 for something that sits around and collects dust isn't.
malkin
06-16-05, 10:12 AM
Vintage Schwinns sell on ebay routinely for $200-$300 and may require additional for shipping.
Add the 'bird-in-the-hand' factor, and you got a deal and so did your seller.
If you need more justification, consider the hourly rate you'd charge to scour garage sales and classified ads and then consider the fun you're having--and any cost there'd be to be having that much fun with out your new-to-you tandem--because you'd need to buy movie tickets or dinners out or concerts or (God forbid) gas for your car.
Daft Punk
06-16-05, 10:34 AM
Consider the alternatives if you want a tandem bicycle. You can cruise garage sales endlessly hopeing to find one for a lower price, or you can bag the bird-in-the-hand for $230.00 and start having fun. I'd take door number 2.
Wholeheartedly agree...
However, it's those garage sale prices that often times get quoted when someone asks "what's a reasonable price", i.e., hey, I know a guy who only paid $50 for a bike just like that. So, like I said, the value becomes pretty subjective and $230 for a tandem that you use and enjoy is a great deal. $230 for something that sits around and collects dust isn't.
I've been scouring yard sales ad flea markets for a tandem since last summer. Not a single one did I find. So when I spotted this one on Craig's List for $300, I took door number two. He delivered the thing to my workplace in his truck, thereby saving me a two-hour detour home. We haggled and eventually settled on 230 bucks. I ALMOST didn't buy it, cuz it looked a lot more like a 200-dollar bike. Yet I figured one wasted season was enough.
Ten years ago, I did find an old Columbia tandem at a yard sale for 40 bucks for a blind friend of mine. This one had five speeds and side-pull brakes, front and rear. Although the frame was solid, the bike was not roadworthy at the time of purchase. Even after I fixed it up, the original brakes were meant for a single, so stopping required some forethought. The frame was also too big for me to stand flat-footed over the top bar. That wasn't fun.
Thanks for the feedback, Geek and Grouch. I appreciate your perspective.
I stall have a rant brewing. Yet work beckons. Next post, I promise.
Peace.
Marco
zonatandem
06-16-05, 07:40 PM
Anything is possible . . . even 50 miles on a 65 lbs 2-seater!
My spouse rode her first solo century on a Huffy with upright bars back in the early 70s . . . decided right then and there she was serious, so we picked out something more suitable. She has well over 100 centuries to her credit now!
After the Schwinn you'll more appreciate the next tandem you'll buy!
Enjoy and pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem
Brian
06-20-05, 04:28 AM
Vintage tandems have a certain cool factor that is invaluable. Even though we have a nice tandem at home, we still stop to admire the all steel, 3 speed beast we see 2 kids happily riding around town on. It's a rusting, rotting, rattling deathtrap, but the guys on it always have giant grins, and they get a lot of attention wherever they go. Some day we'll have to get one of those Schwinns too.
DocF
06-20-05, 09:02 AM
We are just back from a brief trip to Mackinac Island, Michigan. All transportation on the island is by foot, horse, or bicycle.
Most of the rental tandems available are either old, supposedly well-maintained Schwinn Twinns or newer Atlas industrial models. We saw two other privately owned tandems on the island during our stay--another Cannondale MT800 (black and with a conversion rear disc brake) and a Burley Rock & Roll softride. The rental tandems did well on the flats, but did not climb well as most are single speed or three speed. The ones with seven or more speeds were being ridden by much happier renters as they could climb many of the hills on the island.
Anyway, your older bike is an inexpensive way to start off; one we might have considered had we had the opportunity to do it that way.