halfspeed
I recently ordered a KHS Milano from bicycleblowouts.com so I thought I'd share our experience with the dealer and the bike.
First, about us. We are both avid cyclists but health issues limit my wife/stoker's ability to process oxygen. The tandem is a way of meeting in the middle of our abilities. Not only do I ride, but I also build and repair bicycles and can do just about any maintenance task. Our goal was not to race or keep up with the singles in group rides but to have a better way of riding together that caused us both less frustration. This bike is intended for some road riding but also lots of paved rail-trails. (This part of the country has many of these that aren't dominated by dog-walkers and roller-bladers.) One other thing, I'm a bit of an unusual shape being long of leg and short of torso. There aren't many tandems that fit a captain of my size off-the-shelf.
When bicycleblowouts dropped the price on their large size 2002 Milano to $899, we jumped. The fit is close enough for me and the stoker position dialed in quite nicely for her. Considering that, as far as I can tell, to get a =really= good fit for me we'd have to go either custom or for a DaVinci, $899 is pretty good for "almost" and certainly well within a starter budget.
If you're buying online like this, you need to have some mechanical skills, otherwise much of what you save is going to be eaten up by your LBS to make the bike rideable and safe. Some assembly was required. The handlebars, saddles and wheels needed to be attached. Also there were several adjustments that needed to be made. The front hub was too tight. The front wheel was not tensioned and dished correctly. The rear wheel was better but still needed truing. The shifting and braking needed to be set up properly. These things are, however, to be expected of an affordable bike purchased without LBS support. Finally, the seller forgot to send the pedals but as soon as we discovered the omission we called and he sent replacements with no hassle.
On the positive side, the company was very easy to deal with. They answered all of my pre-sale questions promptly and accurately and, as I mentioned before, worked very quickly to rectify an omission.
We've done some modifications. We replaced the stock 700x28 Panaracer Paselas with Schwalbe Marathon slicks in 700x35. We went with fat tires because comfort is more important than speed to us (especially on less well-maintained trails). We went with Schwalbes because I've had bad luck with Paselas. The stock saddles were replaced with a well-worn Brooks B17 for me and a B67 for the stoker. Also, I replaced the stock stem with a 90mm riser stem to get the fit closer for me. The brifters are going to be replaced with barcons and 287-Vs as soon as practicable because Shimano's front indexing is a crime against humanity.
Our first ride on the KHS was Saturday. We had one previous ride on tandem; a 27 mile trip on a rented Fuji Absolute. The Absolute comes in two sizes, diminutive and minute, so our first ride was on a frame too small. That first ride was just to find out that we could, indeed, work together on a tandem. On the new KHS we were much more comfortable (better seats, better fit) and we'd read enough more that we were ready to start and stop properly. One thing to note for new tandem riders is that much is made of the potential to scare stokers with a lean to right when starting but there is another hazard on stopping. On my single I'll often unclip a single pedal when coming to a stop. To ensure that I don't fall to the side that's still clipped, I'll lean the bike to the unclipped side. After scaring my wife once, I won't do that again on the tandem.
While the Milano is certainly not an ultralight, it suits our purposes well. We went slower than I would on my single but faster than my wife would on hers. The chromolly frame did not feel whippy and with the fat tires the ride was positively plush even over rough patches. When we rode the Fuji, I found the steering difficult to handle at first but after a while I got used to it. With the KHS I had the same wiggly sensation but it came under control much faster. The long wheelbase means that it doesn't handle quickly, although we did get around a corner that my stoker didn't think we could make. It also does just fit in the back of my Subaru wagon with the wheels removed.
All in all, the Milano seems to be a solid entry-level tandem for us. We work together well on it and it suits our needs. If you're thinking about trying a tandem and can't get beyond the sticker prices on Santanas or even Burleys, this might be a good model to consider.
First, about us. We are both avid cyclists but health issues limit my wife/stoker's ability to process oxygen. The tandem is a way of meeting in the middle of our abilities. Not only do I ride, but I also build and repair bicycles and can do just about any maintenance task. Our goal was not to race or keep up with the singles in group rides but to have a better way of riding together that caused us both less frustration. This bike is intended for some road riding but also lots of paved rail-trails. (This part of the country has many of these that aren't dominated by dog-walkers and roller-bladers.) One other thing, I'm a bit of an unusual shape being long of leg and short of torso. There aren't many tandems that fit a captain of my size off-the-shelf.
When bicycleblowouts dropped the price on their large size 2002 Milano to $899, we jumped. The fit is close enough for me and the stoker position dialed in quite nicely for her. Considering that, as far as I can tell, to get a =really= good fit for me we'd have to go either custom or for a DaVinci, $899 is pretty good for "almost" and certainly well within a starter budget.
If you're buying online like this, you need to have some mechanical skills, otherwise much of what you save is going to be eaten up by your LBS to make the bike rideable and safe. Some assembly was required. The handlebars, saddles and wheels needed to be attached. Also there were several adjustments that needed to be made. The front hub was too tight. The front wheel was not tensioned and dished correctly. The rear wheel was better but still needed truing. The shifting and braking needed to be set up properly. These things are, however, to be expected of an affordable bike purchased without LBS support. Finally, the seller forgot to send the pedals but as soon as we discovered the omission we called and he sent replacements with no hassle.
On the positive side, the company was very easy to deal with. They answered all of my pre-sale questions promptly and accurately and, as I mentioned before, worked very quickly to rectify an omission.
We've done some modifications. We replaced the stock 700x28 Panaracer Paselas with Schwalbe Marathon slicks in 700x35. We went with fat tires because comfort is more important than speed to us (especially on less well-maintained trails). We went with Schwalbes because I've had bad luck with Paselas. The stock saddles were replaced with a well-worn Brooks B17 for me and a B67 for the stoker. Also, I replaced the stock stem with a 90mm riser stem to get the fit closer for me. The brifters are going to be replaced with barcons and 287-Vs as soon as practicable because Shimano's front indexing is a crime against humanity.
Our first ride on the KHS was Saturday. We had one previous ride on tandem; a 27 mile trip on a rented Fuji Absolute. The Absolute comes in two sizes, diminutive and minute, so our first ride was on a frame too small. That first ride was just to find out that we could, indeed, work together on a tandem. On the new KHS we were much more comfortable (better seats, better fit) and we'd read enough more that we were ready to start and stop properly. One thing to note for new tandem riders is that much is made of the potential to scare stokers with a lean to right when starting but there is another hazard on stopping. On my single I'll often unclip a single pedal when coming to a stop. To ensure that I don't fall to the side that's still clipped, I'll lean the bike to the unclipped side. After scaring my wife once, I won't do that again on the tandem.
While the Milano is certainly not an ultralight, it suits our purposes well. We went slower than I would on my single but faster than my wife would on hers. The chromolly frame did not feel whippy and with the fat tires the ride was positively plush even over rough patches. When we rode the Fuji, I found the steering difficult to handle at first but after a while I got used to it. With the KHS I had the same wiggly sensation but it came under control much faster. The long wheelbase means that it doesn't handle quickly, although we did get around a corner that my stoker didn't think we could make. It also does just fit in the back of my Subaru wagon with the wheels removed.
All in all, the Milano seems to be a solid entry-level tandem for us. We work together well on it and it suits our needs. If you're thinking about trying a tandem and can't get beyond the sticker prices on Santanas or even Burleys, this might be a good model to consider.