[sdhinz]

I saw the post from a couple of months ago from a family who had gotten a Tandem-Talk from Precision Cycles. I went to Precision's website and was intrigued by the Tandem-Com they are selling.

Does anyone have experience w/ Tandem-Com? It looks like a great product for use w/ my 5-year-old stoker. I would love to hear anyone's experiences with it, pro or con.

I can't really tell how it would be set up. Is there a cord that hooks the two units together, or is it more like a hands-free walkie-talkie that you just talk into via your head-sets?

Also, does anyone think it would also work on a motorcycle?

[The BikeForums Team]

This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.

Ready to buy? Check out these two online bike stores:
- http://www.nashbar.com (you can find the latest bike nashbar coupons in this thread)
- http://www.performancebike.com (you can find the latest performance bike coupons in this thread)

Cya on the forums,
- The BikeForums Team
- http://www.bikeforums.net

[twilkins9076]

I've not actually tried it, but we're seriously considering buying either it or the tandem-talk. Not sure which one, or whether we're interested in the wireless tandem-com.

Standard tandem-com is a single unit with cords running to both the captain's and stoker's earpiece. The wireless version of the tandem-com consists of separate units each having cords running to the earpieces.

Pricewise, the tandem-talk is just a little cheaper, but is a little more bulk to carry.

Don't know about the motorcycle question. Seems like the intercom unit's I've seen there have a larger foam pad on the microphone. My assumption is that the larger one is a more effective wind screen.

[sdhinz]

Thanks for the reply.

Standard tandem-com is a single unit with cords running to both the captain's and stoker's earpiece. The wireless version of the tandem-com consists of separate units each having cords running to the earpieces

Does this mean that before you get off the bike, you and the stoker need to "undo" yourselves from the unit so that you don't get tangled up and can walk separately?

[MyPC8MyBrain]

We have the wired Tandem-com set and love it. We carry the control unit in a seat pack under the captain's seat [along with the Ipod]. I use a cable clip to attach the wire at my collar so it doesn't pull. Yeah being wired is a touch of an issue, but the ability to communicate easily long surpasses any inconvenience.

It's the stokie's job to wire things in once we get rolling and unplug when we dismount. She also works the controls for voice volume, music volume, and of course she chooses the mp3 tracks to play.

The headsets only seem to work on the left ear... wish that the hooked up on the right one instead.

The wireless set look really nice, but the price is out there a bit. Maybe someday when I have more money than I can figure out how to spend :)
Don

[mdj]

Isn't the main difference between wired and wireless that wired has the music jack option while wireless does not have the music option. Gotta have my tunes so I am looking at the wired version for the time being.

[Eurastus]

We've had the standard, wired, Tandem-Com for several years now. Love it. It's the best purchase since the tandem itself. My main stokers are 10 and 11 years old; they started stoking when they were 8 and 9 respectively and having the ability to easily speak back and forth is the greatest!! We're much safer and have a tremendously better time.

I keep the main unit in the middle pocket of my jersey and run my ear cable down my back, inside the jersey, and up to the unit. It's just barely long enough. I generally plug it in and turn on the unit before I get on the bike. My stokers run the cable inside their left sleeve and, as was previously mentioned, are responsible to plug in (with the obligatory "Can you hear me now?") after they're in place and adjust volume as needed. I have to remind the younger boy to unplug before he gets off, but the older daughter has the drill down pat and never forgets.

We carry on conversations all through the rides. Where else can an old dad spend 4-5 hours with his preteen daughter talking about everything under the sun? Wouldn't trade it for the world.

On the rare occasion when my wife stokes, it's especially nice to hear her comments and back-seat chatter.

We wouldn't think of riding without it.

[24theroad]

We love our tandem talk, a couple times my wife has forgot to unplug but other than that we love it.
the cool thing is when riding and we see deer we dont have to scream at each other and scare the deer or other animals away. we are looking into changing our ear peices to the ones that fit over your head due to the fact that once you have evrything hooked and wanna put on glasses seems to mess everything up........Have a great 4th Captians and Stokers..:)

[PGH94]

My wife and I are new Tandemers and the first thing we bought was the Tandem-com, I too have to say it's well worth the money and time it takes to set-up and ride. The music feature and the ability to talk we easy is great! Wireless is over priced and needs the ability to talk to more than one person at the same time. IMO!

[Steve Katzman]

My wife and I started out using the Tandem Talk. The Tandem Com (wired) is a slightly more refined version of the Tandem Talk. The on-off switch is designed not to turn on by an accidental bump as is the case with the "Talk". Also it is easier on batteries and uses cheaper AAA vs. 9V. It is smaller and lighter and has two volume controls vs. one. It also has a on/off indicator light. The headset is a little less of a hassle to fit properly to keep it firmly in place and may be a little more robust.

Yes, you have to unplug the headphone when dismounting the bike. I keep the unit clipped on my back jersey pocket, so only my stoker needs to unplug. We have friends that use the wireless units. The units are considerably larger and heavier and of course there are two of them, one for each rider. The headsets are identical to the wired unit.

We have never used the music input feature. I don't see any reason that the Tandem Com wouldn't work for a motorcycle with two riders on the same bike. The only problem might be that the headsets might interfere with the helmets. We definitely enjoy having a communications device such as the "Com" or the "Talk". Highly recommended.