Tandem Cycling - 30 miles and $240.00 later

As some of you may have read we picked up our new to us Burley Tamburello about a week ago. We have only managed 2 short rides on her but so far we love our new bike. Today was one of those OOPS! day. I have the bike hanging from the ceiling of my garage with a pulley arrangement and 2 hooks that mount under the handlebars and 2 hooks that hook under the stoker's saddle. This worked great until my son decided he did not like the stock saddle on the bike and he had me switch it out for a much more minimal Specialized Comp Gel saddle that has very little lip around the back of the saddle. This morning I was lowering her down to do some cleaning and detailing and guess what.............the hooks slipped out from under the Stoker's saddle and the back of the bike dropped about 3 feet to the cement floor. I figured no big deal but the weight of the bike and angle in which it dropped bent the rear rim to where it would not spin through the brakes. In order to pull her straight we had to loosen about 4 spokes severly and tighten the same amount on the other side to a breaking point. Now the wheel hopp's as well. Bottom line was I ended up buying a new back wheel after only putting 30 miles on this one. Lesson learned.........Be careful when lowering a bike that weighs almost 40 pounds.

Man that sucks...

Ouch! Did you save the stock hub and just relace to a new rim? The stock hub is neat because it will allow you the disc brake option down the road, but I imagine it's probably not that important in the majority of the places you'll be riding.

Hope you guys have been enjoying the Burley!

Gary: Entropy seems to pull harder on tandems than half bikes. Unless two people are on them and riding they are akward seem to always fall over or otherwise hit the deck faster than a single. Mine has an ever so small dent on the top tube before I got it. Hard to imagine how it happened but it did. Then, with it in the back of my van it managed to shift even further to the right and get tangled with my single in such a way as to remove a nice piece of paint right on the stokers top tube! I can't see to win.

Net net, I suspect the experts have invested in proper support systems in their homes and proper bike racks for cars that us newbies have just not figured out yet. I know I would be bummed to have a brand new Co-Motion (maybe someday) and see it hit the deck!

Used low end is a good place for us beginers!

And just where did you find a guy with a rear wheels so fast in C-ville?

JD

Saddles are only made with a plastic shell then covered with foam and or gel and leather or vinyl, with that being said I do not trust the average saddle to support a tandems weight completely of the ground long term, even though the reason the hook failed was a thin saddle without a good lip to hold the hook. I would still be cautious of the lip of a saddle supporting a 40 lb tandem being held of the ground.

If you have room I prefer these holders, one on the front wheel and one on the back for a tandem application. :D

Take Care, :)
Bill G

And just where did you find a guy with a rear wheels so fast in C-ville?

JD

One of Chad's distributers happened to have a rear in stock. I don't recall the exact specs but it apprears very comparable to the OEM. I wish I had the loose cash handy to upgrade the wheels now but that just isn't happening

I do not trust the average saddle to support a tandems weight completely of the ground long term, , :)
Bill G

Thanks Bill. I now agree :) I have the rubber coated hook under the rear stays now. I still prefer the on the ground method but I hate to lose so much garage space. I have 8 or 9 bikes in the garage.

Thanks Bill. I now agree :) I have the rubber coated hook under the rear stays now. I still prefer the on the ground method but I hate to lose so much garage space. I have 8 or 9 bikes in the garage.
Well there's your problem: bikes should stay in the house. My tandem highlights my dining room nicely. :)

I have 8 or 9 bikes in the garage.

Perhaps you've seen my storage method? http://www.thetandemlink.com/articles/garage/garage.html

The photos on my Website are somewhat dated, but the suspension system is still current. All of the bicycles are suspended by their rear wheel -- achieved by merely lifting the bike and setting the rear wheel on the heavily protected bicycle hook. A lanyard with a snap clip is looped around the handlebar stem and connected to a welded ring, noting that the lanyard incorporates a "stop" at one of the pulleys (a second snap ring tied in the lanyard) that prevents the bike from swinging down far enough to come in contact with anything that is "normally" under the bikes if, for some reason, the second snap clip that holds it aloft slipped or the eye bolt that it attaches to was to be pulled out of the wood anchor strip in the wall.

I would note, I'm about 5'8" / 160lbs and of average strength for my size and weight. Our heaviest bike is the full-suspension off-road tandem which weighs in at about 45lbs and lifting the bike and putting the rear wheel on the hook is not what I'd call a significant feat.

Just something to consider, noting that I"m not a fan of some of the commercially available hoists as they don't have a lot of safeguards.

Pretty slick. How much headroom space do you have under the bikes? For that matter, what's the ceiling height of your garage? Also, I'm curious as to why you have removed all of the front wheels.

Perhaps you've seen my storage method?

Nice set up....Hmmmmmm. Two questions
1. Do you hook the wheel then pull the pulley or pull the front up first?
2. Why remove the front wheels?
Thanks

What's the ceiling height of your garage?

9'10"


How much headroom space do you have under the bikes?

All Bikes: Floor to rear wheel = 6'2" above my bicycle workbench

Single Bikes: Floor to front fork = 7', and floor to chain rings 6'7"

Tandems: Floor to front fork = 6'9", and floor to chain rings 6'6"



Why you have removed all of the front wheels.

Because removing the front wheels yields an additional 13" of overhead clearance.



Do you hook the wheel then pull the pulley or pull the front up first?

Hook the wheel, then connect the lanyard to the stem, then hoist the bike to it's final stowage position.

Follow Up: For those who want to see how the system actually works, I've uploaded two .mpeg files to YouTube

Video: Getting Tandem Down (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ix7YdVbGGY)

Video: Putting Tandem Up (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R12zwIBFFvM)

Wow -- I'm feeling the bike equivalent of drooling Homer, "Mmmm, forbidden donut!" (Ceiling not high enough....)

Damn you tamdemgeek!!!! :) :p You beat me by one bike!!! I have 5 bikes in the garage and you have six!! Nice setup with the the racks and all. Very sweet. I have a tall celing so I just hang all bikes with front and back wheel on. It takes me and my wife to get the tandem down. I can do it myself with the exception of the handlbars clanking (and possibley scratching) the frame.

I count seven

You beat me by one bike!!! I have 5 bikes in the garage and you have six!!

Actually, I've got you by four bikes... there are 9 of them in the garage, not counting the 550lb/150hp Honda.

There are the 7 along the back wall (my wife Debbie's Ritchey happened to be sitting on the floor instead of hanging when this photo was taken), an 8th in the middle of the garage bay that hangs upside down by its wheels, and a 9th between two of the garage doors at the front of the garage.
.

Video: Getting Tandem Down (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ix7YdVbGGY)
Filed off the lawyer tabs, huh? Tsk, tsk, tsk.... :)

Filed off the lawyer tabs, huh?

No. The two road tandems (as well as the three road bikes) were custom made and are fitted with aftermarket forks that never had tabs.