Hey guys. After soliciting advice here, I bought a cheap tandem some weeks ago. Me and the Mrs have taken to it immediately, no problems riding as a team, and she likes it way better than solo riding. Gradually getting it dialled in for us, and hoping to liberate a set of 5 speed hub geared wheels with hub brakes from a friend to replace the 3 speed rim only arrangement on this. Also planning a camping trip in the summer - want to hang a front rack on this, and my grocery trailer on the back, and haul 40-50 miles along the coast where we can take our clothes off and lay in the sun for a week!
I strongly recommend those considering a tandem to try a cheapie. This cost me £80, and should we decide to drop real money on a nicer one, it'll probably sell for the same. My son is able to ride the stoker seat as well (at 10 yrs, he's almost as big as my g/f), and that makes the occasional school runs far more fun. Happy days!
Excellent! I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. Although our new cheap tandem is a mountain bike with 24 speeds, I hardly ever use anything other than the middle 8.
NewbieIATandem
04-17-07, 04:40 PM
Go for it. We had a cheap tandem to start $80 (with the conversion rate makes it even cheaper than yours;)). Loved tandeming, didn't like the cheap bike. Sold it three months after buying a Trek T900. Now the discussion can start that the T900 IS a cheap bike.
Anyway, congratulations on your purchase and have a great time riding two-gether.
speedsixdave
04-18-07, 03:25 AM
Yip,
we've had our cheap tandem (Viking Saratoga, Ebay) for about a month now and I no longer want to ride solo. I'm even excited about the commute to work tomorrow coz the missis is coming too, so we can take the tandem.
And I've managed to persuade her that a few days touring in June is a good idea. The start of big things, I hope...
Enjoy it,
Dave
Sammyboy
04-18-07, 04:20 AM
I still love riding solo, but getting the missus out on a solo bike was hard. She didn't learn to ride til she was 21, and find signalling hard, and doesn't like dealing with traffic. On the tandem, she's loving it. She's talking now about maybe in a year or two touring through France, or going Lands End to John O'Groats - really going in at the deep end with it - such a transformation. I spend such a lot of time with bikes (I buy and sell vintage bikes, try not to drive my car, have 9 bikes, one or two of which are always being worked on, do the grocery shopping with a trailer, go on solo training rides in the morning) that her sudden desire to be involved is very welcome!
galen_52657
04-18-07, 04:57 AM
It's all in the togetherness.....
Fenlason
04-19-07, 02:14 PM
I am happy to hear the new bike is working out. While my wife did ok riding her single bike. she [we] has really liked the tandem. She has become a better, stronger cyclist since starting on the tandem[many rears ago now].
enjoy
glenn
NewbieIATandem
04-19-07, 07:48 PM
I didn't know they had transplants of that sort... :p