Tandem Cycling - Sears / Target tandems

Just took a look online at some inexpensive tandems that Target (Mongoose 26 Wanderer Tandem) and Sears (Mongoose 26 Wanderer Tandem and Pacific Dualie) are carrying. They weren't there a few weeks / months ago. I know this will likely cause another discussion of "be careful of cheap tandems".

As some of you know I have been looking for a second tandem (for the kids and some friends to ride with us occasionally) for a while now. As a very occasional use item I certainly don't want to spend $500+. But even between the Mongoose (a bit over $235, competitive with the Walmart Kent) and the Pacific (a bit over $170, curious just what they might have done with the components to drop the price that low, the frame looks to be the same).

Any ideas, any experiences?

Anybody can make it cheaper . . . as you heard before: you get what you pay for.
If Huffy built an airplane, would you and family fly in it?

Not sure where in Iowa you're located, but a quick Craigslist search revealed what I think would be a far better choice but still well within your budget:

http://omaha.craigslist.org/bik/343929862.html

Univega Tandem Sport, asking $325, posted to CL *TODAY*. It's probably in fantastic condition. Snag it.

the frame looks to be the same.

Not only is the frame not the same, but that's the biggest single difference.

Oh my goodness.

Not to say that EVERYONE needs the support of a bike-knowledgeable retailer, but when the OFFICIAL product shot of your bicycle shows the stoker's handlebars installed backwards (in FRONT of the captain's seatpost) serious red flags go up.

http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/sears-tandem.jpg

I did a search on Sears' website to ensure that was still the picture they were using. Yup.

I hope you're comfortable doing all your own wrenching if you're considering that tandem.

Not only is the frame not the same, but that's the biggest single difference.

Sorry, frame material big difference, frame geometry the same. I'm not a purist on AL vs Steel.

Oh my goodness.

Not to say that EVERYONE needs the support of a bike-knowledgeable retailer, but when the OFFICIAL product shot of your bicycle shows the stoker's handlebars installed backwards (in FRONT of the captain's seatpost) serious red flags go up.

http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/sears-tandem.jpg

I did a search on Sears' website to ensure that was still the picture they were using. Yup.

I hope you're comfortable doing all your own wrenching if you're considering that tandem.
That's kinda disturbing.
No pedals is usually the sign of a high-end bike. In this case, they probably just forgot to put them on.

http://atomiczombie.com/product-bonanza.htm

This book has plans for bodging together two bikes to make a tandem. I think that you would be better off going that route using two good used bikes than by getting a cheapo. Even if you haven't the technical skill and have to pay someone to do it (contact your local vo-tech school; you might be able to persuade one of the teachers to have a group of students do it for a class project), I think you'd be better off.

http://atomiczombie.com/product-bonanza.htm

This book has plans for bodging together two bikes to make a tandem.

And then there is this:

http://www.pbase.com/image/79830490

Taken at a recent Habitat for Humanity benefit ride in Davis, CA. If you back up one level in this particular pbase folder you will see other pictures of this bike as well as Santana tandem #4 or #6 (I forgot which) with the original owners (UC Davis Bike Coordinator). As to the welded bike, this was done by a guy in Davis just for this ride. I particularly like the linked steering and the use of a rear derailleur to take up the slack on the timing chain. I rode alongside this bike with my half bike and can attest that they had no problem maintaining 18-20 mph with fat tires and big smiles. I doubt, however, that they will enter any of our regular Wednesday evening time trials.... As opposed to the Sears bike, at least they know which way to install the handlebars.

I like this one even better than the Sears bike, and the price is right. I guess the more frame tubes the better? This is a design whose time came and went. I looked closely and it appears to be OOP. Nice fenders and kickstand.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/bik/350570422.html