New one

[Leigh_caines]

My lady has a disability or two.
She said she’d love to ride like me… with me and by herself.
Bought a new upright bike with easy step over and high handlebars.
She loved it but…
We live on top of a hill and while she could ride on the flats she couldn’t make it back up the hill. I lowered the gearing but still no go.
Next…
I put an electric motor on
She could get up the hill without worry.
But…
As at the bottom of our hill is town, on the other side is a bike path but to get there one must go though town. As she can’t turn her head to the right [only left of center] she found this scary and we could both see it was only a matter of time till someone wiped her out.
So for a month or three I put my folder [one of my many bikes] in the car and her bike with motor on the back and drove her out of town then we had a ride and I loaded the bikes back on and drove home where I unloaded them again. We had fun but it was a bit of a chore instead of just hopping on our bikes and going for a ride.

“What about we get a tandem?”

This would solve many things…
We would be able to ride from home…
I could be the motor…
I can turn my head any which way…
I would be using the brakes [her hands have been giving her problems]
No more using the car.

But we’ve already spent a lot on trying things so we’d best start with a cheap tandem.
The cheapest one we could find was a “Beach Cruiser” on “E-bay”
Under $500 [Australian dollars}

It arrived and I put it together.
I could see straight off there were a lot of crappy parts on this bike.
So I donated one of my MTB’s that had good bits on it.
Changed…
Wheels…
Front and back derailers
Brakes
Gearing from 6 speed to 8 [on the back] up to 11/32
Gearing on front to 22/34/44

We went for our first ride…
She loved it but…
She had to keep pedaling if I was and this was to hard for her.
Back to the drawing board…
I put a freewheeling hub in her crank and changed the chain line so it’s all on one side.

Out we go again and this time success !!

She loves it
I love it
We can’t get enough of it
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee220/Leigh_caines/NewCam010.jpg

[waterrockets]

Good job getting to a point that works for her :beer:

Those stoker handle bars are killing my wrists just looking at them!

[StephenH]

See my Worksman review in the Clydesdale forum- I had some handlebars similar to that, but my hands slid down the handle when sweaty- nearly fell off the bike! I changed the handlebars to something straighter.

[zonatandem]

Keep the stoker happy (and riding!).

[Leigh_caines]

Yeah the first thing I was going to change was her bars but she said she just rest her hands on the end of them.... Keep the stoker happy :)

So we were out this morning.... dog and all :)http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee220/Leigh_caines/Woolgoolga009.jpg

[zonatandem]

Seems like you are quite handy . . . don't change the bars if she is content (keep stoker happy)!
P.S.: Does the dog pedal?

[Leigh_caines]

Dogo can do 35kph and not get up a sweat,,,
He dosen't need pedals...
He'll run all day as long as these a bike beside him.

Did change her bars today... tomorrow we'll see if she likes them better... if not the old ones go back on

[the desert fox]

Dogo can do 35kph and not get up a sweat,,,
He dosen't need pedals...
He'll run all day as long as these a bike beside him.

Did change her bars today... tomorrow we'll see if she likes them better... if not the old ones go back on

i hope you are not riding with the dog on a leash attached to the bike.
i read about an accident in one of the forums here. it started out as a fun ride that ended up really bad.

[Leigh_caines]

No dog runs free,,, he'd pull your arm off if you had him on a leash :)

[Leigh_caines]

New bars and happy stokerhttp://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee220/Leigh_caines/usonbike001.jpg