I am an avid cyclist & triathlete who also tandems with my husband and my children. Normally we each take one child (they are 10 year old twins) on each tandem when we go. They do terrific; wonderful stokers. We usually do 20 -30 mile rides on the weekends on an easy gravel "rails to trails" trail. We also do some road riding. No single-track or anything. Here is my question. I would like to be able to ride with my kids when my husband isn't available. What do you think my best option is? A triple? Or is there a way to modify my existing (KHS) tandem to accomodate 3 of us? My kids are 70 lbs. and 100 lbs. I weigh about 140. I like the idea of having us all together on one bike so that I can get a decent ride in without having to stop for a child on their own bike. You know how it goes: they get tired, thirsty, hot, etc. and want to stop, and they just flat can't keep up which is understandable. On the tandem they can pedal or not, get a drink when they want, and generally can hang for any long-haul.
I was thinking triple, but won't they outgrow that at some point? And that is some big bucks to be shelling out for a limited time. I was looking at the Bike Friday triples, but still I would like to explore some other options. If there are any. I am open to any and all suggestions!
The BikeForums Team
-adv-
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Adams and Burley sell trail-a-bikes that can be attached to a bicycle or tandem for children under 85 lbs that make for a 'sort-of-a-tandem' configuration that sell for between $130 (single speed) and under $250 (7 speed) which might work for light duty. You can see a photo of a triplet with a Burley Piccolo here at the top of my Multiseat FAQ: http://www.thetandemlink.com/Triplets.html. You can usually find the better quality Adams and Burley models second as well.
Frankly, if you're going to to a lot of family riding and truly do spend a lot of time on the bike, the Bike Friday triple, a used triplet found via a wanted to buy ad on one of the tandem sites (http://www.thetandemlink.com/tandems.html#anchor1146367), a Co-Motion Trident (http://www.co-motion.com/trident.html), or perhaps even a Bushnell-built triplet from either Tandems East (http://www.tandemseast.com) or Precision Tandems (http://www.precisiontandems.com/catframetandem.htm) might serve you better. It's really a family budget question, noting that resale once the kids outgrow the bike (in terms of their wanting to ride, as fit isn't an issue on conventional triplets) should be factored into your decision as well, which harkens back to the second hand triplet option. The logistics of the latter are usually the tough-nut to crack as they're out there, but not usually local.
cornucopia72
You did not say how tall you, your husband and your kids are. We own a small triplet Cabrio that brakes apart into a Tandem and brakes even further as a travel Tandem that fits into two suitcases. Co-motion also makes a triplet like ours. Ours is a small frame and fits ridders from 6'3" (captain) to <5' rear stoker. They are not cheap but if you use them they are worth every penny.
Co-Motion Speedster Convert w/9 couplers: $9,040
- $2,585 option that allows 2-seat version to double as a travel tandem
Co-Motion Speedster Convert w/13 couplers: $10,325
- $3,870 option that allows either 2 or 3-seat version to double as a travel tandem
Definitely a great option for a family that enjoys cycling and wants flexibility with their fleet. We have good friends up in Ohio who have a Co-Motion Quad that can be configured as travel tandem, triplet or quad whose photos appear on Co-Motion's web site (http://www.co-motion.com/graphics/quad.gif) and it's been a great bike for them. Same thing with some other friends down in Tucson (http://www.thetandemlink.com/Images/russellquad.jpg) who had the first Santana Cabrio-4. Mark Johnson at Precision tandems showed up at the Midwest Tandem Rally on Saturday's ride with his multiseater set up as a Quint ( 5 seats ) (http://www.thetandemlink.com/Images/johnsonquint.jpg)and then jettisoned two or three sections at the first rest stop / playground along with a couple of riders so that they could play while he and a stoker or two did the long mileage before putting it all back together for the final leg back to the hotel.
Lisas
Thanks for the great replies. I think I might try the tag-a-long option for this summer. One of my daughters is 70 lbs. the other 100 lbs. (yes they are twins, just not identical). The irony is that the smaller twin is the better stoker. But this will enable me to try us out as a triplet without making the huge investment in a triplet bike. If we like it, I'll have some time to maybe find something that we can afford in the meantime.
BTW, what are your opinions of the Bike Friday tandems/triplets? I like the idea that they can fold down for transport. We do have a horse trailer (our other bank-breaking hobby ;)) and that is what I use to transport our tandems now. But it would be nice not to have to gear up the big rig to haul the thing.
Also, which tag-a-long is the one to get for a larger child like that? Are there stability issues to think about? Are the Adams ones nice units? I see there are some on eBay . . .
TandemGeek
Also, which tag-a-long is the one to get for a larger child like that? Are there stability issues to think about? Are the Adams ones nice units? I see there are some on eBay . . .
As previously mentioned, tag-a-longs have an 85lb weight limit... ideally designed for 7-10 year olds which is why it was mentioned, i.e., with an eye towards your 70lb 10-year old child.
Yes, you will know that you've got something attached to the back of the tandem.
The Burley Piccolo was a better unit, but they suspended production about two years ago. I believe you can still find new-old-stock ones for sale and there are also used units that pop up. Burley indicated that the Piccolo will be brought back into their product line for '08, but I've seen no evidence of that beyond the Interbike mentions. The Adams units are still in production and it's the 24" model that's designed for the larger / older children. With both types, the weight is both a function of the loads that it puts on the attachment point to the bicycle towing it as well as the aforementioned stability issues. These things just become too unwieldy with tall or heavy riders.
In short, your comments suggest that a true triplet might be the better choice. I suggest visiting the Web site links provided for the Trident and Speedster triplets, as well as perhaps the Santanatandems.com, precisiontandems.com, bike123.com, and tandemseat.com to learn a bit more about the different offerings along with the Bike Friday site that you already mentioned. The Bike Friday tandems and triplets work like full-sized bikes... but just aren't as well-suited for off-road (small wheels) or hard-core use.
If you're a close-knit family, I would think you would get at least three more riding seasons with your children before they start getting that "I don't really want to be seen with my parents on this thing" attitude. Perhaps even four... it seems to vary although hitting the 'teen years' is really a watershed.
cornucopia72
A
If you're a close-knit family, I would think you would get at least three more riding seasons with your children before they start getting that "I don't really want to be seen with my parents on this thing" attitude. Perhaps even four... it seems to vary although hitting the 'teen years' is really a watershed.
+1
But, eventually they come around. Our girls are spaced 9 years. When no2 did not want to ride with us, no1 was traveling 3 hrs to do a century. We also use the triple with friends adn their kids. Finally, if we recruit a strong stoker, even the strongest racers in the area have a hard time hanging on to our wheel. It is a lot of fun...
TandemGeek
+1
Finally, if we recruit a strong stoker, even the strongest racers in the area have a hard time hanging on to our wheel. It is a lot of fun...
No kidding... A friend of ours manages Cycology Cycles up in Maryville, TN, and they've had a Periscope Trident in the shop livery for a few years that has seen a lot of use by teams where, for whatever reason, one of the riders from one team wasn't able to ride. The solution has always been to pull out the big green machine.
Some photos of "Team Inseam" (husband and wife are both REALLY tall, 6'2" ish) and a 5'10" guest stoker (aka, The Triplets of Maryville) coming off the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee can be found here:
This rig has been used on some really challenging rides with some really strong teams... so, outgrowing a triple at least in terms of size and mass, isn't really an issue.
Although I'm not sure if it's still offered, SJS Cycles in the UK used to offer a Thorn triplet also called the Trident. With the exchange rates these days and shipping, it probably wouldn't be the most economical venture, but we have another set of friends who bought one of these bikes for about $1,850 USD and they have beat the bejeesus out of it and it's still in great shape and performs flawlessly with 3 adults or combinations of adults, nephews, and even a Nephew + 1 on a trail-a-bike at last year's MS150.
Lots of possibilities with the big bikes IF you do a lot of family cycling or have friends who enjoy having fun on bicycles.
zonatandem
The 1st 'tana cabrio in Tucson owned by Dr. Mark was a common sight on The Tour of the Tucson Mountains and the El Tour de Tucson up until about 5 years ago when their 2 boys got into some other interests (you know how kids change). They ended up with a fancy/fast Co-Mo Robusta for mom 'n dad to hammer on. Of course things changed again as they added a 3rd child to the family circle.
Life is interesting and ever-changing!
Check with Bike Friday, they do sell re-furbished trade-in tandems occasionally, and there 'may' be a triple
available.
Good luck!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem
Lisas
Wow you guys are right on! Thanks for all the great advice. I think, for now, I am going to try the trail-a-bike. I really want to make sure I am going in the right direction before I shell out the big bucks (plus I have to save up the big bucks :-) ) Since I am riding mainly on a pretty-safe bike path, I won't have so many hazards to maneuver around. I probably won't do any road riding, and if I do it will be on our local gravel roads where we live in the country.
So, here is another question. REI has a Burley Kazoo http://www.rei.com/product/768479 -- is that the same as the Piccolo? It says it is rated for 85 lbs. This should get me through the summer anyway with a minimal investment and I can re-evaluate for next year if all goes well. I have a feeling my girls may be good enough to keep up in none-too short a time.
TandemGeek
So, here is another question. REI has a Burley Kazoo ...is that the same as the Piccolo?
The Kazoo is apparently a new name for a one-speed Piccolo.
Here's a link to the Piccolo 7 speed model which, for an additional $10, seems like a better choice: http://aebike.com/page.cfm?action=details&PageID=30&SKU=BT3032
I guess this all would count as evidence that Burley did, in fact, reintroduce the tag-a-longs. Sadly, I fear these are now imported instead of made in Eugene, Oregon.
Lisas
Yep I saw that one but it says he can't ship it? It can only be picked up?
cornucopia72
I would get something with gears...
Rincewind8
http://www.chucksbikes.com offers a triplet frame. I don't know how good it is. I think someone wrote about this frame in this forum, but I can't find the thread...
TandemGeek
Yep I saw that one but it says he can't ship it? It can only be picked up?
Interesting...
Well, there's always the second hand market. If you use the following search terms you'll find several Piccolo's for sale by private owners at VERY attractive prices...
burley piccolo craigslist
I'd guess about $35 for shipping via OOOPS or FedEx.
Kazoo is Burley's new entry into the trail-a-bike field. Have not yet seen one.
Piccolo was the best trail-a-bike around as it tracked perfectly behind the tandem due to its special rack/hitch mount. And yes, there' used ones on the market.
Lisas
Think I mighta found a Piccolo if she can ship it to me :-) Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Rincewind8
Try this posting from, well, you know...
http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=601948&postcount=5That's why you are the ...Geek and I'm not. ;)
Thanks for posting the link(s).
Catherine+2
Just wanted to say that I am riding with a Trek T900 tandem and a Trek MountainTrain TAB with my 6yo twins (b/g, 60 lbs and 50 lbs). I bought the single speed TAB and am now investigating options to add gears because DD gets a free ride when we get to any real speed. My ultimate goal is a triple, but money is definitely an issue. There is a man here in town with a triple that he rides with his kids, and I hope to talk him into a local sale when the kids are no longer as interested. ;-)
Catherine
WSGS
We used a piccolo behind our tandem for years. When the oldest child
out grew the piccolo (around age 10) she stoked the tandem.
We bought a used Meridian triplet when the oldest was ~13.
We put 5,000 miles on the triplet over a 3 year period.
Our purchase cost was then less than $1/ mile.
Most of the miles were Dad, Mom, and a daughter.
But many miles were Dad and 2 daughters. Our big ride
was a century in 2006 when the girls were 13 and 15.
The girls are now 17 and 15 and not as interested in riding
as they were. So, we sometimes ride the triplet with adult friends,
and we sometimes ride the 2 seater.
We're hoping the girls' interest in cycling will be
revived someday.
With hindsight, we're glad we bought the triplet because
of the time it gave us with our children.
Dan
Lisas
Got a Piccolo on Ebay. The lady from Craigslist turned out to be a wacko, so I didn't get that one. I got nervous about sending her money and hoping she would actually ship it to me. Glad I listened to my gut on that one.
So, I spent a little more, but have some peace of mind. Hopefully it will be here soon and we can start. Today was beautiful riding weather!
I am going to keep working towards a triplet though.