Utility Cycling - xtracycle build from a tandem?

Anyone ever 'modify' a tandem bike into an extracycle?

I've found a tandem really cheap and I'm thinking that since it already has the long wheel base to it I might be able to do some mods and have an xtra......

Any thoughts?

I'm interested too! There has to be somebody who has already taken the plunge-there's such obvious potential...

Oh, yah. In fact there's a guy who toured around the world for a while in the '80s and wrote a book about it. I think he was an MD from the Boston area, his name escapes me. He and his wife used to tandem, and then she wasn't able to cycle, and he fitted some custom racks. Why can't I remember his name? Used to advertise the book in the LAW/LAB magazine, maybe still does.

It would be a shame to do that to a tandem, easyer to make extra from two bikes then to convert that, proberly cheaper, like mine, mine was a nice norco I found in the garbage, and I put the rear frame from a duel suspention bike onto it, and used handle bars to brace it, never had a problem, the rear frames bottom bracket just bolts to the back of norco, easy to do

There was a thread about it a while back...general consensus was it would make the tandem hard to handle and possibly be too soft in the bottom tube area. But you only live once...give it a shot and report back. One of two things will happen: 1) You will crash and burn and learn or 2) you will start a new trend:lol:

Aaron:)

There was a thread about it a while back...general consensus was it would make the tandem hard to handle and possibly be too soft in the bottom tube area.


That thread was about adding a free radical onto a tandem, resulting in a super long bike. The OP in this thread is asking about using the existing tandem frame to make something like a Big Dummy. I agree with the comment upthread that it is a waste of a good tandem. If it was a crappy tandem, then not so much, but then it would probably make a crappy extracycle too.

I still have the dream of turning a electra swing tandem into an xtracycle. The problem I'm running into is that I can't find one anywhere and I don't want to order one sight unseen.

That thread was about adding a free radical onto a tandem, resulting in a super long bike. The OP in this thread is asking about using the existing tandem frame to make something like a Big Dummy. I agree with the comment upthread that it is a waste of a good tandem. If it was a crappy tandem, then not so much, but then it would probably make a crappy extracycle too.

I lost out on the tandem bid, :( but am still interested in a conversion if I run across another tandem cheap. :) It was definitely not a high-end bike - which is why I was interested in the conversion.

My thought process was taking a lower-end tandem since it already had the basic geometry for the longer wheel base and increased weight capacity. Upgrading the components, running a mid/over-under drive on the stoker BB and still coming out with a decent xtracycle for a lower cost than buying a free radical for which I'd still have to get a frame to go with as I don't think the road bike would be as good a match with it - and I've never heard of an extracycle 'bent :p.

The Electra Swing wouldn't be too much of a loss as a tandem. On edit: I would say the same of any "off the rack" tandem. "Serious" tandems are all custom made to suit the team, and trashing such should be a crime.

I googled some photos and it looks like it uses single sided drive, so with conventional components, you'd be limited to two chainrings of gearing, which it sounds like you have a handle on.

Here's another thought for you to noodle on:

As a long bike there would be no reason to sync the two crank shafts. (call the front one the crank, the rear a jackshaft) So you could have the rear jackshaft running at say 2X the speed of the cranks. This effectively doubles the size of the rear chainrings. This allows very wide range gearing, as a 12 tooth difference in chainring size is worth a 24 tooth differrence in effective gearing, which would otherwise cause difficult shifting.

It also halves the tension on the rear chain, which helps with shifting under load.

The idea is well tested, as DiVinci does exactly this on thier independant coasting tandems.

WallyMart sells a $280 tandem BSO made by Kent that you couldn't do anything to that wouldn't improve it.
:D