Tandem Cycling - good tandem car

I'm currently using a topper rack on top of my volvo wagon. It's a great rack but at times I would like to be able to put the bike inside the car. The only way that works is to move the passenger seat too far forward for comfort. I know that a minivan would work well to transport the bike as well as grandchildren but are there other alternatives that work well?

Honda Element

Honda Element

The ideal tandem vehicle is the Honda Odyssey (http://automobiles.honda.com/odyssey/). Combine with Saris rack (http://www.saris.com/p-225-traps-47-single-track.aspx), which keeps the bike quite stable, and the Weathertech mat (http://www.autosportcatalog.com/index.cfm?fa=p&pid=644&cid=5) to keep things clean. Put the bike in the car upright, and park the car anywhere, with the bike unseen behind locked doors and tinted glass. It is easy to drive and quite comfortable, for the long trip to the ride. It gets 17/25 MPG (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/noframes/26115.shtml).

Depicted here with our half bikes, but our Burley Rock N Roll fits in there just fine.



Compared to the Honda Element , at 20/25 MPG (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/noframes/26281.shtml), you get slightly less gas mileage, with a difference in annual fuel cost of $1830 - $1665 = $165. I've ridden in Elements, and the Odyssey is soooo much nicer. Smooth V6 engine vs. buzzing 4, nice seats, conveniences, etc.

Remember, its all about the stoker. Your stoker will be happier with the long trip to the cycling event in an Odyssey.

We just hauled our tandem bike, single bike and all our stuff for a 3 month stay in norhtern Utah from our home in Tucson (a 1,000 mile roadtrip) . . . inside a 1997 Honda Accord station wagon.
Pop of tandem's wheels, pedals, pilot seatpost with stoker bars attached.
Pedals off single racing bike and removed seatpost/saddle.
Lay the bikes down (tandem on bottom) with blanket in between bikes.
Packed in all our other needed stuff. There's enough room in the Honda then for he 2-of-us.
We leave the grandkids (and great grandkid) where they belong . . . with their parents.
Been doing this for 31+ years to various places.
Have hauled our tandem inside an old VW Squareback, Honda Accord Hatchback and now our Honda station wagon.
Here's photos of a tiny Honda Fit with a tandem inside . . . do-able!
Where there'e a will, there's a way!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Has anyone been reading the news? put that tandem inside or on top of an american made vehicle!

Has anyone been reading the news? put that tandem inside or on top of an american made vehicle!

I've wondered about how a tandem would fit in a bailout-free Ford Flex. Probably not tall enough, the head room in the third row is 38.7". Maybe if you could lower the seatpost easily.

i test-drove a flex the other day, the back end is huge, but probably not tall enough, since the back seats do not come out, they only fold flat. my girlfriend's chrysler Town n country would easily swallow a tandem. the other option would be many 4 door pickups, which would carry 4 eople and two tandems! i'm thinking F-150 (made by my friends in Dearborn), or the Ram or Dakota (made by my friends in Warren), or the Silverado (made by my friends in Pontiac).

I drive a Element, It's a good cycling car but the tandem dosen't fit unless both wheels are off and the rear end is stuffed between the seats. I purchased a draftmaster tandem rack that fits my trailer hitch. It carries two singles and the tandem. http://www.draftmaster.com/t.html. The Element only gets around 20 mpg around town and 23 on the fwy. The Odyssey might be a better choice if you can fork out the bucks.

I drive a Element, It's a good cycling car but the tandem dosen't fit unless both wheels are off and the rear end is stuffed between the seats. I purchased a draftmaster tandem rack that fits my trailer hitch. It carries two singles and the tandem. http://www.draftmaster.com/t.html. The Element only gets around 20 mpg around town and 23 on the fwy. The Odyssey might be a better choice if you can fork out the bucks.


What size tandem do you have?

I second, or is it third or fourth, the Honda Odyssey? Anyway, the Odyssey is one great vehicle that can carry a tandem with wheels on between the seats.

Volkswagen GTI ...

We have a coupled bike and by disconnecting 3 quick release cables and 3 couplings ---Viola in she goes.

Wheels on total packing time less than 3 minutes in and about 4-5 out and ready to ride.

I'm currently using a topper rack on top of my volvo wagon. It's a great rack but at times I would like to be able to put the bike inside the car. The only way that works is to move the passenger seat too far forward for comfort. I know that a minivan would work well to transport the bike as well as grandchildren but are there other alternatives that work well?

We've used a Chrysler Minivan for years. It's pretty economical at 27 mpg on the road and will hold a hell of a lot of bikes (our max is 5). We are too old to hoist the bike up on top anymore.

Frank and Terry

As John R indicated - it is a little bit tough to fit a tandem in an Element but it can be done. We have a Co-motion Speedster and transport it in our Element with the rear wheel on 2 or 3 times a week. I'll try and take a picture this weekend but what I've done is to build an armrest/stand that the rear wheel rests on between the driver and passenger seat. Most of our rides are within 50 miles of the house so it's not horridly inconvenient. In fact we typical transport the tandem and a single together. We simply fold one of the rear seats up and my daughter rides in the remaining seat. All that being said if you can swing an Odyssey it'll fit better. It's 9-10 inches longer inside than the Element which makes rear wheel management easier.

For us the Element is a better fit. I don't have to worry about getting sand, mud, grease etc on the carpet and interior. Maintenance on an Element tends to be cheaper in the long run.

Dodge Durango.

Tandem fits easily with the front wheel off. Not a refined ride, but they're cheap, have lots of power, can put a ton of stuff inside, and tow 8,000 pounds.

I bet you can get a new Durango for a song.

I've owned the Odyssey and the Pilot, both excellent vehicles.

We've used a Chrysler Minivan for years. It's pretty economical at 27 mpg on the road and will hold a hell of a lot of bikes (our max is 5). We are too old to hoist the bike up on top anymore.

Frank and Terry

I second the Chrysler Minivan. We have been driving them since 92. We put the tandem in with the wheels on. I set the rear wheel in, walk to the front of the bike and lift it up and roll the bike in. I use bungee cords from the seat belts to the seat mounts on the floor to hold it. Fast, easy and inside.

Dave

We take ours in my wife's Mazda5. It's a Micro Mini Van (In between a Station Wagon and full size Mini Van).

1. Fold flat the 2nd and 3rd row seats
2. Take off the front wheel
3. Roll in the tandem into the car backwards
4. Secure the fork on a slider fork mount
5. Front wheel goes in the back upright secured with the 3rd row seat belt

I've got the tandem in the car right now. I will try and take some pics when I get home.

I drive a Honda Fit.

It is inexpensive, great on the gas (recent mountainous highway trip at 42 MPG), seats five, and will swallow a tandem as shown by the photos of the red Honda Fit in the Zonatandem post above (although reducing the seating to two with the bike inside).

It's a great choice.

Tandem in a Mazda5...

Here's my limousine-like Cannondale in the back of my Nissan Xterra:



If you have the fold flat front seat option, you can leave the back wheel on. But my stoker gets to ride in the back, Saudi style.



Or two bikes and no passengers:

Having owned both a Sienna and an Odyssey (Sienna unfortunately trashed in accident 3mo ago),
Odyssey replaced as Toyota is making only base level vans right now my experience is that the
Sienna got about 3 mpg more than the Odyssey. Both have 21gal tanks and the Sienna would go
550mi on a tank and the Odyssey seems to top out at 450-475/tank. First tank through Sienna in
'04 when I drove 60-65 got me to 620mi. Other wise they both make great bike haulers though
Honda does not provide cross rails for the top rack and the Honda rack is at least 18" shorter than
the Sienna meaning height challenged types will need a step stool to put half bikes on top. On the
Sienna you could just stand in the open sliding door and reach the bike, but on the Honda the
sliding door is too far forward. I can put the tandem right down the middle between the seats and
put two half bikes on either side, one with both wheels off upside down and carry 4 with a good bit
of baggage to rides with either van. Both are very comfortable on longer trips.

We're very happy with the Odyssey for how it fits our tandem riding lifestyle. We only occasionally ride from home, so it's anywhere from a 20 to 50 minute drive to wherever the ride starts most Saturday and Sunday mornings. The bike backs in, with both wheels on, and secures with two straps from the stem to the hand holds above the rear side windows. Total loading and securing time is about 20 seconds and unloading a little less. It's safe and easy to load the bike the night before when we want to leave extra early in the morning and if we overnight at an event, the bike stays in the van and we don't have to haul it up the stairs or keep it in the room with us. Along the road it stays as clean and dry as we do.

Odysseys for the US market are built in a plant in Lincoln, AL, USA.

Many 'American' cars are built outside of the USA . . . whether Ford, Chrysler or GM. Many parts on cars made by the 'big 3' come from outside the US as well. Relative drives a Cadillac Catera . . . built by GMs Opel in Germany; many Ford pickups come from Mexico and some Chryslers are built 'up north' in Canada, as an example.
Some 'foreign' cars are built by Americans in the USA . . . like Honda, Toyota, Huyndai, BMW etc.
As for tandems/bikes/components/tubing . . . it's the same story . . .
With a 'world economy' it's almost impossible to find anything that's 100% American and/or USA built.
Nice to see that there's many choices out there to haul our twicers!

I drive a Element, It's a good cycling car but the tandem dosen't fit unless both wheels are off and the rear end is stuffed between the seats.

My tandem fits inside of my Element easily. Actually, I don't even think it would be necessary to remove the front wheel but I like the stability that a fork mount provides. Highway mileage on every single tankful has been right at 25 MPG with the cruise set at 70 and the air conditioner running. Incidentally, XM radio utterly ROCKS on road trips.

I considered a Dodge Caravan but the long version, like most of the other minivans, is too tight of a fit for my garage. The shorter version, which isn't available anymore, doesn't have a stow-n-go rear seat so I'd have to find someplace to store the seat.

Many 'American' cars are built outside of the USA .

A common argument. Follow the money. I think the answer depends on whether you vote Republican or Democrat. Republicans identify with management and the owners and look at where the profits (if any) go. Democrats identify (or should identify) more with the workers who spend most of their salaries in their local communities.

Dem? Rep? Fit in neither category! Am a ticket splitter and have never voted a 'straight ticket'; have voted for up to 4 different parties in one election. Have voted for the 'individual' in all elections since I started voting in 1955 when I became an American citizen.
As for cars, have owned everything from Plymouth, Ford, Chevy, Jeep, Goggomobil (check that one out on Google), VW and Honda.
As for tandems, our first was French ('75 Follis) and 4 custom ones after that; all handmade in the USA. Only one had American made tubing: our Zona c/f twicer.
It is a 'world economy' whether we like it or not.

Rishardh,

Where did you get the sliding fork mount?

Rishardh,

Where did you get the sliding fork mount?
Looks like he made it out of Uni-strut.
Here is the slider I made for my truck.

Rishardh,

Where did you get the sliding fork mount?


DVS is right. It is an XPORT Universal Bike Mount purchased from Performance Bike bolted on to some left over metal shelving uni-struts which can be purchased from Home Depot.


http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1031488_-1_31500_20000_31506

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/unistrut_heavyduty_diy_metal_shelvingracks_12191.asp

I've wondered about how a tandem would fit in a bailout-free Ford Flex. Probably not tall enough, the head room in the third row is 38.7". Maybe if you could lower the seatpost easily.



Just got a Ford Flex to carry the tandems...and the family. We have two tandems and two kids, and upon experimentation found that you just can't get all four in the back of any mini-van. Chose the Flex because it's a little lower than a mini-van...puts the top of the bikes at 9' 4". Use a Rocky Mounts R4 rack and older style Yakima (not Sidewinder). Wider at the top, so able to mount all of our trays for half bikes too. Looks like a sag van at the Tour de France. Lots of room inside for passengers, mini-van feels cramped by comparison. Might just be best planned vehicle Ford makes. Gets lots of looks unloaded, and even more loaded with bikes.

Just got a Ford Flex to carry the tandems...and the family. We have two tandems and two kids, and upon experimentation found that you just can't get all four in the back of any mini-van. Chose the Flex because it's a little lower than a mini-van...puts the top of the bikes at 9' 4". Use a Rocky Mounts R4 rack and older style Yakima (not Sidewinder). Wider at the top, so able to mount all of our trays for half bikes too. Looks like a sag van at the Tour de France. Lots of room inside for passengers, mini-van feels cramped by comparison. Might just be best planned vehicle Ford makes. Gets lots of looks unloaded, and even more loaded with bikes.

So, you put the tandems on top? Would a tandem fit in the rear with the seats folded down? Pics would be nice.

Haven't tried to put bikes inside, doubt that they'd fit upright, but will give it a shot. Will get pic of bikes on rooftop on this weekend's ride. Pouring rain today. Morning tandem ride to work/scout camp cancelled. :(

Also, for folks interested in the Flex, it must have factory rack. Yakima and Thule don't yet have a solution for the naked roof mount yet. New Yakima Railgrab system works well.

I know that a minivan would work well to transport the bike as well as grandchildren but are there other alternatives that work well?

Just to add my .02...

Back in '97 we started off carrying our tandems in the back of an '89 Toyota X-Cab pick-up. It was great having the tandem and tandem stuff in back with us and our stuff up front. As we began to take more trips we decided that the ultimate tandem accessory was a Suburban in that it allowed us to carry two tandems and four adults inside + luggage or three tandems on the roof rack system with three teams and their stuff inside. We did two of the Suburbans for this very reason and then came to a crossroads as the 2nd Suburban reached that point (80k miles) where resale value would begin to plummit so we'd either have to 'sh*t or get off the pot".

We decided to get off the pot and then we faced the dilemma: Honda Odyssey or Toyota Tundra Double Cab pick-up. We went with the Toyota Tundra DC pick-up for a couple reasons:

1. It has an honest to goodness 6' bed that accommodates our road tandem with just the front wheel removed.
2. It seats four or five adults quite nicely and fully compartmentalized from the cargo bed and grease / odors / noises that go along with having a tandem and tool box in the car. In fact, we were actually able to stuff six adults in at TRR for a very short trip without removing the tandem and tandem stuff from the bed.
3. It's perfect for hauling the grandkids around as a child seat fits smack dab in the middle or in either of the right or left rear seats so that mom and dad can sit along side and/or we'll be able to haul up to three of our four grandkids in the backseat push-come-to-shove while still having full use of the 6' bed.
4. For all of those times when we're not hauling bikes, the pick-up truck is still a pick-up truck. I can haul yard debris to the recycling center, 30 bags of mulch back to the house without asphyxiating myself and so on. It's not as easy to haul 8 - 12 foot loads like it was with the Suburbans, but that's a small price to pay as those events are far and few between.

On the down side the fuel economy isn't all that much better than the Suburbans UNLESS you drive the speed limits and don't run the A/C. Typically we'll see 15.5 - 16.5 mph city with anywhere from 16.0 - 20.0 on the highway. The Honda's claimed 28 mpg was really a strong attraction as was the ability to seat 7 coupled with all of the entertainment stuff. However, the Odyssey ain't a truck and when you need a truck only a truck will do.

I still look at the Odyssey's whenever I take Debbie's little S2000 in for service, but if I had to pull the trigger on a 3rd car I'm guessing it would be a Camry SE or a Porsche 996 and not a mini-van.

Here's the basic tandem hauling configuration for our Tundra. There is usually an extra set of wheels stuffed in the back along with a Universal folding repair stand, a couple tool boxes and a duffle bag with all of our cycling gear. What you're seeing here is a typical day-ride configuration as tomorrow we hope to join several other Georgia tandem teams for the monthly PEACHES ride up in Rome, Georgia. Of course, I had foot surgery today so it remains to be seen if I'll be able to ride when I wake up tomorrow. Fingers crossed, the Shimano sandals will allow me to hobble along for at least the short or medium routes.

A common argument. Follow the money. I think the answer depends on whether you vote Republican or Democrat. Republicans identify with management and the owners and look at where the profits (if any) go. Democrats identify (or should identify) more with the workers who spend most of their salaries in their local communities.

Most revenue goes to labor -- at least this was true 10-15 years ago. Without any specific knowledge of the car industry, the rule of thumb is that ~70% is paid to labor. So generally, wherever the car is built, there goes the money.

So, you put the tandems on top? Would a tandem fit in the rear with the seats folded down? Pics would be nice.


Did some experimentation with the tandem INSIDE the Flex the other night. Being a Cannondale L/S with flat bars and bar ends, it was tight, and had to remove both seats to get it in. The bike did fit on one side with both rows of back seats down, as well as the front passenger seat. It's too long to lay it on its side. Our Bike Friday would fit fine. My opinion is, then, if you want to carry the bike inside a vehicle(unless its small like the BF) the Flex is not the optimum choice.

Here is a pic of the Cannondale stuffed in the Flex, and a few shots of both bikes on top. The new Yakima Rail Grab system works excellent, with some pieces of innertube used as shims to keep the clamp square when tightened. The top of the trays for our single bikes is less than 6", which is a couple of inches lower than on the mini-vans I looked at.

We haul our tandem in a 2001 Mazda MPV. Made in Japan with a made-in-America Ford engine.