Tandem Cycling - Diamondback tandem

We have been riding our 2007 Diamondback Wildwood tandem for two years. Maybe 1,200 miles. Mostly bike trails here in Maine. Gotta love the carriage trails at Mt Desert Island. Anyway.....our tandem isn't the Wildwood I see everywhere, it is unique to 2007. Looks like made only that year. It has a more modern frame layout. Is anyone familiar with this cycle? How does it rate?

We love riding together and might look to do some longer road rides.....30 - 50 miles.

Is this bike worth upgrading or investing in?

Looking for others' thoughts and/or opinions.

Thanks, Mike

In our opinion the Wildwood is a nice introductory tandem for casual rides (including Acadia Nat'l Park).
Having said that, would not sink $$$ into it except for necessities (tires/tubes and the like).
Save the bucks and buy a better tandem rather than upgrading, expecially if you want to do longer rides. After 2 years of tandeming you are a bit more knowledgeable now about tandems and know what you like/don'tlike.
Selling the Wildwood you could recoup probably 60 - 75% of your investment.
Enjoy the ride TWOgether!
RUdy and Kay/zonatandem

+1 on what zona said.

not worth upgrading, just ride it as is and then replace it with a better one when ready

While I agree that upgrading is not always cost effective, I generally do not rule it out automatically. So here is a little different view.....and something else to think about since you specifically stated 30-50 mile rides. If your current ride is well tuned and reasonably comfortable it certainly will do those kinds of rides and will continue giving you the pleasure that it already has. And it should hold up reasonably well for a couple of more years even at 1000 to 2000 miles per year.
That is not to say you shouldn't look at spending more money on a different Tandem...If you have the funds and want a new one, then just do it...forget justification. But while new or newer bikes are aways fun it may not be necessary....a lot depends on what you want to accomplish. If you give us a little more of an idea of what kind of upgrades you would like to do or need to do... maybe we could give you a little more specific recommendation that may save you some money or clearly show that you do need to spend it for a new ride...either way - have fun.

Bill J,

You can get a pretty good tandem used for less than half the new price.

Another +1 on zona's advice, except the "sell it" part. Get another tandem, and keep the Diamondback. You'll be amazed at the number of times it will get used even after you have a better/lighter/faster bike.

A friendly couple asks about getting into tandemming
Attending an "event" where you're leery of taking/leaving your "good" bike
Riding a trail where you need bigger tires
The shop says it'll be 4 weeks to fix the "good" bike
Foul days when you don't want to get your "good" bike nasty
Etc, etc, etc.

http://www.who-sells-it.com/cy/diamondback-3281/2007-bicycles-16384/page-45-fullsize.html

This is the bike we bought....not at all like our freinds 2005 WIldwood.

The wheels seem to be of good quality, the frane is very sturdy, but not too heavy.

I was thinking of a disc brake on the rear? Long downhills are scary at 30mph.

Wanted different bars, alreaady changed th seats and pedals.

Any more thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

Mike in Maine

Need special set up on frame/adaptor for disc brake. Pricey.
If stopping is an issue, upgrade those brakes/brakepads.
Other bars? Available at your bike shop.

We have been riding our 2007 Diamondback Wildwood tandem for two years. Maybe 1,200 miles. Mostly bike trails here in Maine. Gotta love the carriage trails at Mt Desert Island. Anyway.....our tandem isn't the Wildwood I see everywhere, it is unique to 2007. Looks like made only that year. It has a more modern frame layout. Is anyone familiar with this cycle? How does it rate?

We love riding together and might look to do some longer road rides.....30 - 50 miles.

Is this bike worth upgrading or investing in?

Looking for others' thoughts and/or opinions.

Thanks, Mike


What kind of budget are you working with? Maybe an Arai drum brake will suffice instead of a disc? Are you at all sentimental about your tandem or is it just a means of transport? Answer these questions and you'll pretty much know what you want to do (i.e. upgrade or buy another tandem). Either way, I'm sure that you'll be happy. :thumb:


.

Need special set up on frame/adaptor for disc brake. Pricey.
If stopping is an issue, upgrade those brakes/brakepads.
Other bars? Available at your bike shop.
To be specific: CoolStop Salmon or Swisstop Green. People swear by both, some folks say SwissStop are better. I've used both, but not in close enough succession to be able to compare. Either one is a big improvement over stock.