Tandem Cycling - Greetings from rookie tandem owners; Electra Hellbetty

Hi everybody, I have been lurking for a while learning a lot from you all before purchasing our first tandem. My stoker and I have been married 25 yrs. and are very excited to have an active hobby that we can enjoy together.

I was very close to purchasing a Trek T900, and understand that it is generally considered a better bike by those in the know, but I chose the Betty for comfort and ease of use for our situation (O.K., O.K., and yes, because it looks cool :D ). Our hope is to enjoy two or three 1 hr. rides a week around the neighborhood or on the local bike path.

Our first couple of rides have been fantastic! The feeling of synergy between the captain and stoker and smooth, quiet ride have us hooked.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/Midlake_Crisis/cd483f35.jpg

cool looking cruiser - which it sounds like what you are looking for.

Been married 57 years this month!

Yes, we still enjoy riding TWOgether!

Welcome to the tandem community!

Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Been married 57 years this month!

Yes, we still enjoy riding TWOgether!

Welcome to the tandem community!

Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

This is awesome! I hope to be able to post the same someday!!!

We had a great afternoon of warm weather in Bakersfield today and went out on the local bike path from Hart Park along the Kern River and behind Lake Ming. It was just a perfect ride. We got an "awesome!" from a grade school kid, a "sick bike man!" from a 30 something guy, and we managed to pedal up a hill that we had seen a guy walking his bike up when we were on the way down it. I am not sure if my wife's hysterical laughter as we grunted up the hill at 1.5 MPH in Hellbetty's "granny" first gear made it harder or easier to pedal, but it definitely made it more fun!

...yes that is a steep little hill right there at the far end of CALM's parking lot. And, I would say that silly-laughing definitely helps the climbing! Enjoy your new ride.

Bill J.

If you can ride up a hill at one point five mph, then you all are a pretty steady team.

If you can ride up a hill at one point five mph, then you all are a pretty steady team.
Ha! Thanks. That estimate was chosen for rhetorical force rather than by measured speed, but I bet it wasn't far from accurate.
The Betty is very steady - wide tires and very low stoker position, and my stoker trusts me enough that she stays very relaxed and balanced, even when she is laughing real hard. :p

Looks like fun - enjoy!

Beautiful ride today, and there was a bobcat on the bank about 2 minutes after this pic was taken.


http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/Midlake_Crisis/b513147e.jpg

You're cruisin' in style!

Kudos on losing the wheel reflectors!

We just picked up a Wally world tandem just to see if its even an option for us. We have a few issues that I was never sure about dropping the coin to figure out. Im 6'4" and a serious cyclist, she 5'4" with multiple health issues that prevent her from being able to ride for too long. My biggest question is that since the bike we got is a single speed/coaster brake setup with horizontal dropouts, would it be OK to attach the inStep trailer to the skewer for my 5 year old?

You can attach it to the axle.... Coaster brake hubs don't use a skewer that I have ever seen.

Beautiful ride today, and there was a bobcat on the bank about 2 minutes after this pic was taken.


http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t312/Midlake_Crisis/b513147e.jpg

I have to say that is a really good looking bike. I love the chopped back fender and meaty rear tire.

I have to say that is a really good looking bike. I love the chopped back fender and meaty rear tire.Thanks! This has been a great investment for us - we have been riding 3-5 times a week and did a 30-miler yesterday. My only regret is that we didn't discover this hobby sooner!

We...did a 30-miler yesterday.


Such a distance on such a cruiser! Impressive...most impressive. (http://m.youtube.com/?rdm=4pcfq661l&reload=3#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTLeOSOe4GmQ%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player&feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=TLeOSOe4GmQ&gl=US)