Tandem Cycling - Getting Closer

So even with crazy work schedules and tournament team travel we may have found "our" tandem!

A used Bilenky is finding boxes to be shipped from FL!!

Anyone have personal experience riding a Bilenky tandem? Didn't find much in the forums here. Only complaints on the builder were waiting longer time periods to receive a custom bike, so that won't apply being a used bike.

Awesome & congrats! Post photos when you get it!

Will certainly post photos! This is almost like Christmas week......

It is all currently boxed and now trying to find the best shipping. I guess the box itself is too large for Amtrak! Checking Aliant Express now, thanks to another bf post!

Bilenky's are excellent tandems. Steve Bilenky is one of the "old school" builders. He originally built under the "Sterling" brand until another builder took exception and then started building under his own name, i.e., Bilenky Cycle Works. The workmanship on his tandems is exceptional and the designs / geometry are a bit different from most other tandems on the market, including his stock 700c models... not just the awesome one-offs like the 650B that he built for a Bicycle Quarterly review and that one of our forum brothers recently acquired (http://tandemgeek.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/bilenkys-show-winning-650b-tandem-can-be-yours/).

Great interview with him on "The Outspoken Cyclist" with Diane Lees
http://www.wjcu.org/2010/10/09/the-outspoken-cyclist-1092010

A link to a video tour of their "shop" on YouTube.
http://tandemgeek.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/a-photo-tour-of-bilenkly-cycle-works/

Blogger's interview with Stephen:
http://cycloculture.blogspot.com/2008/06/steven-bilenky-speaks-part-one.html

My wife and I have a Bilenky tandem (http://www.flickr.com/photos/threefamilyalbum/sets/72157630220825872/) and we love it! It is the one that TandemGeek mentions in the above post. We have four tandems (actually five if you include a Jack Taylor frameset I've not yet built) and it is by far our favorite tandem. I've captained it for a total of 288 miles so far and the bicycle handles and corners as if on rails, yet it rides like a dream. Our Bilenky has 650B wheels with 42mm tires which makes for a very comfortable and compliant ride, so when other tandem teams are standing on their pedals going over bumps, we just keep pedaling. :) Of course, I would guess that most Bilenky tandems have 700C wheels which will result in a ride and handling somewhat different than our bicycle, but the framesets Bilenky makes are known for being very well built.

The Bilenky is officially shipped and on it's way!!! We were unable to use Greyhound or Amtrak because of the size of the box. Actually it is boxes because we also purchased the DraftMaster as well. The bike itself is packed in a Santana tandem box, which in itself is quite bulky and heavy.

Photogravity, thanks for the write up on your Bilenky! It was an awesome read. Sounds like a fantastic bike!! I just now made the connection from the previous post of the tandem dining room/garage! I do believe that if I left our bike in one of the living spaces I would have a couple kids trying to ride it down the hallway! That tends to be how it goes around here :rolleyes:

267769
Bilenky build great tandems . . .
Enjoy the ride TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zolnatandem

The Bilenky is officially shipped and on it's way!!! We were unable to use Greyhound or Amtrak because of the size of the box. Actually it is boxes because we also purchased the DraftMaster as well. The bike itself is packed in a Santana tandem box, which in itself is quite bulky and heavy.

Photogravity, thanks for the write up on your Bilenky! It was an awesome read. Sounds like a fantastic bike!! I just now made the connection from the previous post of the tandem dining room/garage! I do believe that if I left our bike in one of the living spaces I would have a couple kids trying to ride it down the hallway! That tends to be how it goes around here :rolleyes:

That's great news. :thumb: I'm excited for you and your family!

Well, the Bilenky has arrived! It is currently at the bike shop to get serviced and a few new pieces!

We ended up shipping thru R & L Carriers, it left FL on Thursday and Tuesday it was at the bike shop in MA.

I took a quick snapshot of the frame but you will have to let me know what specific photos I should take of the rest of the bike!

Well, the Bilenky has arrived! It is currently at the bike shop to get serviced and a few new pieces!

We ended up shipping thru R & L Carriers, it left FL on Thursday and Tuesday it was at the bike shop in MA.

I took a quick snapshot of the frame but you will have to let me know what specific photos I should take of the rest of the bike!

That is great news. Many of us here on the forums are eagerly waiting to see some pictures of the bike, so please just post what you have and we'll make our requests for specific pictures later. :D

Just a quick picture!

://s1265.photobucket.com/albums/jj517/VastCrew/

Not sure why I couldn't upload the picture directly. It allowed my to include the Photobucket link so hopefully that works!

We get the bike back from the bike shop tonight, so I will get some better pictures with all the cables attached with handlebars and seats!

Wow! Looks great. Can't wait to hear how it rides.
[Well, here is a clickable link: http://photobucket.com/albums/jj517/VastCrew/ ]

Not sure why I couldn't upload the picture directly.

The IMG code was available right there at Photobucket to copy and paste!

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/jj517/VastCrew/46a65dee.jpg

Great looking bike. What tires (and size) are those?

Great looking bike. What tires (and size) are those?

Bilenky won Best Road Bike Frame at NAHBS 2010, with their 650B French style tandem, now in the hands of Photogravity (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/827489-Bilenky-650B-Constructeur-Tandem).



Bilenky Cycle Works – Best Road Frame (http://2010.handmadebicycleshow.com/category/nahbs-2010/2010-news/)

Stephen Bilenky of Philadelphia has been building bikes for nearly 30 years, in the first 25 of which he focused on making tandem bicycles. His award winning model is an old French style tandem, using modern geometry and updated components. “It was built for a tandem review in a magazine. The frame is simplistic–a fillet brazed tandem–but it came out so well with the box pin-striping and luggage racks that we saw it as a show bike,” explained Stephen Bilenky.

I wonder whether the red white and blue of the bike may not be for US of A, but rather the French tricolor, and that this is because it is a French style tandem. In which case, the tire size would be 650B (http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/584.html).

http://www.prafulla.net/wp-content/sharenreadfiles/2012/07/293008/s_t12_14113756.jpg
Note French tricolor above the cyclists and pretty girls.

Now we're talking! :thumb: That is a striking machine. Fade paint is not very common on a tandem, so that makes this pretty unique. I can't wait to see more.

Love, Love, Love it and we haven't even had the chance to ride it yet! We picked up the bike a bit late because one of our vehicles lost power steering :(

The tires are 700x35, not sure of the brand. I'll double check and post a few more pics. Thanks for up loading the picture Ritterview!

A French style tandem, I'll have to look into that!