I'm new to the forum and would like to touch base with fellow recumbent tandem teams. My wife and I have ridden tandem for 15 years (traditional diamond frame) and have recently purchased a Rans Screamer. (talk about comfort!) The bike is presently on a trainer and we're riding a few times a week indoors. Tours in the warmer months have including week-long sojourns in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and this summer, Prince Edward Island. I would like to hear from similar riders about tours, adjustments, equipment, etc., specific to recumbent tandems. Thank you.

We have had a few bent tandems Rans Screamer, Organic Engines Troika and a Longbikes Gulfstream. Have used all of them for loaded tours. We still have the Screamer for rides close to home, but the Gulfstream has become our touring bike. I just like USS better.

Add a rear rack, and under seat rack to the Screamer and a set of fenders and it makes a fine touring two-fer.

PEI sounds like fun, this year we will be doing the 6 New England states, a big loop starting and ending at the house.

My wife and I have a 2003 Rans Screamer. (Psycho Lime) This summer we are planning two (2) tours. One will be in central Minnesota and the other in central Wisconsin. Both of them will proably be just three (3) or four (4) affairs but we have to take what we can get. During the summer months we try and do full day rides at least a couple days per week. Anytime on the Rans is a great day. :D :D

Carpe Diem

My wife and I have a 2000 Double Vision with IPS and USS. We found that our self-supported work best with the majority of the load in the trailer. We have a pair of seatbags, rear panniers and an expandable trunk bag but the heavy items, mostly camping gear and souveniers work out well in the trailer. Being that the trailer has two wheels instead of a single wheel, we can balance the load over the axle in order to remove extra weight off the rear hub of the tandem.

When we tried bent tandems, we thought the Vision had a softer ride and I enjoy USS instead of Above Seat Steering. Rans didn't offer USS.

Have fun this summer and ride safe.

Thanks for the pix. I like the looks of your rig, and the little guy who probably helps on the hills! Our loaded touring (camping) is with a BOB trailer, which takes a good load without adversely affecting the handling. I With Arkel GT 54 rear panniers and a "tail pack" we can manage to haul everything. I have not tried USS, so can't really comment. We certainly prefer the bent over the Trek tandem we rode for 14 years. Very comfortable for both of us, especially after 5-6 hours on the road. It took us a while to get the gearring sorted out as the bike came with 54, 44, 32 cranks and an 11-32 cassette. Couldn't handle the hills (12%-15%) in some of our riding turf, so we've been able to modify and go 48, 36, 26 with an 11-34 cassette. World of difference! As we gain more confidence at higher speeds we may want a higher end for the flats, but right now, we're happy. Happy cycling and best wishes. Mike

My wife and I are new to both recumbents and tandems. We've taken delivery of a Longbikes Gulfstream and I had no problem riding it solo but with her on the back for the first time yesterday....well, it was not very successful. Of course it's a double learning curve; recumbent and tandem. Any suggestions such as:
should the stoker start out with both feet clipped in on the pedals?

Thanks

GulfstreamIV

Have your stoker clip in, that way she can get the bike started off and you can clip in.
And make sure you have plenty of room as the Gulfstrem can be a real bear on tight corrners, the bike will want to flop to the inside.

The first time I tried a bent tandem it was a Duplex, thought it was a good bike then. But years latter when looking to buy a bent tandem all that was avalible at the time was Rans, Vision and Linear. So I ended up with a Rans. Road that for about 30,000 miles and replaced the Rans with with a Organic Engines tandem trike. Road that for only 3000 or so miles before selling it and getting the Gulfstream.

Thanks for the advice and quick response. W'll be looking for a slightly warmer day than today to give it a try.

We have until May 20th to get our act together as we're planning on attending the Recumbent Bicycle Riders rally on May 20th through 22nd in State College, PA. It seems like a great opportunity if anyone is interested in attending.

Thanks again

GulftreamIV

Do you have any more info on this ride?

One question I have about a bent tandem, does it feel like you are going just as fast on the bent as on a regular road bike tandem? What about climbing, it it a lot more difficult?

IMHO our Rans Screamer is every bit as fast as a traditional diamond frame tandem. In fact, given that most bents seat their human cargo a little closer to terra firma, it may even "feel" like they're moving a long at a good clip. Downhill, with less wind resistance, they're likely faster, but I get my stoker to hit the drag when we get up around 70 km/h.On most longish rides (5+ hours) we're averaging 23-24 km/hour, about the same as on our Trek T200. On a bent, climbing is a "sitting only" activity! This takes some getting use to, for sure. We had a lot of trouble climbing at first for two reasons. The bike came 54/44/32, with an 11-32 cassette. A ratio of 1:1 doesn't cut it when the slope is 9-12% which we have a lot of in this neck of the woods, but we've never found a hill we couldn't walk up! (We've since changed the cranks and the cassette) More significantly, however, is learning to put another group of muscles to work, and this takes time. It seems there's more ham string and calves at work, along with the quads, and less arm and shoulder (honking out of the saddle) on a bent than on a traditional frame. For us, switching to a bent tandem was all about comfort. No more neck, shoulder, back and butt pain, even after 120 kms. We've pulled a B.O.B. for a days, fully loaded camping gear on board, and have been thrilled with the decision to switch to recumbent riding.

By all means, clip your stoker in first. I (captain) usually clip in left and hold the bike with my right foot on the ground while she clips in. When we shove off, we may complete 2-3 full revs before I clip in my right foot, just to have the momentum to coast while I do so. The key to successful tandem riding, which has been stated so many times in this forum, is to communicate. Not just occasionally, but all the time. I want to know when my stoker is going to reach for water 'cause I can feel the movement. She wants to know when I'm changing gears, especially gearing down on a climb, so she can ease up, just a tad, with me. Your Gulfstream has a wheel base which is 31" longer than our Rans Screamer, so I'm guessing it would be "tippy". I use a camelback for water so I can keep my hands, both of them, on the bars, all the time. I communicate turns and intentions to my stoker, she does all the signalling as required. I remind myself that I am riding for two, so I've got to maintain control of steering, balancing and braking all the time, no matter what. It's worked for the past 15 years and it's been all teamwork.