Newbie Bike Friday 2's day (10 year) old question

[motorhommmer]

Never tandemed. Need something that folds. Have seen a 10 year old 2's day. Do a lot of single bike cycling. I have 3 kids, 9, 12, 13. My wife is 5'6". How much of a compromise is this tandem. Can two adults use it in comfort. Many thanks for any help that people can give.

[TandemGeek]

Although we don't own one, we've ridden with many couples who do.

In short, the Bike Friday tandems are rather amazing little machines. Up and until the introduction of the S&S couplers in the mid-90's, the Bike Friday (take apart) and Tandem Tuesday (folding) bikes were standard fare for folks who routinely went abroad or flew to domestic destinations for tandem rallies and tours. They also represented one of the few tandems that could be adjusted to fit captains and stokers who were otherwise unable to "fit" on a standard size tandem, e.g., short captains with taller stokers, very short adult couples, or parents with adolescent children.

If you don't mind the aesthetics, I think they make for an outstanding "family" tandem.

[Retro Grouch]

I have some personal friends who over the years have acquired a single (Friday) a double (Tuesday) and a triple (?). When they first bought their Tuesday, before they had much experience with it, I watched Tim assemble it from it's packing container in about 50 minutes. I think that's pretty neat. They travel quite a bit with their 10 year old son and they like to take their bikes and use them quite a bit. They are satisfied with them.

When you slice up a pie you can't get all big slices so the Tuesday does have some drawbacks. We borrowed the Tuesday a couple of years ago for a 3 day 100 mile ride for some blind kids. The Captain of the Tuesday said that it wasn't as rigid as the triathlon bike that she was accostomed to. You are also going to lose some efficiency due to the 20 inch wheels and the internally geared rear hub. All of that aside, if high performance isn't your top priority, the Tuesday looks like a pretty slick machine to me.

[pdxcyclist]

I've been riding a Bike Friday Q tandem for about a year, as a tandem with my seven year-old son, and as a single on four business trips so far. (The Q is the one that can be both a tandem and and single). it's not a high performance ride, at least with me as the captain, but it is a load of fun to ride with kids and as a traveliing companion to new cities.

One advantage not mentioned so far: I personally found it easier to master that other tandems I tried. For me, there was very little "learning curve" on the bike, even with my wife as stoker.

One disadvantage: some BF designs are easier and faster to build up from a travelling case. Mine is a total "slide together" design, which does take me as long as 90 minutes to carefully build or carefully pack. This may just be me being slow, however. I'm certain the other designs, especially those with folds, are easier.