Micargi, Peerless, Megabike - worth it?

[c_squirt]

I want to get a tandem for my wife and myself and have seen a bunch of budget rides on ebay like Micargi, Megabike and Perless. I ride a lot, both MTB and road, but my wife is just now learning to ride a bike. I would like to get a nice bike, but am afraid that my wife might not like tandeming (or maybe me for that matter as I would be doing the lion's share of the pedaling) and I'd be out a grand or two. Just how bad would these Chinese bikes be for testing out tandem riding? I suppose we'd maybe do 10 - 20 miles a week on the open road to start with. If we like it, we could then move on to a DaVinci or Burley or whatever. So, are these bikes going to fall apart for just easy rides? (My wife is 4'10", 99lbs and I'm 5'7", 170lbs). Thanx in advance for any tips.

[Brian]

Sit tight, and advice will flood in. Find a shop where you can test ride. The other thing is to be patient and look for a used tandem. They will nearly always provide better value for your money. If you guys decide it's not for you, you won't be out that much. Got my 2 cents in before the experts.

[DocF]

We considered these, but found that the fit would not be suitable. My wife is 4' 10" and I'm 5" 8". For not a lot more money, you can get a low end KHS in a smaller frame and we know from Galen's exploits recounted in this forum that they are a great value for the money.

We decided on a NOS Cannondale MT800 in M/S which fits us very well.

I'm certainly not one of the experts mentioned above, but I wanted to get my two cents in too.

Good luck,
Doc

[galen_52657]

c sqirt,

You conudrum is a common one. Here is a link to an on-line bike shop that has KHS tandems. The seller has a brick-and-mortar store in Reno. I am guessing they purchase manufacturers overstock. They are an authorized KHS dealer and the bikes have full warranty.

http://gallery.bcentral.com/Gallery/ProductListing.aspx?GID=4038672&Dept=195209&page=1

I have the Milano in large. It would seem the large is in less demand than the small, hence the price difference. The small - with a 16" rear seat tube I am sure would fit your wife. I have had stokers as short as 5'3" on my large with a 21" rear seat tube. I did not purchase from this store, but used thier price as a barganing tool with the local shop, who matched the price.

Since that time, I have seen new Milanos on Ebay for even less. These are good, entry level tandems. I have done two 4 hour, 70 + mile rides on mine - one ride with a ton of climbing (with a very good stoker) plus many shorter rides with less accomplished stokers. I have made 2 modifications - replace the left hand 105 STI lever with an old Campy Ergo lever. The 105 STI has little-to-no trim whereas the Ergo has limitless trim - you can crosschain without rub if you want. I also replace the front 175 mm cranks with 180's (personal preference). Oh... I ditched the stock saddles too....

These bikes are solid performers. I would not hesitate to ride this bike anywhere. The frames are True Temper butted CroMo steel. Mine weighs about 42 lbs. They are not in the CoMotion catigory, but they are 1/4 of the price. They also have current rear wheel spacing so one could upgrade from 8 to 9 or 10 speed. I can notice some frame flex when standing and climbing hard, with team weights of 335 to 360 lbs. I am sure with a small frame and with your team weight, you would not notice much flex, if any. And, if your wife is new to cycling, she will want to sit most of the time at first anyway.

You could also look for a used tandem on Ebay or one of the tandem specific sites.

I did a lot of research before buying my bike. This is the best tandem you can get new for around $1,000. You may get lucky and find a used Burley, Cannondale or Santana, but many older bikes being sold do not have current rear wheel spacing or are running an old freewheel or 7 speed cassette. If you want to upgrade one of those, it will cost a bit as you will need a new rear wheel and/or get the frame re-set.

If you get a comfort type tandem new for $500 or less, you will find that it rides like a beach bike - OK for short stints but thats about it.

[Brian]

Galen, I think your road tandem weighs close to, if not more than my MTB tandem. Are you sure that figure is correct? Even for steel?

[TandemGeek]

So, are these bikes going to fall apart for just easy rides? (My wife is 4'10", 99lbs and I'm 5'7", 170lbs). Thanx in advance for any tips.

Pretty good advise so far...

Where do you live? If there is a tandem dealer anywhere near by one of the best things you can do is make an appointment so spend the day with a dealer learning the basics and test riding a range of different tandems.

In many cases, what makes the difference between having a great first tandem experience and a poor one is that little bit of personal attention, a few tips, a check ride with the dealer, and a properly adjusted and tuned tandem for that first test ride with your intended riding partner.

Anyway, back to the Macargi, Peerless, Kent, Megatandem, Diamondback and other low-cost brands of tandems. I'm sure by now you've figured out that many of these share common frames "packaged" with slightly different components and paint for different marketing brands. Some of them are low-end department store quality (Mega, Peerless, Macargi, Kent) whereas others are high-end department store / entry level bike shop quality. You can have "fun" on the least expensive models which will perform about as well as an old Schwinn Twinn from the 70's, but won't last nearly as long. At the next "notch" in price point -- perhaps $600 - $700 -- the components and bearings get a little better which will make them a bit more durable. However, the best part about getting into the more expensive models is that they're usually found at a bicycle shop which usually means at least an apprentice bicycle mechanic with access to more experienced bicycle mechanics will have assembled it and will be there to "tweak" things that need tweaking. And so it goes. As you move up the price scale the frames, components, and customer-support network continue to get better as does the performance. Also, many of the low-cost models are one-size fits all. As you move up the price scale the stock size options also increase. Used tandems are pretty much just like used single-seat bikes in terms of the issues and values that are available.

Just go into it with both eyes open and remember, like 1/2 bikes, you get what you pay for when you buy a tandem. Interestingly enough, you can usually multiply the price of a tandem by .5 to .65 to establish a ballpark estimate of what a single-seat bicycle of equivalent quality would cost.

Just some other things to consider...

[galen_52657]

Galen, I think your road tandem weighs close to, if not more than my MTB tandem. Are you sure that figure is correct? Even for steel?

That weight is correct. I am running 48 spoke wheels with 28 mm tires. I think the off-the shelf weight of a large/medium Cannondale is about 39 lbs. I recall a thread by a new Cannondale owner last summer that quoted that weight. One has to pay some real money to get a sub-35 lb tandem in a larger frame size.

[Mhendricks]

I want to get a tandem for my wife and myself and have seen a bunch of budget rides on ebay like Micargi, Megabike and Perless. I ride a lot, both MTB and road, but my wife is just now learning to ride a bike. I would like to get a nice bike, but am afraid that my wife might not like tandeming (or maybe me for that matter as I would be doing the lion's share of the pedaling) and I'd be out a grand or two. Just how bad would these Chinese bikes be for testing out tandem riding? I suppose we'd maybe do 10 - 20 miles a week on the open road to start with. If we like it, we could then move on to a DaVinci or Burley or whatever. So, are these bikes going to fall apart for just easy rides? (My wife is 4'10", 99lbs and I'm 5'7", 170lbs). Thanx in advance for any tips.

The Peerless bike is what we first bought to see if riding together would be for us. Before we even started to ride I had to take off all the chinese junk parts ($250 cost) because knowing my wife, if the bike broke down she would never ride again. Anyways after doing that, the only original parts left on the bike is the frame and handlebars. Well, needless to say the bike didn't break down and she enjoyed the whole ride. A few months later we bought our next bike a 2002 Raleigh AL Tandem on EBAY for around $600. Now we have a 2004 Raleigh Coupe which we love tremendously. It's light, well built and the only thing I changed is the tires to Avocet Slicks. We've been doing a lot of 25 mile rides together and maybe after a few more years will probably upgrade to a better bike. Getting back to the Peerless bike, like Tandem Geek said "you get what you pay for." I'm currently selling our Peerless because now it's just taking up dust and hopefully it will persuade someone to get into the best thing we've done for our marriage and that's a "Tandem."

[c_squirt]

Thanks for all the advice. It looks like we're gonna forego the Chinese dept. store bikes in favor of either a Raleigh Coupe or KHS Sport to start off with. Living in Las Vegas, there are not many tandems to actually ttest drive (I've been to every bike shop in town and have only seen four tandems total) and no one is selling any used ones. I'm leaning towards the Raleigh, as i haven't read or heard much about the KHS. Thanx again.

[SDS]

You lucky dog. Oh, I miss those laps out at Red Rock Canyon State Park. No way will I ever move back, though. If I go west again it will be Colorado or Utah.

[zonatandem]

A local bike shop serviced a 'new' Micargi. Found: NO grease on any bearings! Talk about saving money!
Helped owners of a brand new Schwinn $600 tandem on their maiden voyage in Duluth, MN. Stoker's pedal fell apart. Never seen such a cheap setup for a pedal! Could not even fix it; rubber pedal part could not be re-attached and was held on by a metal clip. Stoker ended up riding on the pedal axle.
Must say both the Micargi and Schwinn looked real good . . . cheap but shiny paint/decals. But as we say: Beauty is only skin deep!
Anybody can do it cheaper . . . but is that the only criteria?

[BluesDawg]

I'm expecting our new KHS Milano (large) to arrive tomorrow. I purchased it from a shop on eBay for just a little less than the price at the link above. It sure looks like a nice tandem for the $. I'll find out soon.

BTW, I'll have a nice older Motobecane tandem looking for a home pretty soon. I just got a really good set of wheels (Superbe Pro hubs) to get it back in road shape. If you don't need an automatic transmission (indexed shifters), it should be a whole lot nicer ride than those Chinese specials. I've always found the old Suntour Barcons to work great.

Hoping I'll be as happy with my Milano as Galen seems to be.

[TandemGeek]

Thanks for all the advice. It looks like we're gonna forego the Chinese dept. store bikes in favor of either a Raleigh Coupe or KHS Sport to start off with. Living in Las Vegas, there are not many tandems to actually ttest drive (I've been to every bike shop in town and have only seen four tandems total) and no one is selling any used ones. I'm leaning towards the Raleigh, as i haven't read or heard much about the KHS. Thanx again.

There's purportedly a tandem club in Las Vegas called "Duece's Wild" headed up by a gentleman named Cal Oliver. They don't have a Web site but if you want to contact me off-list [Mark@TheTandemLink.com] I'll send you his phone number.

[zonatandem]

Yo Squirt!

You two are about our team's height. We have our used '93 custom built Co-Motion up for sale for $1200. Pilot is 5'7", stoker 4'10 3/4". Tandem is in excellent condition. Size 20 1/2 x 19" male/ladyback configuratiion, 21-speeds, barcons, Phil Wood hubs, Syncross Ti Bottom brackets, Topline crankset, self-energizing canti brakes etc. Nifty desert mural airbrushed on the boob tube, chromed rear triangle and fork. Tandem weighs 37 !/2 lbs. We live in Tucson, AZ. . . . a day's drive from Vegas. Contact us offline @ zonatandem@yahoo.com if interested.