Sammyboy

Ok, I nearly bought this: https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...0454&rd=1&rd=1
a couple of days ago, the only thing that stopped me was it was a really inconvenient place to pick up. I'm now seriously looking for a cheap tandem, chiefly because it would make it easier to cycle with my girl or my son. At the moment, I have to hold back to an uncomfortable degree so as not to leave them behind, and Gill in particular is not as confident as I am on the road. With a tandem - no problem.

So, who's had one, and more particularly, what are the difficulties with doing up a tatty one. I know the drivetrain includes some tandem specific parts, particularly the cranks, but what else is to know? With this one, for instance, I'm fairly sure I'd have wanted to replace the steel wheels with alloy, but what sort of spec would I need? I'd ask these questions on the tandem forum, but you know those guys are spending $4000 on new tandems, and I think you guys understand better the point of view of a guy doing up an ancient heap he bought for £60.

frameteam2003

You came to the right place.done two and working on the third.

ollo_ollo

I'd go for it at that price, although expect maintenance requirements to be more than you are used to on other bikes (brakes & tires will likely wear faster, wheels more expensive & chains are longer). My local club has a tandem available for rental to members. The latest newsletter mentioned maintenance costs exceeded rental income for the past year. Don

frameteam2003

some(most)parts are oversized.Most tandems use oversized headset--not hard to find if a somewhat modern tandem.They used mountain bike headsets.Early english tandems like the russ I did used built in cups which would be a pain to find(the russ used Chater lea headset and BB which is a special CL size)Glad it came with them!
For rims tandem use 40 or 48 spoke rims and tandem rims are usualy a bit wider than regular rims of the same make.These are easy to get---sun as an example makes lots of 40 hole rims.Hubs are wider on tandems too so try and get a good set.A rear hub with threads on the left side for a drum brake is a plus.
All in All,if you find a good used tandem like the one you showed rims are an easy up-grade.
Seat tubing may be oversized ---shims can be used to use regular size seat posts. Derailers need to be for oversized tubes,but regular stuff---M/B rears work good for larger cogs.Tandems don't pull as good on hills so larger rear gears are good.
All the above is only about the mach. of putting a tandem together---the real question that needs to be answered is:
Will your son or daughter be able to ride with you/will you be able to ride with them?Remember you must be in sink with them while ridding.And also the tandem must fit not only you but them also.---sam

lotek 

Sammy,

this is a tandem
Pog Tandem

T-Mar

I have a Santana tandem. Sam has done a pretty good job of describing most of the disparities. Finding tandem length cables can also sometimes be a problem. Don't economize on anything to do with brakes. Buy the best and largest area pads you can find.

Riding with a partner can be a joy, but as pointed out, you have to be in sync. This can be quite a learning process, especially if both of you are novices. If you arer a novice captain you will find things easier with some sort of shifting where you can keep your hands on the bars. So you may want to retro-fit some bar ends orthumbshifters.

Sammyboy

I don't know about what it would be like riding with my son, or my girlfriend (they're close in height at the moment). The only way to find out is to try, and for £70, it would've been a cheap way to find out. So, it looks like with this, it would've been a matter of a different set of pedals for the captain at least, and aluminium rims, which are easy to find, plus a service.

I'm now seriously on the hunt for a cheap and servicable tandem. Watch this space. If we can't ride it together, or it's a bad fit......well you know me. I'll make a profit on it!

bigbossman 

Sammy,

Going tandem is a good way to get them started. I did exactly that with my wife and (then) 10 year old daughter. I started by renting one for them on weekends for organized rides, and ended up finding a late 80's/early 90's Univega mtb tandem relatively cheap on CL for $200.

I put another $100 into it what with new grips, saddles, brake bads, and slicks. But for $300 they had a ball for a whole year on it, and racked up about 7-8 metric centuries. On one organized ride, they managed to spin that old tank up to 53+mph on a downhill....

My girl has since graduated to her first road bike, and the tandem sits in the garage gathering dust. Too bad you're not closer - I'd make you a deal...

Anyway good advice up above - don't skimp on brake components, and make sure the wheels and tires are good. Hands=on shifting is a good thing - mine has twist-grip. Other than that, they are pretty much the same as wrenching on regular bikes, except the extra drive side crank and the extra chain.

As T-Mar said, cooperation between the two riders is critical, and it is a learned thing.

infinityeye

rear wheel is crucial. I have a "redux" schwinn twinn. I changed almost everything in an effort to lighten it up (all with free parts from other bikes). One of my upgrades was to a 6 speed cluster on the back. I am quietly (cheaply) looking for a 40 hole hub to build a back wheel back there. But I spend 130 on the bike originally and have gotten hours of fun, and I am proud of how much better it rides now. It was a 1979 with a lot of rust to the components and wheels, but the frame was in great (if heavy) shape. The only other drawback is the whippy!!! frame. But it has held together so far. I also had to bodge a brake drop from the fender arch for the rear, I made this from heavy metal. The timing gear is on the right with the crank ring it is a 14-30 in the rear and 46 up front for a nice choice of gearing and will HAUL down the hills anyway!

YoKev

I recently scored a 1993ish KHS Tandemania for $70. Decent components, True Temper CroMo frame in great shape. Sure, it needs some work, but nothing more than $150.

Fortunately, I passed the deal on to a friend and his wife before I got in over my head

Sammyboy

Thanks guys, this is great stuff. Whatever I buy is unlikely to get hammered - it'll be the occasional 20 mile run I'm sure, and no racing! I kinda don't want an MTB tandem - it seems to me something that big and heavy already wants drop bars and sensible sized tyres....

raverson

I picked up a used Nashbar tandem on CL a while back as an inexpensive intro into tandem riding for the wife and I. For $250 it was cheap enough to not be a major cash outlay, yet the build quality and components were high enough to avoid constant tuning. I would keep looking until you come across the right deal that balances price, quality, and low mileage.

Sammyboy

Bahahahaha. Almost tempted by this. (note - I know the fork is toast)

CV-6 

Okay....I will show my ignorance. I have never seen a tandem with the captain's chain ring on the same side as the stoker's. What is the reasoning behind what we see here?

infinityeye

It's just the old way and uses regular cranks not tandem specific cranks.

But you can only get 1 or 2 crank gears instead of three, but who needs three anyway (racing or mud boggin' maybe)

kemmer

I've run into a couple with both chains on the normal side. Makes perfect sense to me.

frameteam2003

Thorn still builds theirs this way---
https://www.thorncycles.co.uk/
sam

Sammyboy

Why are they all in Kent? This one ends shortly - looks the right sort of size at the back, but also looks like it's lacking brakeage, a bit!

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...6906&rd=1&rd=1

Sammyboy

And then there's this. Completely unsuitable for any of the things I want a tandem for, but nevertheless, wow! Wonder if they'd let me ride it at Calshot velodrome, if I had a stoker?

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...1560&rd=1&rd=1