Bart L

Hello

I'm new to this forum, and new to tandeming in general. I'm an avid cyclist and runner, and i would like to go on a bike holiday this summer. My wife is not a keen cyclist, but i got her warmed to the idea of touring Europe on a tandem. Seen as we're on a budget due to renovation works on our house, we bought a second hand Sparta Twixion. It's a dutch brand, more or less in the same price range as Oxford, Trek, etc...
I got the bike all set up and running and we've already done a couple of short trips without bagage. So far, all is well. However, the more we read up on tandem travel, the more we are made to believe that one can simply not go traveling on a tandem without a 3000 euro bike. is this true? We're going to do mostly paved roads, and the main goal is having fun, not covering massive distances. We will be packing a tent and camping gear as well as the usual things like clothes and so on. Our combined weight is about 135 kilos. I'm particularly worried about back wheel issues and I just don't want our trip to be one long patch of misery due to quality problems.
We would like to hear from you if it can indeed be done, or if we're setting ourselves up for failure.
Similar stories, and all kinds of tips and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


Some data

Combined rider weight : 135 kilo
Luggage weight : 30-40 kilo?
Number of kms we hope to do : around 2000.

Bike :

Sparta Twixion : 52 capt- 48 stoker alu frame
Brakes : magura hs 11
Derailleur : deore/deore lx
Wheels : 28" vuelta rodi with xt rear hub and 40 spokes in rear wheel.
Tyres : marathon xr 37c( would like to upgrade to wider tyres so as to take some of the stress off the back rim. Will see what width the frame can accommodate. Hoping to install big apple 50c.

Many thanks in advance!

Bart

Tandem Tom

My wife and I toured Denmark for a month on our tandem. We did not carry that much weight. You might want to cull your load or possibly consider? a trailer?

Bart L

Thanks for the advice.
It's really a wild guess how much our gear is going to weigh. We are still buying our camping setup so it's too early to tell how much weight we will be carrying. We have backpacked for extended periods in the past and managed to keep our weight down to about 10-11 kg. I would like to avoid needing a trailer. Tandeming is already new to us, and the extra length takes some time getting used to. We still have some time before we set off. Might be I sell the current tandem and go for one with 26" wheels. I heard they will be stronger. The wheels are what keeps playing in the back of my mind. How likely is it to have any issues with them during a month-long tour on tarmac?

Bart

Chris_W

The tandem sounds decent enough for European touring. The wheels are the most important part, especially the rear, and they seem pretty good with 40 spokes and an XT rear hub, so I wouldn't worry too much. Just go have fun!

Also, don't stress too much about the weight, a few kgs extra will have a very minimal effect on your touring speed. However, do try to optimize your baggage system and the bulk of what you're carrying to avoid having to bring a trailer.

Philly Tandem

For those reading from the USA, a kilo is about 2.2 pounds. So their rider weight is almost 300 pounds, and gear is 66-88 pounds.

88 pounds is a lot gear weight, so I would definitely do my best to cut that down. Hard with camping gear, though. I would also consider a trailer, even thought it may not be as convenient, to keep weight off the rear wheel. From a photo I saw on the web, it looks like the Sparta has a suspension front fork that likely will not accept front panniers. Most bikes, tandems included, ride much better with the luggage weight divided between front and rear panniers. If you can put on a front rack, I highly suggest doing so. If not, then you really should consider a trailer as using rear panniers alone will put a LOT of weight on the rear wheel.

I suggest taking both wheels to a good bike shop and ask them to check tension on all the spokes and make sure the wheels are good to go. You should be ok with 40 spokes as long as the wheel is properly built. A larger rear tire will also definitely help with shock absorbing.

We've done a number of tours in Europe on our tandem (we are from the USA), and I don't recall anything that has been especially hard on our bike components. I'm in Germany right now on business, and this past weekend I did a short bike tour (on a single rental bike) along the Rhine bike path from Mannheim to Koblenz, Germany. Sections of the route were rougher than I have experienced on other popular bike routes (like the Danube), and had a lot of rough cobblestones (pave), some dirt sections, etc. Just slow down and be careful when you are on sections like that and you should be ok.

In short, try to cut down your load weight, have the bike and especially the wheels checked by a good bike shop, and go and have fun!

Bart L

I will definitely look into the bigger tyres and spoke tensioning. I think my rear chainstays will only allow wheels up to 1.75 inch, maybe 2. I'm hoping to try out the 1.75" Schwalbe Little Big Ben's or the Big Apples in 2 "
From a weight distribution point of view, we are planning to use rear and front panniers, as well as a handlebar bag. From what I've read, there are a a couple of brands that produce a lowrider for suspension forks. Once we have all panniers installed, it's a matter of playing baggage "Tetris".
I will update about the total gear weight once we know it.

Because of the budget factor, I didn't buy the tandem I was hoping for, but the one that seemed liked the best bang for the buck. It's really hardly ever used, and was retailed at about 1750€ when new. I bought it for 450 and only had to replace the headset (cup was broken, noticed it as I was unable to get the play out of the headset). This also means that I had to let go of some of my preferences (26" wheels , hub gears and a overall more compact frame - think MTB)
It's still a month before we will start our travel, and for the moment I'm eyeing a second-hand Cannondale MT800 that needs some work. Seller is asking 400 euros. I put the Sparta up for sale and am waiting to see if I can get it sold. I somehow feel that the Cannondale matches more closely what I was looking for. Also, I feel that any upgrades I would do on the Cannondale are well worth it, because of the value of the frame alone. On the Sparta I can't help but think they would be somewhat wasted on a more noodly frame and heavier bike. The Sparta might get the job of traveling done, but it's not a "bedroom-wall poster" kind of bike. Might be because i grew up during the heyday of Cannondale, but for me, they have that little extra something.
That being said, we will go touring no matter what bike, I just feel I haven't settled for a more definitive tandem yet.


Thanks a lot for the good advice and quite reassuring posts so far. Maybe I really am worrying too much.

Bart

merlinextraligh

You might consider a bob trailer or extra wheel trailer. That will take weight off the rear wheel.

And except for starting the bob trailer hardly affects handling. And you can drop the trailer at your campsite and tour an area without it.

We've toured on Rolf tandem wheels(much less robust than your wheels and a Bob trailer.

nfmisso

I definitely would NOT go with 559 wheels on a touring tandem - significantly rougher ride compared with a 622.

You are a relatively light team, balance the front and rear wheel loads and you should have no issues, as long as the wheel are properly tensioned and stress relieved.

We're a 250+kg team; run 38-622 Schwalbe Marathon tires on Velocity Dyad rims, with 40 spoke Wheelmaster cartridge bearing hubs. Never had any rear wheel issues.

Bart L

I'm not sure if I understand the problem with the lowrider on suspension forks. Ours has eyelets in the middle and at the bottom of the fork. Do i have to look out for anything in specific? I was looking at these two :

XLC Lowrider LR-F02 l Koop nu bij fietsenwinkel Bikester

XLC Lowrider LR-F01 l Koop nu bij fietsenwinkel Bikester

the second one is made for use on a suspension fork, but the tubes look less solid to me.

Mistikka

Cathryn and I are just back from a 5-week, 1700 km tour around much of England — Oxford-Essex-Cambridge-Norwich-Lincoln-Blackpool-Manchester-Cheshire-Nottingham-Leicester-Oxford. Mostly on-road, with a few notorious Sustrans "traffic-free" tracks that were a bit of a challenge. Team weight: 140 kg. Team age: 132 years. Fitness level: much better at the end of the tour than at the outset. We chose the B&B/youth hostel option. Bike: an expensive S&S coupled Da Vinci with a huge range of gearing and 559 wheels with Schwalbe 50mm Tandem Dureme tires. Luggage: a bit too much for crossing the Pennines, but o.k. in the flat expanses of East Anglia.

Except for a spot of English weather, we had a Really Good Time. (It was our second long tour; we get a little smarter each time.) Touring by tandem is more than twice as good as touring on two solo bikes.

Our advice: keep your luggage weight as low as you can manage … or a kilo lighter than that. Don't be too ambitious in your distances. Be adaptable. Have fun. (It's a holiday, remember?) And keep your sense of humour intact. Carrying a basic tool kit is important. There's no list of "right" answers to your questions.

There are hundreds of ways to have a satisfying tandem touring holiday. Experience will teach you what's best for you.

As I said before, have fun!

zonatandem

Don't over-worry about touring on a tandem!
But do try and cut the weight you carry on the bike.
We usually did credit card touring, be gone for a week and carry 22 lbs total stuff (about 11 Kg).
You don't need to bring the lady's hairdryer and full cosmetic kit nor your electric razor and shiny Sunday shoes or fancy clothes.
Just like camping, folks accept you the way you are.
However, even light camping gear and cooking stuff adds a lot of weight.
Goede reize (Vlaams/Nederlands) or bon voyage (Francais)!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem