Retro Grouch 

A common argument. Follow the money. I think the answer depends on whether you vote Republican or Democrat. Republicans identify with management and the owners and look at where the profits (if any) go. Democrats identify (or should identify) more with the workers who spend most of their salaries in their local communities.

zonatandem

Dem? Rep? Fit in neither category! Am a ticket splitter and have never voted a 'straight ticket'; have voted for up to 4 different parties in one election. Have voted for the 'individual' in all elections since I started voting in 1955 when I became an American citizen.
As for cars, have owned everything from Plymouth, Ford, Chevy, Jeep, Goggomobil (check that one out on Google), VW and Honda.
As for tandems, our first was French ('75 Follis) and 4 custom ones after that; all handmade in the USA. Only one had American made tubing: our Zona c/f twicer.
It is a 'world economy' whether we like it or not.

andyman

Rishardh,

Where did you get the sliding fork mount?

dvs cycles

Looks like he made it out of Uni-strut.
Here is the slider I made for my truck.

rishardh

DVS is right. It is an XPORT Universal Bike Mount purchased from Performance Bike bolted on to some left over metal shelving uni-struts which can be purchased from Home Depot.


https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...00_20000_31506

https://www.core77.com/blog/object_cu...acks_12191.asp

mchlrb69

Just got a Ford Flex to carry the tandems...and the family. We have two tandems and two kids, and upon experimentation found that you just can't get all four in the back of any mini-van. Chose the Flex because it's a little lower than a mini-van...puts the top of the bikes at 9' 4". Use a Rocky Mounts R4 rack and older style Yakima (not Sidewinder). Wider at the top, so able to mount all of our trays for half bikes too. Looks like a sag van at the Tour de France. Lots of room inside for passengers, mini-van feels cramped by comparison. Might just be best planned vehicle Ford makes. Gets lots of looks unloaded, and even more loaded with bikes.

Ritterview

So, you put the tandems on top? Would a tandem fit in the rear with the seats folded down? Pics would be nice.

mchlrb69

Haven't tried to put bikes inside, doubt that they'd fit upright, but will give it a shot. Will get pic of bikes on rooftop on this weekend's ride. Pouring rain today. Morning tandem ride to work/scout camp cancelled.

Also, for folks interested in the Flex, it must have factory rack. Yakima and Thule don't yet have a solution for the naked roof mount yet. New Yakima Railgrab system works well.

TandemGeek

Just to add my .02...

Back in '97 we started off carrying our tandems in the back of an '89 Toyota X-Cab pick-up. It was great having the tandem and tandem stuff in back with us and our stuff up front. As we began to take more trips we decided that the ultimate tandem accessory was a Suburban in that it allowed us to carry two tandems and four adults inside + luggage or three tandems on the roof rack system with three teams and their stuff inside. We did two of the Suburbans for this very reason and then came to a crossroads as the 2nd Suburban reached that point (80k miles) where resale value would begin to plummit so we'd either have to 'sh*t or get off the pot".

We decided to get off the pot and then we faced the dilemma: Honda Odyssey or Toyota Tundra Double Cab pick-up. We went with the Toyota Tundra DC pick-up for a couple reasons:

1. It has an honest to goodness 6' bed that accommodates our road tandem with just the front wheel removed.
2. It seats four or five adults quite nicely and fully compartmentalized from the cargo bed and grease / odors / noises that go along with having a tandem and tool box in the car. In fact, we were actually able to stuff six adults in at TRR for a very short trip without removing the tandem and tandem stuff from the bed.
3. It's perfect for hauling the grandkids around as a child seat fits smack dab in the middle or in either of the right or left rear seats so that mom and dad can sit along side and/or we'll be able to haul up to three of our four grandkids in the backseat push-come-to-shove while still having full use of the 6' bed.
4. For all of those times when we're not hauling bikes, the pick-up truck is still a pick-up truck. I can haul yard debris to the recycling center, 30 bags of mulch back to the house without asphyxiating myself and so on. It's not as easy to haul 8 - 12 foot loads like it was with the Suburbans, but that's a small price to pay as those events are far and few between.

On the down side the fuel economy isn't all that much better than the Suburbans UNLESS you drive the speed limits and don't run the A/C. Typically we'll see 15.5 - 16.5 mph city with anywhere from 16.0 - 20.0 on the highway. The Honda's claimed 28 mpg was really a strong attraction as was the ability to seat 7 coupled with all of the entertainment stuff. However, the Odyssey ain't a truck and when you need a truck only a truck will do.

I still look at the Odyssey's whenever I take Debbie's little S2000 in for service, but if I had to pull the trigger on a 3rd car I'm guessing it would be a Camry SE or a Porsche 996 and not a mini-van.

Here's the basic tandem hauling configuration for our Tundra. There is usually an extra set of wheels stuffed in the back along with a Universal folding repair stand, a couple tool boxes and a duffle bag with all of our cycling gear. What you're seeing here is a typical day-ride configuration as tomorrow we hope to join several other Georgia tandem teams for the monthly PEACHES ride up in Rome, Georgia. Of course, I had foot surgery today so it remains to be seen if I'll be able to ride when I wake up tomorrow. Fingers crossed, the Shimano sandals will allow me to hobble along for at least the short or medium routes.

invisiblehand

Most revenue goes to labor -- at least this was true 10-15 years ago. Without any specific knowledge of the car industry, the rule of thumb is that ~70% is paid to labor. So generally, wherever the car is built, there goes the money.

mchlrb69

Did some experimentation with the tandem INSIDE the Flex the other night. Being a Cannondale L/S with flat bars and bar ends, it was tight, and had to remove both seats to get it in. The bike did fit on one side with both rows of back seats down, as well as the front passenger seat. It's too long to lay it on its side. Our Bike Friday would fit fine. My opinion is, then, if you want to carry the bike inside a vehicle(unless its small like the BF) the Flex is not the optimum choice.

Here is a pic of the Cannondale stuffed in the Flex, and a few shots of both bikes on top. The new Yakima Rail Grab system works excellent, with some pieces of innertube used as shims to keep the clamp square when tightened. The top of the trays for our single bikes is less than 6", which is a couple of inches lower than on the mini-vans I looked at.

JanMM

We haul our tandem in a 2001 Mazda MPV. Made in Japan with a made-in-America Ford engine.