Looking into buying a Tandem...
09-07-04, 09:13 AM
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Looking into buying a Tandem...
Hey all,
I am looking into buying a tandem. My wife wants to start riding but she is uncomfortable on a single so I suggested that we get a tandem until she is comfortable enough to ride on her own. She is actually excited about the idea. Any suggestions for bikes, road not cruiser or mountain, and I also thought about looking at used since she will eventually graduate to a single. I imagine that we would still ride the tandem sometimes though. I wouldn't mind seeing some photos of the set-ups that some of you have as well.
Thanks
I am looking into buying a tandem. My wife wants to start riding but she is uncomfortable on a single so I suggested that we get a tandem until she is comfortable enough to ride on her own. She is actually excited about the idea. Any suggestions for bikes, road not cruiser or mountain, and I also thought about looking at used since she will eventually graduate to a single. I imagine that we would still ride the tandem sometimes though. I wouldn't mind seeing some photos of the set-ups that some of you have as well.
Thanks
09-07-04, 09:32 AM
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What we did was rent and demo a variety of bikes to see if we enjoyed the tandem experience. Our first ride did not go well; my girlfriend is an avid cyclist & was unaccustomed to not being in control. Thats still the case, come to think of it. However, with research & communication we've been addressing the issue. By doing online research (i.e. this forum, TandemLink, Sheldon Brown, etc) and acquiring a book we've learned a lot about technique and, more importantly, the appropriate approach.
With subsequent demos & rentals, we were able to narrow down the kind of bike to look for & figure out what size we needed. Then we started looking & found a good deal on a used cannondale (road) thats working well for us so far. We found ours by posting a 'wanted' ad on one of the tandem sites & a seller found us. All similar bikes we've seen on ebay have gone for much more than we paid. Maybe we got lucky.
With subsequent demos & rentals, we were able to narrow down the kind of bike to look for & figure out what size we needed. Then we started looking & found a good deal on a used cannondale (road) thats working well for us so far. We found ours by posting a 'wanted' ad on one of the tandem sites & a seller found us. All similar bikes we've seen on ebay have gone for much more than we paid. Maybe we got lucky.
09-07-04, 10:21 AM
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A couple articles that may (or may not) help...
Sticker shock & the cost of tandems & cycling:
https://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/a...ckershock.html
First time buyer tips:
https://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/u...l#anchor948986
Other newbie articles:
https://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/u...#anchor3941183
If at all possible, test ride and then decide. Otherwise, try to search out riders who may be similar to you in age, riding style, and interests here or at Tandem@Hobbes (which means you may have to volunteer a few more details) and see what they are riding and why.
I'll stop here because if I write about each brand you'll quickly detect my biases and I'm sure there will more than enough of those in a thread like this...
As for what folks are riding, there is a thread here somewhere at BikeForums for just that very thing...
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ghlight=riding
Sticker shock & the cost of tandems & cycling:
https://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/a...ckershock.html
First time buyer tips:
https://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/u...l#anchor948986
Other newbie articles:
https://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/u...#anchor3941183
If at all possible, test ride and then decide. Otherwise, try to search out riders who may be similar to you in age, riding style, and interests here or at Tandem@Hobbes (which means you may have to volunteer a few more details) and see what they are riding and why.
I'll stop here because if I write about each brand you'll quickly detect my biases and I'm sure there will more than enough of those in a thread like this...
As for what folks are riding, there is a thread here somewhere at BikeForums for just that very thing...
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ghlight=riding
