Midlake Crisis

Hi everybody, I have been lurking for a while learning a lot from you all before purchasing our first tandem. My stoker and I have been married 25 yrs. and are very excited to have an active hobby that we can enjoy together.

I was very close to purchasing a Trek T900, and understand that it is generally considered a better bike by those in the know, but I chose the Betty for comfort and ease of use for our situation (O.K., O.K., and yes, because it looks cool ). Our hope is to enjoy two or three 1 hr. rides a week around the neighborhood or on the local bike path.

Our first couple of rides have been fantastic! The feeling of synergy between the captain and stoker and smooth, quiet ride have us hooked.

nfmisso

cool looking cruiser - which it sounds like what you are looking for.

zonatandem

Been married 57 years this month!

Yes, we still enjoy riding TWOgether!

Welcome to the tandem community!

Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Midlake Crisis

This is awesome! I hope to be able to post the same someday!!!

Midlake Crisis

We had a great afternoon of warm weather in Bakersfield today and went out on the local bike path from Hart Park along the Kern River and behind Lake Ming. It was just a perfect ride. We got an "awesome!" from a grade school kid, a "sick bike man!" from a 30 something guy, and we managed to pedal up a hill that we had seen a guy walking his bike up when we were on the way down it. I am not sure if my wife's hysterical laughter as we grunted up the hill at 1.5 MPH in Hellbetty's "granny" first gear made it harder or easier to pedal, but it definitely made it more fun!

specbill

...yes that is a steep little hill right there at the far end of CALM's parking lot. And, I would say that silly-laughing definitely helps the climbing! Enjoy your new ride.

Bill J.

JanMM

If you can ride up a hill at one point five mph, then you all are a pretty steady team.

Midlake Crisis

Ha! Thanks. That estimate was chosen for rhetorical force rather than by measured speed, but I bet it wasn't far from accurate.
The Betty is very steady - wide tires and very low stoker position, and my stoker trusts me enough that she stays very relaxed and balanced, even when she is laughing real hard.

DoubleDiamonDog

Looks like fun - enjoy!

Midlake Crisis

Beautiful ride today, and there was a bobcat on the bank about 2 minutes after this pic was taken.

mwandaw

You're cruisin' in style!

Ritterview

Kudos on losing the wheel reflectors!

Hendricks97

We just picked up a Wally world tandem just to see if its even an option for us. We have a few issues that I was never sure about dropping the coin to figure out. Im 6'4" and a serious cyclist, she 5'4" with multiple health issues that prevent her from being able to ride for too long. My biggest question is that since the bike we got is a single speed/coaster brake setup with horizontal dropouts, would it be OK to attach the inStep trailer to the skewer for my 5 year old?

kevbo

You can attach it to the axle.... Coaster brake hubs don't use a skewer that I have ever seen.

wheelspeed

I have to say that is a really good looking bike. I love the chopped back fender and meaty rear tire.

Midlake Crisis

Thanks! This has been a great investment for us - we have been riding 3-5 times a week and did a 30-miler yesterday. My only regret is that we didn't discover this hobby sooner!

Ritterview

Such a distance on such a cruiser! Impressive...most impressive.

Midlake Crisis

Wanted to post an update, mostly for people trying to find info on the Electra Hellbetty and whether they should buy one.
Short answer - YES!
Long answer - YES; we have close to 2k miles on ours now and love it more than ever. For recreational riders that understand and appreciate the limitations of a 3-speed cruiser style bike it is fantastic. About a year ago we did have to get the rear wheel re-laced at the LBS because we started breaking spokes. We bought Betty used and our mechanic said that the spokes looked like the previous owner had done something goofy with them, so this is not necessarily a problem generally with this model. We have had no more broken spokes since. It periodically needs to have the chain tightened, but other than that it has been trouble free. Sliming the tires was another big improvement, haven't had to change a tube on the trail since. Top (3rd) gear will get you about 20 mph on flatland pushing hard, some may want more but for us it is plenty.
Four thumbs up for the Electra Hellbetty!

pathdoc

The frame is elegant. Love the motorcycle like tires.

Midlake Crisis

Thank you! The front tire even has flames. . .

Midlake Crisis

Another update just for anyone considering purchasing a Hellbetty
We got very few miles on the bike in 2014 because of stoker health problems and personal issues, but we are getting back in the saddle again for 2015.
The Shimano Nexus 3-Speed hub mechanism finally failed, but we discussed it and are going with direct replacement rather than upgrade. Inexpensive and does what we need to do.
Get you one!

Craptacular8

Very neat bike. Was thinking of going that route, if we can determine if my husband's bad ankle can tolerate pedaling. I'm guessing these would require a bike hauler or full-size truck?

Midlake Crisis

Thanks! We usually haul it in my Dakota pickup on a homemade wooden stand (with the tailgate down). We have also taken it in the back of our small SUV with the front wheel hanging out and the rear door tied down, but that is a pain.

Craptacular8

Thanks much. There is someone near me that makes a standing bike rack for truck beds. I will probably feel a little overkill using a one ton dually to haul a tandem bike, but gotta go with what we have, lol.