For a long time, my wife and I have been curious about trying a tandem. The allure of tandem riding is only offset by the probability of spending more money than necessary, especially if we don't like the experience. I've looked around and shopped around for a qualified candidate, but so far have come up short. Either they are too cheap and cheesy, or prohibitively expensive. We could probably afford a nice bike, but I want to be certain that we will really like tandem riding first. So for the last couple years I've been vigilantly looking at Craigslist ads for tandems. I've seen some good ones and some really bad ones, with prices all over the place. One nice gentleman had a really sweet Bilenky tandem - and I'm a Bilenky fan - but he wanted way more than I would pay for it just to try it. So the search continued... until yesterday.
I woke as usual, and with a hot cup of coffee, reviewed my Craigslist searches, of which "Tandem" was one of them. Some guy north of here had this Trek T50 listed for $200. The pics were of medium size, so not a lot of fine detail or ability to do a close-up view, but I shot him a text, telling him that I would take it. After a few minutes I thought better of it and called the number in his ad. He answered and was driving to work. I told him I wanted the bike and that I was able to come and get it today, if it was available to get it today. He asked, "Can I trust you?" I said, "Sure, I'm a straight-shooter," and he claimed that the bike was outside leaning against the back of his house, and that I could just give the money to his neighbor, whom he would call. I said sure why not. The bike was located about an hour and twenty minutes away, so I let the dog out for a quick break and hopped in the truck. After some drive-through coffee and an ATM stop, I was on my way.
When I got to the bike, it looked a little rough. Fixable, and definitely restorable, but way more time and money than I wanted to put into it. I have a long history of getting projects that seem to last forever because I am a perfectionist - to a fault - and it just takes time to make things right. Anyway! So I called the guy and said I was disappointed in the condition and that I would pass on it, and sorry to waste his time, blah blah blah. He said, "Okay, how 'bout a hundred bucks?" So I said okay. His neighbor wasn't home, so we agreed that I would slide the cash under his door. I dropped five twenties into an envelope I had in my glove box, and tried to slide it under the door, but the gap was so tight, I couldn't even get the envelope even partway inserted, so I shot a pic of the envelope, sent it to him, and stuck it under the doormat. No complaints, so I take it the cash was still there when he got home. So here is the new ride:
Dirty. Needs a new chain, new tires, new cables, derailleurs cleaned and flushed, and adjustments all around. The wheels need to be trued and some adequate saddles installed. My plan is to get it running and safe enough for us to try it out, and if it works out for us, I'll refurb the whole bike and we'll take it to the next level. I'm going to check the chain for wear, and if its okay, I'll clean it. I'll have to buy some new chain, and perhaps a tandem-length derailleur cable, otherwise I already have everything I need to get it roadworthy. I have a brand new set of Schwalbe Landcruisers, which wouldn't be my first choice for this bike ,but I got them, and they're just sitting on the shelf, so I'll use them.
If we decide that we like the tandem experience, my next step for this bike will be to perform a complete frame-off restoration, which will probably mean a good cleaning/polishing of the paint, and do some framesaver on the insides. I use Fluid Film instead of Framesaver, but you get my point. Then I will focus on the ergonomics and aesthetics. We like the fit and function of Jones bars, so I will install a couple of the Jones Bend bars, along with a couple new saddles. Mudguards racks, and a couple bags. That should be enough to get us comfortable and roadworthy.
There it is! I'll use this thread as a platform to show my progress, so stick around, and thanks for reading! Oh, and any advice along the way from you experienced tandem riders would be most-appreciated!