I turned 50 and decided to ride a tandem. After much research I went with Bob Brown. This has been a wonderful process - he has been painstaking in his communication by e-mail throughout and I would recommend him to anyone who wants a custom bike. He built and delivered this elegent tandem the day before my birthday and I thought I would share some pictures of this bicycle and also ask more experienced tandem riders for their wisdom (I have only managed a few miles so far). I attach my Flkr link for pictures - you can also see my Mercian 1980 frame and see its influence upon the Bob Brown tandem:
Bob Brown fully lugged steel tandem
This bike has a number of nice features. It includes S and S coupling, ICS system from daVinci, an Avid mechanical ball bearing disc break on the rear wheel. It has a Reynolds tandem road racing fork, Tandem wheels with Chris King tandem hubs humming at the back. Most of all it has Bob Brown's supreme craftmanship.
He has blogged the manufacture on his site with photographs and detailed descriptions at each stage of its fabrication:
March 2007 archive - here is where he begins
April 2007 archive - most of the work
May 2007 archive - the final pictures I have also placed on my flkr site
As a novice tandem captain my initial brief rides have been down our more-or-less flat street with my brother (165 pounds) or my 14 year old son (125 lbs). My first impression is the swaying from side to side with the weight of the stoker shifting in or out of synchronization with my swaying. As my brother Mark put it - there is a danger of resonating and falling. We found after a while this was much reduced. However, it is still there starting or slowing. I have therefore not embarked on any longer rides as I want to feel more confident. Any suggestions?
I have a 12 and a 9 year old I want to ride with and haven't figured out how to start. Also, I don't want my wife to be a stoker until I have become more experienced as I don't want to put her off with my fledgling rides! At present the stoker starts peddling as I support the bike and then I balance the bike and click in my pedals as the stoker provides the intial acceleration. My 12 and 9 year old will not be able to do this. Please help me with these basics so I can start to clock up the miles and get to my first rally this year.
Thank you for your wisdom!
Adam