Noting that this forum has largely become a fishing hole for cheap tandems, I thought I would reluctantly post this and help a buddy out.

My good friend is very shy and introverted and is afraid to directly query other people. It all happened back in ’78 when he went to defend his PhD thesis on parallel universes and was literally laughed out of the room by some pretty pompous professors. It might have been his claim that he actually visited one, I don’t know. But I’ve found him to be a pretty precise and believable guy. Now, after years of prolonged and painful therapy, he is comfortably working at Home Depot and has found his niche as arguably one of the world’s experts on cordless power tool batteries. But that is another tale for another time……

He and his beloved wife of 34 years want to start tandeming after we pulled up in our’s one day this summer. But he doesn’t have much disposable income. He only has his almost-full, 2.7 gallon jar of pennies which by his calculations, amounts to $57.13. He also has collected 13,169 empty cans over the past 6 years (and 9 months) which are stored in his garage and which are worth a dime apiece here in Michigan (minus the 1.7% he figures won’t go thru the machines). But for some stubborn reason known only to him, he refuses to turn them in until he has an even 15,000 cans. (He figures he will be there by November of next year if he works at it and can use the money to upgrade a tandem). He also has $2,146,589 in various retirement accounts, but he is 2 years and 4.5 months away from the age of 59 ½. So he only has the $50+ in pennies to spend on a tandem. And he would like your input. I know, I know……….

They will be a 426.7 pound team as of this writing. He is only 161.1 lbs and the rest will be riding on a (large) seat on the rear. (His wife is a sweetheart and no doubt found more comfort in food than she should have while he was out collecting returnables). And that’s their biggest motive in all this – to lose some weight and have her along as he cruises for roadside treasure. I applaud that. I have told him that yes, they do make some nice large seats and no, solid rear tires on a tandem are not a good idea.

Sooooooo, that’s pretty much it. Anybody know where he can find a nice used tandem for $57? Are there any agencies out there that take in abused tandems for loving homes – like for all those dog breeds?