So I finally got a chance to take a few photos of the Kent tandem.
The story is this: There's a new mom and pop bike shop down town that has this same exact tandem for $379 which I thought was a great price. Then of course I find the EXACT same bike available from Walmart for $269 (that's one hundred and ten dollars LESS) I like the look of the bike, and the Walmart feedback sounded really good, so we ordered it.
I came in last Friday, and I assembled it in less than an hour, and everything works (more or less) right out of the box. The brakes could be better, but they work. The saddles are really bad. The shifters work OK, but you need to over shift just slightly to go from a )physically) smaller sprocket to a larger one, but it really isn't bad. Probably just an adjustment thing.
It's a fine looking bike that rides pretty darn good considering the very low price ( less than two good tubular tires).
No it isn't as well made as some bikes, but it is SURPRISINGLY well made for the extremely low price.
Better tires, and saddles, plus better brakes or pads, and I believe it could be successfully used as a real road bike.
Have a look, and tell me if you think it's worth $269