Speaking of tandems, I just picked up an extra large box from the greyhound station....

Thanks Creme Brulee. I like the stoker stem arrangement quite a bit myself. My wife will probably want one that puts her a bit higher and it will be easy to do with this setup. I concur on the racks too: they are artwork of sorts.

I just ordered 6 Iris King Cages for the bike. They are a little different and not quite as elegant to my eye as the VO Moderniste cage, but they are quite nice nonetheless. Thanks for the suggestion. :)

Photogravity:
N-a-a-a-h! You'd likely have no trouble keeping up with us now!
We are twice as old as we used to be (80/77) and ride only half as fast and half as far!
But still gettin' in 100 +/- miles a week.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

The iris is what I had in mind. Glad I could help with a build this epic.

Yeah, and that's exactly what I'd like to do with this thing. Given it's temperament on non-paved surface, we should be able to ride in places that lesser road tandems can only aspire to. Neither of us has done any bicycle touring, but we aspire to it and we now have the perfect machine for doing just that.

Oooh! I bet you're really looking forward to getting her on the road. :) Bummer that the bike tour idea didn't work out.

That is a fine, fine bicycle!

I got my first tandem yesterday! Gotta figure out how to get my wife to try it. :(

Iris is hand rolled by an American in his garage though! :)

I need to get my girlfriend into tandem riding. We did once on this super old schwinn tandem and she almost took us both out because she was so unsteady.

Thanks Tom... As far as getting her on the bicycle, use something she really likes as an enticement. Were this not a public forum, I'd share with you how I got my better half on the tandem for the first time. :innocent:

The Iris surely is a very nice cage and I like to support small business, so it's a perfect fit. The Linus my wife rides has Iris King Cages installed. They were given to us as a gift by her bicycle instructor last August.

Dallas, I was just catching up with your Flickr stream and I've gotta say it: that's one of the sexiest two-ups I have ever seen. Most times brown just doesn't work, but this? This nails it - particularly with the matching tires. Gorgeous!

I like the stem arrangement for the stoker - very ingenious. But most of all, I like that funky thing hanging off the rear dropout on the drive side. What d'ya call that?

:)

Every detail has been seen to - I like that in a bike (and a bike-person). I hope you and your SO get the opportunity to put many, many quality miles under her wheels.

DD

My eyes hurt! Dallas, that is one stunning machine.

Thanks DD. The things that you mention are the very ones that made me decide to buy this machine. I, too, usually don't care for brown, but this machine is so nice thought out in every detail that the color simply didn't matter. The brown on this bike has a very rich look to it.

About the derailleur, yeah there is that. It is the only thing that I don't like about the bike. As expected, it doesn't work properly. The front derailleur won't go onto the largest ring. :(

We've got plenty of plans for riding this baby a lot and anticipate this will become our primary tandem. Now I'm thinking about it, this machine is a natural for some drillium. ;)

Sorry 'bout that Jim! I'll do my best to make sure you don't see it in the flesh as I wouldn't want to see you suffer permanent eye damage. :p

I fully expect to see pics of both!

C&V tandems seem to be popping up all over the place.

Perhaps a grub screw was in order.

Very tastefully done. It exudes nothing but class. What is the story on the racks? We these made special for the bike? I could see them as a fit for my upcoming rando build.

I really doubt that. The stem has a wedge you can tighten in the usual way, which is enough for most handlebars; and the steel extension has a pinch bolt like a seat post. Either one of those should be plenty strong, and the combination is true failsafe. I would translate Jan's comment to something like "if it isn't tight enough, it won't be tight enough." So tighten it already! I don't think a grub screw would add anything at all.

But what do I know.

No, Tom. You didn't get YOUR first tandem. You got your WIFE a fantastic present: one that will promote togetherness, mutual respect and affection.
Gotta know how to pitch these things...

Dallas, you are being cruel to us. Oh, my fevered imagination!

Jan has a particular distaste for any mechanism of fastening that doesn't involve either triangulation or full circumferential compression. So I can see that he would prefer a pinch bolt over a quill expansion wedge (which is why he prefers threadless stems to quill), but since this setup uses both a pinch bolt and a quill expander to secure the stoker handlebar, I don't know why he chose to comment on it.

I remember reading Jan's writeup of this bike, it's a stunning bike. And Jan did like it a lot! Congrats, Dallas!

So far, my pitches have been met with nothing but anger. I didn't consult her first.

Maybe I should get someone else to captain it for her first. If she comes back wearing a smile, I'll know things have progressed well.

Hopefully not too well. Seriously, that is a very good idea.
BTW, Bilenky designed (& builds) a bike called Viewpoint. Looks like this: http://www.bilenky.com/navy_viewpoint.html
It deals effectively with many of the objections potential stokers have to conventional tandems.
Talented guy, that Mr. Bilenky.

Michael, rhm has a tandem like that. I can't remember who made his. Carol and I tested it near rhm's house. She didn't like it because she felt vulnerable in that position. It was especially bad because it was cold that evening, and she took all the wind on. Luckily, she was able to wear a blanket. Also, the sun set just as we set out, so the dark was a bit scary.

I don't think she'll mind having her nose in my arm pit.

She thinks she won't have the stamina to ride a tandem. What she doesn't get (yet) is that she doesn't necessarily have to pedal hard. All she has to do is not fall asleep while I propel both of us.

Sorry, Dallas. I'll start another thread on this topic. Should I do it here or in the tandem section? I don't think I know anyone there.

Mine is an original Counterpoint Opus II made in 1984. The design was by Jim Weaver; the early ones were built by Dennis Bushnell (serial number on mine is 21). After Weaver gave up the business he passed the patents on to Bilenky.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/...d5c7ba.jpg?v=0

The story of Tom's ride on the Opus II is too long for this thread. But I'm not sure we know why Carol didn't like it, but I don't think it helped that Tom dumped it twice. I had warned them that it would be cold. Bottom line is, if it's not a good day for a ride, it's not a good day for a ride.