landstander

I'm considering an upgrade from a Raleigh Companion sometime this year (probably toward the end), and was wondering if anyone has experience with the folding tandems from Bike Friday? At the moment I'm most interested in the Two'sDay Touring series, although I've by no means ruled out any of the others. I'm interested in opinions on how the BFs handle compaired to a conventional tandem, how well they work for light touring, and any potential problems that I might need to watch out for. I'm also interested in suggestions for other brands of folding tandems which might be worth considering.

A bit of background. The bike will be used primarily for recreation and "day trips", although it will likely see a bit of touring as well. The stoker is my autistic sister-in-law, who almost certainly wouldn't enjoy a long tour, but we'll probably do a short (2-4 day) run of the Katy Trail (along with my wife) next spring/fall... we'll see how it goes, and move on from there. The upgrade is being driven partially by the desire for a nicer bike (although the Companion is a pretty good entry-level tandem), and partially because a full-sized tandem is somewhat of a pain to transport.

Thanx!


Note: I'll be inquiring in the Tandem forum as well. This seemed like the best place to start, however, since I'm interested in folders specifically.

spambait11

We've never had a conventional tandem, only a Two'sDay since November. Thus grain of salt adage applies.

Ours is an older 1998 model.
Cons are: (1) not a compact fold since the seatposts have to be folded down, not pushed down like the newer models; (2) not a big fan of cross-over drives (non-standard parts), but this is necessary on the Two'sDay model, otherwise it doesn't fold properly; (3) captain's seatpost is 28.6mm (like most BFs) - a pain to find upgrades for unless you're willing to use seatpost adapters, etc.; (4) heavy to carry folded and heavy to ride, but I have no other tandem to compare this to; (5) custom stoker bars can be expensive.

Pros: low standover height: my wife and I took to tandeming on our very first ride - she commented that she felt safer because it was lower to the ground; this tandem does not need an eccentric bottom bracket (i.e. uses standard parts): chain tension is adjusted by moving the frame in and out; BF quality is top notch and was a reasonable used price for us; customer service is the best.

Handling is fine, but I had to get used to steering a boat. Whatever model you get, I would suggest you get a drum brake as well - even on small downhills, you can really start to fly which I didn't expect. Also, you probably know this, but tandeming requires that the captain and stoker be in sync - you didn't mention the severity of your SIL's autism, but this is something to keep in mind especially when you stop pedaling and start pedaling; on a sudden unexpected move on your part or hers, one of you could potentially fall off, thus you may want to check out independent pedaling systems.

I notice they now have a Two'sDay TiLite model, in which the main frame is going to be Ti - this should help with the weight. Also, having collapsable seatposts instead of folding seatposts will make the folded package smaller, and is a lot less cumbersome overall if you choose to go the new bike route.

Now my wife and I like tandeming so much that I'm keeping an eye out for a used RANS Screamer. Too bad BF discountinued the DoubleDay.

landstander

We'll definitely get the drum brake, whatever the bike, as I've noticed the tendency to fly downhill as well. The captain/stoker coodination hasn't been an issue so far (she's a highly-functional autistic), but I always make a point of warning her before we shift, stop, or significantly change speed. The only real problem to date is that she occasionally has trouble keeping her feet from slipping off the pedals... I'm planning to set her up with powergrips in the spring, and we'll see if the situation improves. I'll probably stick with plain-vanilla platforms myself, tho, so I can get a foot down immediately if need be.

One change we may have to make, is that we've gotten used to having the cranks 90-degrees out of phase. I imagine this would interfere with the quick-fold, tho... I'll have to ask BF about that, once we're ready to look seriously into ordering such a beastie.

Thanx for your advice!

jcv

I have had a new Bike Friday Family traveller since December. Our previous tandem was a 20 year old peugot lady back. The Family traveller does not fold but disassembles.
We bought this as because
1: the peugot was difficult to transport. It would fit across the back of our Subaru if I ook off the front wheel and turned the handle bars, but it still stuck out further than I liked.
2: I was the only one in the family able to ride the front of the peugot and my wants to be able to captain with my daughter.

The bike friday was able meet the second objective.

It handles about the same as the peugot. It does not respond much to stoker movement which ok. The small wheels mean a harsher ride sometimes but not as much as expected. I notice it mainly on sharp edges such as pavement joins or the edge on our driveway. Normal roadbumps are ok. The long seat masts seem to cushion the ride a bit without feeling too flexy. The long headstem has some flex too but I only notice that when climbing hard.

I ordered ours with H bars up front and flat bars for the stoker. I like the H bars but found the very wide stoker bars disconcerting, they were the widest part of the bike, so have changed them for drop bars.

Overall I am quite happy with it. It is not the fastest tandem around but I was not looking for that.

I haven't pulled it apart yet to put in the car but I think that should only take half an hour to do. ( It took about an hour to put it together the first time but practice will speed that up )

spambait11

What's the advantage of doing this?


I doubt it. On ours, looking from the back, the rear folds towards the right side, while the front folds on the left side (by turning the front wheel 180 degrees towards the left). Both bottom brackets do not move during the folding process so the timing chain remains tensioned even when folded. Your only issue should be that the cranks would be out of phase.

landstander

It evens out the power distribution, which makes for smoother hill-climbing... that's our experience, anyway. Basically, it ensures that one set of cranks is at the height of the power stroke while the other is at dead center. Unfortunately, it also makes it easier to scrape the pedals on obstacles (or the road during turns), since they're at opposing positions. This hasn't been a problem on our current tandem, but is probably a much more significant issue on a small-wheeled bike like the BF.

Mr_Super_Socks

My wife and I had a bike friday tandem two'sday for a few years. they are awesome bikes. I highly recommend them - even for loaded touring. they are pretty simple to pack up and travel with, but be prepared for a good 30-45 minutes of packing/unpacking if you break them down all the way to fit in the suitcases. maybe half that if you only have to break it down partially.

BF also has a version of the tandem that can be made into a single bike for when your sister isn't up for riding - definitely check that one out. good luck.