My wife and I together currently total over 400 lbs. Should we be looking at a trike (I kind of like the idea of linked delta trikes) or is there a 2 wheeler disigned for that much weight plus light panniers?

I feel certain a RANS Screamer could take that much weight with wide rims and fat-ish tires. I wouldn't go narrower than 20 x 1.5" on the front, and a 26 x 1.5" on the back would be plenty sturdy.

I don't have one (my wife refuses to think about a tandem) but one local couple have done plenty of riding on theirs: https://www.tandemride.com/

Linked delta trikes can be a blast: https://vimeo.com/4382706

I'd think the popular Rans Screamer would be able to handle the weight as well. OTOH my wife and I weigh in at a total of 300 pounds and when we took one out for a test ride, I remember it feeling it a bit too springy for me anytime we hit a bump. So be sure and take a test ride before getting to serious.

I'll chime in about the Screamer also. A friend of mine borrowed one and rode it with his wife often. He eventually bought one. They love it. I don't know what they weigh, but it's got to be 400+ lbs combined.

I would love to get my wife on one, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Mrs. Grouch and I together weigh a little under 400 lbs. We don't have huge mileage on our Screamer but we've been generally satisfied. I think that the Screamer is rated for 250 lbs (or so) per seat.

I just checked the RANS site - 275 pounds per seat.
It's a stout frame.

+1 for the Rans Screamer. We have had ours now for 8 years and have used it for day rides and extended touring pulling a BOB trailer. Our team, plus the loaded bike (water bottles and panniers) would be more about 400 lbs. We run a 20x1.35 Schwalbe Marathon Plus on the front and the same tire, 26x1.5 on the rear. Biggest challenge we faced was transporting it to and from rides. Settled on a Draftmaster which works great. Have hauled the bike from Canada to Florida and back 5 times with no issues.
Mike

Ditto for the less expensive, lower end Sun EZ Tandem.

We are very close to your weight range and the bike handles us quite well.

Sadly, my wife is "too short" legged for the Sun EZ-Tandem, RATS!! We'd love to have a "Bent Tandem" but the Rans models are totally out of our price range, bummer! To the PO, whatever you end up getting, ENJOY!!

We wanted to be able to carry the bike inside of our car so we bought the S&S version. While test riding at the Rans factory Carl casually mentioned that he thought it would fit inside of our Honda Element by just removing the rear wheel (and seats) and supporting the rear of the bike on it's own center kickstand. He was right.

[QUOTE=Retro Grouch;12502903][QUOTE=mchell;12498441

We wanted to be able to carry the bike inside of our car so we bought the S&S version. While test riding at the Rans factory Carl casually mentioned that he thought it would fit inside of our Honda Element by just removing the rear wheel (and seats) and supporting the rear of the bike on it's own center kickstand. He was right.[/QUOTE]

We thought about this as well and bought our Screamer with S&S couplings. However, we were transporting the bike to and from rides twice a week, so the "splitting" was a real task. We can often get to most rides, using the Draftmaster, by just removing the front wheel. However, for longer journeys and in wet weather, we also remove both seats. To get to Florida from Canada, we remove seats, pedals, drop the steering tube (tiller?), and wrap the complete bike in heavy plastic to protect it from road salt,etc. Mike

[QUOTE=mchell;12507294]I've never had ours apart. How long does it take you to either split your bike in two or to reassemble it to ride? I was hopeing to be able to do it in about 20 minutes but I have no way of knowing if that's realistic or not.

[QUOTE=Retro Grouch;12507708]I can't do it in 20 minutes and feel confident that I've done it properly. The drive chain can stay on, but the timing chain must come off as the frame splits just forward of the stoker's cranks. (I bag the chain to minimize the inevitable!) Separating the frame is no big deal, but undoing and redoing the cable splitters for the derailleurs and the rear brakes is something which requires both time and patience. It is straight forward, but I find it delicate to do and it has to be done properly or the shifting is off, etc. Then, reinstalling the timing chain and syncing our pedals the way we like them takes a little more time and patience. Closer to 30-35 minutes if everything goes smoothly. A good two-legged kickstand is a blessing. Wet weather, mosquitoes and black flies can make this a weary task! Mike

[QUOTE=mchell;12513699]Thanks. That's good to know.

30 minutes assembly time plus some amount of disassembly time afterward would have a huge impact on our decision of where or even if to ride. We have independent coasting on our Screamer so I wouldn't have to index the timing chain but I haven't figured out a way to avoid breaking the timing chain.

We've made a couple of 500 mile trips with our Screamer inside the car. I remove the captain's pedals on long trips to get them out of our way but we still have the boom and crank between us and, if I'm not careful, my hands hit the handlebar on turns.

I f you want used at a good price, find a Vision R-85. I have one and love it!
If not that, then I too would suggest the Rans. Great bike and they have several models to choose from.

Best regards
Bob

If you put a lot of weight on an R-85, it really does a lot of springing. One couple in our club must run 500 pounds or more, and when they go over a bump with their Vision, the frame flexes at least 2 inches. It must give a very smooth ride, though!

My wife and I are a little over 400 together and we have logged a little over 2000 miles on our Screamer in the last two seasons since we bought it. We can definitely give it a four thumbs up. We do feel a little bit of up and down flex on big bumps but no flex at all under pedal loads such as long climbs.

As fas as transport, we have three options.

1. We have always driven minivans as family vehicles and even though the kids are now grown, we still like them for camping and homeowner projects. Our current van, a 2007 Chrysler has the sto-n-go seats which makes putting a long bike inside simple. I like to remove the seats and the front wheel and have a fork mount rack that i built to keep things very stable on the road. I just back it in and bungee cord it to the seat hooks. If we are going camping, this allows lots of room on both sides of the bike for gear and provides a "garage" for the bike. Last year, using this van, we got an upright tandem, our bike and two couples to an event using the various folding seats. It was tight but it can be done.

2. We were forced in a pinch last year to have our bike shuttled on the back of a Kia Soul for the last 35 miles of an event thanks to 45 mph winds and driving rain. This is not ideal but can work on a standard rack for short distances.

3. We bought a used Thule tandem carrier from Retro to fit the roof rack I use on my smaller car so that we had the option of more fuel efficiency and will be using that one a lot more this season.

Nice used Screamers show up for sale all the time. Thats How we got ours. We paid slightly more than the price of a Sun new and got a low milage Screamer that was in great shape.

Glad to see and hear the Screamer works well with the Thule rack. We have one but, so far, have just loaded our Screamer into the minivan. Haven't put it on the roof, yet, but will need to do that at some point for carrying more people or stuff. The major inconvenience of the Thule rack is putting the rack on roof. Can't see driving around with it on more than occasionally. (It's not hard to put on.)

On my car - I just leave the rack on all season as I do weekly MTB rides on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We have another set of load bars that fit the minivan but they only take a few minutes to put on if we decided to. The fairing does help keep the wind noise down and mileage is a little better too.