dblA

My wife and I recently bought this folding tandem and have been using it for about two weeks now. Since it is a new model (not yet available in the US) I thought I'd post a mini-review on it.
We moved here recently and are missing our Trek T900 which we left in the US due to exorbitant transportation costs. So we looked around and found the sausage. https://www.khsbicycles.com.tw/produ...ng-bikes/t-20/. You'll find the data at the link (partially in Chinese, sorry).

We were able to buy it fully equipped (front and rear rack, fenders front and rear and even a case to go on the back rack), the only thing missing was a light front and back, for somewhat above US$1000 (maybe an introductory price).

The fact that it folds is very good for us; it fits the elevator and we can take it up to our apartment easily. However, it is not all that small folded, so for shipping, especially by air, it still requires disassembly to fit into an acceptable box. Folding and unfolding is easy and safe, the only trouble is one has to remove the timing chain to fold the bike which causes dirty hands. It takes me maybe 2 - 3 minutes to unfold and less than that to fold.

Once it is folded a magnetic lock holds the two wheels together. I can wheel it around quite comfortably like a wheelbarrow by grabbing the stoker handlebar and rolling it on the front wheel--the other wheel is about 2 inches in the air.

The ride on the 20 inch wheels is somewhat more twitchy than with the Trek, but the frame feels stiff and solid and we are comfortable on the bike. The brakes are remarkably effective (for the Trek I had to get top line pads to be able to break reliably on a down slope; no such problem with the sausage. Even the saddles that came with the bike are acceptable to our butts.

So far we are very happy with the bike; if anything comes up that would change our opinion I'll post a comment here.

merlinextraligh

Cool. Thanks for the info.

B. Carfree

I guess you could wear some nitrile or latex gloves when removing the timing chain, and have a bag to dump the gloves and chain into. Alternatively, you could do like Zonatandem and wax the chain instead of using that greasy kid stuff.

WillFam-Reno

"Greasy Kid Stuff" - man it's been awhile since I've heard that phrase!

I like the idea of a heavy freezer bag and gloves if you don't go the wax way. I used to wax my chain, just got lazy I guess. I remembered there still being a bit of a mess, but maybe my brain is fading. Do you get any residue if handling a waxed chain? I see many people added some lubricant to their wax mixture, I thought I remembered TandemGeek writing up a story awhile back.

Philly Tandem

Interesting. Looks a bit like a Bike Friday tandem...

zonatandem

Yup, 40 years on 5 diferent tandems and 240,000+ miles of not using 'that greasy kid stuff'!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

dblA

The chain came waxed from the dealer. I am still using gloves.

XPLSV

Wow! That's fantastic!

Possum Roadkill

Years ago I experimented with using wax on chains. It was really quiet, however wore of the chain way too quickly when I used just regular paraffin. I had better luck using ski wax. I think the cooler temperature wax may have been what lasted the longest on the chain.

I wrote a review on my website for our Co-Motion equator that was purchased about a year ago. I waited awhile to write the review since the bike is so different that I really wanted some major miles on the bike before writing anything. The advantage over the "Sausage" is that it has a timing belt that is not messy to remove. Ours has couplers to disassemble, however not folding like this one is. It's a more expensive bicycle as well. I wonder if the BB spacing on the sausage would work with a gates belt.

My review is here: Co-Motion Equator/Rohloff Review

Wolczr

Hi there. I am looking to buy one of thes for touring. Can you give me some idea of your experiences? How durable? Any problems? Can I ask that you also respond to wolczr@yahoo.co.uk Any advice much appreciated.

dblA

Sorry, I haven't been on these forums for a while.

We have ridden the bike for small (one day) trips and for errands up to about 15 - 20 km away from where we live (300 - 500 km a month depending on the weather--if it rains or is too hot we stay home). So no touring. However so far the bike is holding up well (we have now a garage to put it in, so we don't fold and unfold it every day any more).

The smaller wheels compared to a non folding bike make the ride rougher on not so smooth surfaces, especially for the stoker who sometimes complains about her hurting butt. The captain needs to be even more alert to potholes and steps than usual to keep the stoker from suffering. If you want to tour and maybe carry a tent you might have a problem packing all of your stuff on the bike and may better pull a trailer (no real experience with this, but I think the lower rack in the back won't easily accommodate the largest panniers you can buy).

sylcolvie

I am interested in this tandem to use with a small child at the back, could you give me the stoker stand-over height?
also where did you buy it? I am in Canada and cannot even find it on KHS catalogue and my KHS dealer does not know anything about it.

dblA

I am sorry, I just read your post for the first time, not having been on this forum for some time.

Here is what I know: My wife is about 1m 50 tall (5 feet) and the stoker saddle has room to be lowered by approx. 15 cm (1/2 foot) more. The bike is probably more suited for small children than any other tandem. How small is possible I would not know.

I too noticed that the bike is still missing on the US web site of KHS. Indeed it is not on KHS's Taiwanese list of 2016 models. It is available in the UK (search Google for the KHS T-20--or sausage dog--you'll find the store. The store in Taipei where we bought it still carries it.

BTW we just took it with us to France on vacation, packed in a bag made to hold a regular single person bike with the wheels removed. We put the seat posts into a separate luggage and left the front rack at home to keep the weight below 20kg. It fit the bag with the wheels on. It was hard to lug around and onto the TGV but doable.

old&slow

I test rode the Sausage at a store in Denver, it is a neat little tandem.

Here is their site as it seems these "little" tandems are had to come by in the states.

Denver Tandems!

dblA

It has been a while since this thread was active but there is something new I'd like to add to it. We have now taken the sausage dog onto an airplane three times and it worked out well.

We used a bag for a regular size one person bike (which holds a regular bike with at least one wheel removed). The bike has the correct length but is almost a foot taller than necessary. But it works. It was padded with a layer of good quality bubble wrap.

A few hints as to folding and packing: Put the bike into the lowest gear for at least partial protection of the derailleur (taking it off and putting it back on is hard and may result in a cross cut bolt! So I don't take this risk any more and haven't had any problems so far). Remove the two right side pedals and the stoker handlebar including all mounting hardware as well as the front rack. These things plus the timing chain go into the regular luggage (checked; if you try to take it in a carry on the security guys will think you are having a pipe bomb!--We left the front rack at home; it weighs almost a kilogram). Fold the bike as usual and remove the handlebar with post. Turn the front wheel by 180 degrees so it points backwards. This will make your package slimmer by more than an inch. Secure the frame with zip ties so it stays folded. Lower both saddles as low a possible in such a way that their tops are at equal height. Attach the handlebar with zip ties to the frame making sure it stays within the package. Now pull the bag over the saddles, turn the bike upside down and close the zipper over the wheels. This way the packing and closing is much easier than right side up. If you need to move it over larger distances (say you need to change trains at some station) you can open the zipper, fold out the kickstand, set the bike on its wheel, pull the bag off (and carry it empty with the shoulder strap) then roll your bike on the front wheel. This is not super comfortable but it beats carrying the whole package; your shoulder will hurt from the weight on the shoulder strap after only a few minutes if you try the carrying.

The bike was accepted without question like any regular bike. EVA air (Taiwan) does not charge a bicycle fee but expect US carriers to hit you hard with one of those. It is probably a good idea to call the airline a head of time to learn their specific regulations.

We used a taxi from train station to hotel and took the bike into the room (folded most of the time).

In France it is ridiculously expensive and complicated to check the bike for railroad trips but it is accepted carried onto the trains and stowed on the luggage racks. So that is what we did.

We used the tandem for one day trips from the hotels where we were stationed so we did not have to carry a lot of baggage on the bike. This would require some extra creative organizing if you want to do longer tours.

kellichou

This thread is so helpful! I saw the KHS T20 Sausage Dog tandem at a bike shop, and I've been seriously considering it as a commuter that I can put my toddler on, and she can grow into becoming the stoker as she grows. Maybe have the shop put on e-assist. Of course, first is the issue of saving up the money to buy the bike, then almost that amount again to electrify it.

For toddler hauling, I would put a backrest on the stoker saddle, and a way to secure her on there (belt around the ribcage), footpegs or maybe WeeGo sorts of pedals? It's definitely an adorable bike, but I've only ever ridden bikes with 700cc tires, so the comments about a twitchy feel have me a little worried. I know I need to try test riding it to see if it's something I would enjoy. The folding aspect seems like it would be convenient, and I could still carry my Ortlieb panniers on the back.

Thoughts? I like the idea of having a commuter bike that could grow with my kid, since I'd be looking at a minimum of probably 5 years before I would want her riding along with me on her own bike (I can't imagine a kid much younger than 8 or 9 keeping up on a 10 mile commute, but maybe I'm misjudging). I only have the one offspring, so there's that.