bikamper

Thirty years ago, my wife and I had a pair of Burley Duets. One for her and our oldest, the other for myself and our youngest. The youngest and I rode the snot out of ours until she discovered boys. The other Duet, well, it looked new when we finally let them both go.

​ Recently, my wife was told by her doctor to lose some weight. She really hates to exercise but suggested that she may be willing to try riding a tandem with me if I'm not trying to set a personal best. Those PB days are long gone, so I agreed. Her main stipulation was that the tandem not be overly expensive. Mine was that it not be a Schwinn Twinn or an abomination like her aunts' old Columbia. A couple weeks of lackadaisical searching on FB Marketplace turned up a Dyno Crestline for dirt cheap. Not a Burley Duet in any sense but not a BSO bottom feeder, either. Save for a clean up, basic service, and new shoes, it's not a bad ride for an old phart and a noob.


I've taken it for a couple of short solo rides around the neighborhood and I was fairly impressed with it. I got Mrs.B out on it this morning for a very short ride and she actually enjoyed herself. As she has a ways to go to get back into a semblance of shape, it's going to be baby steps to increase distance and her stamina. If it works out well, we may look into a nicer rig next season. For now, our new travel trailer is a small toy hauler and has room for the tandem to come with us on our travels. So, it's just going to be grandma and grandpa in the slow lane.

Leisesturm

Hate to break it to you, but as far as the industry is concerned, that Crestline IS a BSO bottom feeder. Not judging, our first rig was a Kent Dual-drive of a similar pedigree. We rode it hard and put it away wet for two years and when we escaped NYC for the Pacific Northwest we gave it away, and bought another upon arriving in Portland, OR. We have four tandems now and they are all nice but we remember the BSO fondly. They are amazing workhorses but you really have to be able to wrench on them yourself or it's not worth it. Look for a used Burley or Trek T900 if you stick with it. You won't regret buying something in that price range ($500+)

bikamper

I get where you’re coming from. My wife’s aunt’s Columbia was such a POS that it burrowed in the mud to catch the bottom feeders. I figure anything with an Ashtabula crank is a waste of time and money for a tandem. This one hovers just above the bottom feeders. The plan is to run this one for a while and then upgrade if my other half actually likes riding. If not, I can sell it and recoup something.
Wrenching isn’t a problem for me, either. If it has wheels, I ride it and wrench it.



Whenever my wife says I have too many toys, I point to her sewing room.

duanekleinhardt

I dunno, that looks pretty crowded. I can help you out by taking the motorcycle and sidecar off your hands. ;^)

jethro00

Everyone's situation is different but I'll share how I got my stoker to increase distance and regularity in riding a tandem. I didn't focus on speed or on distance traveled. To increase distance, I would suggest riding to a park to hear music or a restaurant to pick up a picnic lunch, some destination I knew she would like. Over time she would agree to bike to further and further destinations. That was 30+ years ago. We now ride every day and she is good for about 3 hours of riding. YMMV

bikamper

That would make a little bit of room but, nope. My oldest granddaughter intends to be the next owner of the Russian Piece O' Crap. There is a running and riding 1979 Honda CX500 hiding in there looking for a new home, tho. There are two other MC's in various states of disrepair, plus two French Solex mopeds that do run and I think six bikes. There's another 20 bikes upstairs. Two ATV's. And the DeSoto, aka, the family money pit.

Being acquainted with my stoker since 1971, baby steps are what it will take. It took a good month to get her to go around the block in the sidecar. A 200 mile round trip for a burger and ice cream is not unheard of now. We'll get there.