v70cat

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kent-Inter...#ProductDetail

WebsterBikeMan

About what you'd expect from WalMart.

v70cat

A friend has a Kent comfort Tandem he purchased from a LBS about five years ago and it still is in good shape.

WebsterBikeMan

So, to elaborate:

There are those who have these, and enjoy them. The main things to remember are that there's a very high probability you will need to do some work on the bike before the first ride, and that in a one-size-fits-some paradigm, you may be one of those near enough to the middle of the bell curve to actually fit the bike.

The frame and components are low end, but that's what you should be expecting at that price point. Put another way, if you want to ride a significant amount - as opposed to the occasional ride in the neighbourhood or around the park - you should expect to pay between 2 and 3 times as much as you would for the single bike that you enjoy riding.

If riding tandem is just about tooling around the neighbourhood, this could be just the ticket.

mercury168

If you two have already ridden a tandem before and know you enjoy it, getting the Walmart bike is a safe decision because it only costs as much as renting a handful of times. The department store tandems are actually quite useable. Perfect for casual rides on the MUP. As stated above, sizing is one-size-fits-some. Also be aware that it's going to take a lot of adjustment before it's rideable. See my old post in the Mongoose Wanderer thread and I bet many of the statements also apply to the Kent.

That said, I have the Mongoose Wanderer (~$330 price level) and a Cannondale RT1000 (~$2500 price level). The Mongoose is 80% of the fun of the Cannondale at merely 13% of the price. The Mongoose is used for casual rides on bad roads and I don't mind leaving it locked to a post. The Cannondale is for road rides only. I appreciate both of them for what they are.

v70cat

I have ridden over 1,000 miles on my Cervelo since April, the concept of this bike would be to take my wife with me.

She has a nice bike but rides very slow, with the tandem it would be hard for her to fall far behind.

adclark

I have the Kent comfort tandem that I bought a few weeks ago used for $60. As most have said, expect to do some work before riding. The previous owner had not done it, so I had to. It seems fairly solid though. For the price, I thought it was hard to beat. It definitely isn't as nice as the $2500 tandem we rented, but considering it only cost me the same as two half day rentals, it was worth it. I haven't noticed any ghost shifting under load, but the wheels and tires are pretty much crap. The wheels are out of true and the rear axle is already bent, but other than that, the rest of the bike seems ok. I don't know about the 700c version, but if you can't justify the money for a nicer one and won't be using it for any long distance rides or racing, I would say the one I have fits the bill. Eventually we may upgrade, but until we are sure an expensive bike would get the use it deserves and warrants the price, the Kent is just fine.

WebsterBikeMan

Given that extra piece of information, I would be surprised if you found the Kent anything but frustrating. However, at the price, it isn't a huge gamble. The stock recommendation (seen many times on this forum) is to look at the used market. This will put bikes with build quality and componentry more like you're used to in a price range that is more affordable. And if you wind up selling it again in a year or two, the depreciation is much smaller.

bobthib

+1 on what the others have said. A great bike for tooling around town, but I needs work to make it ridable. Get good Koolstop MTB break pads, have the wheels trued, replace the rim tapes. and the breaks and shifter adjusted. It will server well for round the town pie rides.

With a steel frame it should be very smooth riding, but it may be a bit noodly. It will be heavy, so don't expect to set any speed records. The wheels are serviceable, but nothing to write home about.

I have about 700 miles since last August on the aluminum version sporting the Lamboghini nameplate. It has Microshift brifters and Shimano 8 x 3 drive train. At $500 it was a bit more pricey than it's Walmart cousin. Both were made by Kent. I added the brake pads, an adjustable stoker stem, Avid 7 brake arms (not necessary, I feel) and I got a set of Velocity Tandem wheels so I can quickly switch from road (23s) to off road (35s) I also added an N-Stop Gear Stop to the front derailer. It's really nice to drop confidenltly to the granny gear without fear of loosing the chain. It allowed me to be a lot more flexible in the FD adjustments for the other 2 gears.

I have been very happy with the bike, and look forward to every opportunity to ride it, even solo. The best times are when my grandson and I get out for a spin, or my wife and I go out on a club ride.

Examine what you want from your tandem. If you want to do long hard rides or touring, find a good used tandem. For fun little pie rides and sunset loops about town, this might be the perfect bike for you.

zonatandem

Your friend's Kent Comfort tandem, after 5 years, is still in 'good shape'. Question: How many miles on it?
Maybe he'll sell it to you or let you borrow it for a few rides?
Our Zona tandem after 5 years is 'still in good shape' and has 25,000 miles on it.
A decent tandem will easily cost as much as 2 Cervelos.
You get what you pay for . . . quality lasts!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Johnny Law

I just bought a kent tandem from walmart and it fits us great! she is 5 foot and im 5-10, we love it! of course we are not that serious about tandem biking or road biking since we mainly mountain bike but its a great thing to do if you want to mix it up a bit. and if you only use it a few times a week and take good care of it im sure its well worth your money! i know it was worth ours

blamp28

For sort casual rides, that bike may be fine with a little tuning. It is the Huffy of the tandem world. If you seek a bike closer to the level of your Cervelo, you will be disapointed and may want to look at decent used bikes. Simple example - I bought a used Santana for $900 and sold it two seasons later when we upgraded to a better bike. I sold it for $900 so I rode for free essentially for two seasons on a bike that was capable of multi-day touring, short road trips or all day rides and was very dependable. I am a strong advocate of nice used tandems as starter bikes for this reason. There are always couples looking for good used tandems for the same reasons you are so your financial risk is low. If you want to increase the likelyhood that you and your wife will spend more time on the bike together, buy some decent hardware. It's cheaper than couples therapy.