$300 Walmart Tandem Experiment
 

We just bought a Walmart tandem as an experiment if Tandeming will be right for us. Wife and I have been folding bike travelers since the 80's. Wife has a condition where the left eye has lost vision so she now gets scared to ride the streets with limited peripheral vision. To counter the fear, we decided to experiment on this Walmart tandem.

I come from the bike industry so I know most of the parts will be entry level - frame hiten and most parts steel, cheap wheels - but it is worth the experiment for the price. $260+ for bike plus sales tax =under $300. Opted for the free ship to store. Ship to store also limits shipping damage as it is carried by Walmart trucks.

First impressions - not bad for the price. I have some used wheels with QR/double wall alloy rims/Big Apple tires lying around so we never installed the stock wheels. Just sold stock wheels on craigslist for $30. It's a one size bike. Stoker will accomodate a wide range with the low top tube. Front has sloping top tube but works for me (i'm about 5'8"). Shifters derailleurs are all entry level. Shifts well after you tune it up - had to shorten a cable housing to shift better. Cranks, seatpost, handlebar etc are steel. Upgraded the brake pads. No quick releases - seatpost clamps are all allen bolt type. Bike actually runs very similar to a fat tire tandem we borrowed a few months back. Picts of the bike at
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kent-Duald...icycle/3663045

THe bike is never expected to be fast and be light weight. I think it is probably in the mid 40+ lbs weight. We plan on using it as a beater or shopping tandem. Something we can lock to a meter if we have to go to a store, eat out, museum etc. I raised handlebar as much as I can for a more upright position. Saddles are spring type and surprisingly has not produced my penile numbness. Might be the more upright riding style. Installed rear rack, and a Wald cruiser bar for the stoker so she can ride more upright as well. A few cable locks and a U lock hopefully will discourage thieves. We park it in an enclosed garage so hopefully it does not rust too fast.

Experiences so far has been positive. It's like buying a car. We never expected a Lexus ride cause we were on a used Toyota Corolla budget. I've already learned a few lessons on tandem frame geometry. Hopefully by winter, we can start designing/building a collapsible travel frame with 20" wheels so we can go back to travelling.

Any questions on the bike just ask.

Why not? I think if you use it for about 4 rides, then you'll break even compared to renting a tandem, which is at least $50 for a few hours plus the hassle of renting, picking up and dropping off, etc.

I'm not surprised you found it satisfactory. You had the sense to adjust and tune it first, and lack of that is probably 80% of the problems associated with department store road bikes. (I'm not sure Walmart should sell "mountain bikes" if they can't be taken off a 3-foot ledge without bending a fork, but I can perfectly understand road bikes being acceptable for casual use.)

Enjoy your test rides!

Many (even very fast!) tandem couples are quite happy with their 20" wheel Bike Friday tandems.
http://www.bikefriday.com/bicycles/tandem

Also, most every independent tandem manufacturer has a selection of machines that can be equipped with S&S couplers for traveling, as well.
http://www.sandsmachine.com/

Agree with Onegun: Bike Friday already builds a popular 20" wheeled and folding tandem. Avialable with several options.
Yes, have ridden several; if you don't look at the front wheel while riding, you'd never know you are riding on 20" wheels.

We owned a Tandem Two'sday for several years before our Speedster and our experience was very different. The TT was slower on the flats and (to be frank) climbed like a pig.

Unless the design has dramatically improved in the last 10 years, I would consider them a great product within their niche as a travel bike, but a poor chooce as an everyday tandem for teams which like spirited riding.

Our first tandem was a beater that we bought at a garage sale. I tuned and lubed it, and then it was a well-tuned and lubed beater :)

Despite it's very humble heritage, it was good enough for us to learn that we enjoyed tandems. Within a few months I sold it for a little more than we paid for it, and we bought a much nicer tandem. We're on tandem number four now, and we aren't quitting any time soon!

We have a Tandem Traveller XL (Extra Light). This tandem disassembles rather than folds. This allows the use of lighter thinner tubes than the folding models, and it reduces weight in the process. I agree with Zona that if you don't look down you would not know you were on 20" wheels. The bike is sensitive to tires--well actually all bikes probably are! The Schwalbe Marathons that it came with were bombproof but did not roll very well. The Stelvios we used were great and we are now using the Stelvio replacement, the Durano. Does fine. The bike is more flexy than our RT2 and is particularly bouncy when going up a steep hill in the lowest gears. Hitting a dip in the road can cause the Captain's bars to flex back a few cm. as well. But on level road it feels like any other quality tandem.