wsa30h

Hi i am considering purchasing a 3 person tandem bike what do i need to know how much will it cost and some unique problems with triples and how it is different to ordinary tandems ?
also i have been riding a tandem for 5 years as both a stoker and pilot if that makes much of a difference ?

tandemdr

This article about triplets and children is a good place to start.
https://www.precisiontandems.com/artkidsbymccready.htm

Tony Marley

I had a Co-Motion triplet for seven years. It was an excellent bike, and I got a lot of use out of it with two daughters.

Cost: triplets cost more than tandems; how much more depends on the maker and frame material. If you can find a used one, that is the way to save a lot of money. I bought mine new, and it sold seven years later for 45 percent of the original price.

For me, the main difference was the weight. The larger frame weighs more than a tandem, plus you have the weight of the third rider. If either (or both) of the other riders are not pedaling their weight's worth, you know it. Having said that, a well functioning 3-person team can cruise along at surprising speeds and climb not overly steep hills efficiently.

It is a great way to spend quality time with family members, and is a sure conversation starter wherever you go.

wsa30h

what material was your triplet build from ? and i would imagine it attracts quite the attention.

bajajoaquin

I read somewhere that a triplet is more increased difficulty over a two-place tandem than a two-person tandem is over a single. I have found this to be true.

This isn’t to dissuade you, but to help you get your mindset in place before the first ride.

Unless you go really really cheap, you won’t find a low-priced triple the way you can find screaming deals on tandems. You’re unlikely to find a nice one under $2000 or $2500. I bought really really cheap and am happy, but very few tandemistas want a bike that’s not much good for more than puttering along a bike path a couple times a year.

If you want to really ride it, there’s likely no substitute for spending a bit of money here.

MikeAndJean

Like one of the other responders, my family rode a Comotion triple for several years. In our case, the team consisted of one child and two adults. My wife and I have ridden tandems for many years so we were able to compensate for our daughter's shortcomings as a tandem rider. We had a lot of fun with that bike including a trip to Switzerland and several local overnight trips.

The handling, including starting and stopping, is not that different from a two-seat tandem. However, braking is an issue. Our triple came with an Aria drum brake and V-brakes on the rims. The captain operated all three with the rim brakes on the right lever (I am right handed) and the drum on the left lever. Stopping distance is longer than on a single - or even a two-seat tandem - so you have to learn to look ahead. We recently replaced our 41-year-old two-seat tandem. Our new tandem has disk brakes and no rim brakes. We use TRP calipers and 225mm Hope rotors. This arrangement is a dramatic improvement over the rim and drum braking systems we had on our tandems before this new bike. If purchasing a new triple today I would seriously consider high quality disk brakes.

As you probably discovered by now, effective tandem riding takes practice. We probably only rode around 3000 miles on the triple with our daughter. Therefore, we did not become a smooth team with a good climbing form. Triple frames are more flexible, which adds to the problem. Still that big yellow bike brought our family many pleasant memories.


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MikeAndJean

By the way, don't buy a new triple. Most families outgrow these expensive investments, which are a pain to store. After our daughter went away to college we sold our triple for half of what we paid for it.

wsa30h

thanks i dont pla to go cheap which is good does anyone know if tandemservis.cz triplet is any good? i plan to get that or a co motion triplet or maybe a rodrigues triplet.

bwebel

Yep, I find myself in just about that position. Kids aren't gone, but looks like getting both of them on the triplet is in the past. Any suggestions on the best place to sell it?

wsa30h

bwebel did you try find another adult stoker or two ?

bwebel

Not really, the bike was mainly about getting the kids to school, a comotion periscope design, so they could start pretty early. It was great for that, but the kids never really fell in love with riding, and just riding tandem is enough for me.

MikeAndJean

We had roughly the same problem with our daughter. She was a good sport about riding with us, and enjoyed the trips, but turned out to be a runner instead of a cyclist. Eventually we solved our storage problem by selling the triple to a friend with grandchildren who had reached the proper age. Perhaps that would have been a good long-term solution for us as well, except that our daughter is three years into an eight-to-nine year MD/PhD program, with no kids in sight. Maybe we will buy our triple back when grandkids eventually do come along. Until then we will keep riding our two-seat tandem and enjoy the memories from those wonderful trips together on the longer bike.

wsa30h

Thats a beautiful canary yellow triplet.

MikeAndJean

The color was nice; however, I chose it to highlight any cracks that might form. Multi-seat bicycles break if you ride them enough. Over the past 45 years of riding tandems we broke cranks, axles, freewheels, and plenty of spokes. We also had cracks develop in four sets of forks. The photo below shows the only frame break we had. That tandem frame was 39 years old at the time of the break. After a repair we rode it for another three years.

wsa30h

i guess that is a valid reason for that color as well.