Ahab

My wife and I just bought a used 1994 Burley Bossa Nova (steel frame) tandem. We are new tandemizers, but our first ride was great! I would appreciate any opinions or information about the Bossa Nova (could not find much using Google) from anyone who has owned this model. I would also appreciate any links to family oriented tandem events or group rides this summer near Nashville, TN.

drbike

I owned a Nossa Nova for a number of years and was pleased with the bike. At the time it was the top model of the fleet. Most of the componets were specialized (cranks) and sun tour. I had the child conversion option that only took 15 minutes to change back and forth. I "moved" up to a co-motion two years ago but was pleased with the bike. The move up was primarly through better biking equipment ie new technology vs. a substandard bike.

zonatandem

Bosa Nova was top-o-the line in its day. A real nice machine!
Check out the thread on this forum: C'dale ordered today by BNA Roadie who lives in your neck of the woods, mayber u-2 can ride together?

crosswater

That makes three of us then within a seventy mile radius. We bought a 1989 Santana in October. We have been riding between 15 and 40 mile rides once or twice a week in the hills of TN....and my wife just hates to ride "bikes." She loves the tandem experience. I tell people it's the most fun two people can have with their clothes on. I have only started back to riding after a thirty year layoff. She never rode more than 15 miles at one time in her life. (She asks for a ride now!)

I have been reading all the do's and don'ts of riding tandems. I smile at some of them and heartily agree with others. Her favorite response to "Bump!" is "Huh? Oh, yeah, ok." "Shifting up or down" gets the same reaction. We have been married for over 36 years, so we do a lot of things automatically. She senses the coasting and slowing with no problems. We are working on the stopping and starting. I have only put her down (very gently) twice. She can unclip much quicker now...oops.

I guess this really should be under the other posts I've seen today. I was just excited about having more than one tandem in middle TN. Everyone we meet on singles always smiles...perhaps it's the way we look...definitely not a team dress look. I like to think they see that we are having fun.

I also have had difficulty finding info on the model of tandem we have....I guess if it's old technology the manufacturers don't have the resources to put all the info out there. We did find a LBS in Huntsville that had a fellow closer to our age than Lance's. He very graciously repaired a bad shift on my part. We now have a 105 rear derailleur. instead of the Suntour. It seems to work better. We also talked about upgrading to a seven cog from the five cog that's on it now. Seats are another issue. I just got a computer installed so we can see how fast and far we are going.

zonatandem

A 1989 'tana is not old . . .we go back to riding a brand new French Follis tandem in 1975. Been married 50 years and tandeming just over 30 years. We're on our 5th tandem now.
Bet there's more than just the three of you duos in your neck of the woods . . .
Got to watch all that smiling while riding the tandem this summer . . . .you'll end up with bugs on your teeth! Enjoy the ride . . .

Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

aggie_grad

My wife and I are planning a trip to Tennesee this summer and we were planning to bring our tandem. We are new to tandeming also but have really enjoyed it. We will be staying with friends in Franklin who offered to watch our two young kids to let us get a couple of rides in. We are planning the trip around August (date not finalized). Please let us know of some good places to ride (30-50 miles). We would love to meet up with others and ride if the timing works out. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Aggie_grad

Ahab

Thanks for the information.
crosswater: After my wife and I get some more rides under out belt, we would be interested in joining you for a ride.
aggie_grad: I am most familiar with rides north of Nashville, but I know there are a number of very nice rides near Franklin. In particular, the Natchez Trace is nearby and is cycling friendly. I am traveling at the moment, but can send some ideas for routes when I return home this weekend. Let me know when your plans to come to Nashville are set and perhaps we can get a group tandem ride organized when you are here.