Retro Grouch 

Back in the middle 70's Mrs.Grouch and I had a lot of kids and not very much money. About the only recreation I got was riding my bike. Mrs. Grouch, however, didn't feel competent enough to ride very much.

An acquaintance offered to give me a tandem bicycle. It was a Schwinn Twinn coaster brake bike that had been left out in the weather and wasn't rideable but the frame could still be used. I thought I might be able to find a pair of wheels and make it rideable so I started looking for parts. The VERY FIRST PERSON who I asked was the bike mechanic at my LBS. His parents had a Schwinn Twinn Sport 5-speed that they had modified. He sold me all of the heavy parts that they had replaced (both wheels, both handlebars, both cranksets, derailleur and seats) for $30.00. That was the miracle. It was also all the money I had at the time. With all of the incidentals I was able to piece together a crummy old tandem that we could ride together for about $70.00.

And ride it we did. The bike evolved over the 7 or 8 years that we rode it, but we rode it for hundreds of miles. 30 to 50 mile rides became routine. It was a life changing event because it changed everything we have done in our lives since that time. We met bicycling friends who we continue to associate with even after 38 years. That bike is what got us into bicycling to the extent that I'm posting this today. Eventually we wound up with a car that we didn't need so we sold the car to afford our first Santana tandem.

Eventually I met a fellow who had a totally blind daughter. She used to ride a bike around the cut de sac. She couldn't see but, she could sense the curb to alert her when she had to turn. I sold him the miracle bike and they loved riding it together. If I had it to do over, I should have given them the bike but, at the time, I really needed the money.

Carbonfiberboy 

We do care! Bikes have changed many lives, including mine and my wife's. Our tandem was another life-changer. Thanks for the story.

GadgetGirlIL

That is a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing.

berner

I began riding a bike at age low 70s because I got tired of driving 400 miles on week-ends to hike in New Hampshire. It was not long before I enjoyed the bike just as much as hiking in the mountains. About a year ago my nephew began riding a bike also, in a rural part of New York, doing 50 miles, and lost 35 pounds. He is now down to about his high school weight when he played football and was pumping iron. Now his sister, my niece has begun riding. She has not lost much weight yet but was very pleased with herself for working up to 20 miles. Cycling is insidious. It's tentacles reach into all sort of unexpected areas.

BobbyG

Nice!

Rowan

Beautiful post, Retro.

Makes me remember my first tandem started as a frame sold by a Hobart bike hire business. It was ridden much and eventually dumped after dismantling when I moved states.

The second was borrowed from a keen own after Machka moved to Australia, and we road quite a few Audax events on it, including quite a few of the longer ones.

The third was a brand new Santana that we've had for quite a while now, and haven't used much lately. It's still a lovely bike, that also has done quite a few Audax rides.

I want to fit a decent disc brake on the rear, and have come up with a fitting for a mounting facility that is already there; the rear hub now has a decent disc attached, and I have TPR brake that is big enough and powerful enough..

70sSanO

Hondo Gravel

John E

Thank you for posting. I always enjoy reading stories of this type.

Retro Grouch 

Thanks, everybody. Not everyone likes my stories.

Hoopdriver

Excellent story. Glad your tandem didn't turn out to be the "divorce machine" that they are reputed to be.

Dan Burkhart 

Great story, thanks for sharing. I also refurbished an old Schwinn Twinn in the hope that my wife would ride it with me. Turned out she hated it, so it sits unused and unloved, but we still ride our solo bikes together, so it's all good.

Retro Grouch 

"Whichever direction your relationship is headed, a tandem bicycle will get you there quicker."

DeadGrandpa

Mr Grouch, thanks for the most awesomest story that I can remember reading here. Keep in mind that my memory isn't so great, but I'm sure this one is one of the best.

My girlfriend loves bicycling like I do. Although for some reason she prefers her single bike to the tandem on pavement, she definitely wants to ride the hardtail tandem with me on gravel. Maybe I can upgrade my old Santana, too, but it weighs more than the Fandango, which has me kinda frustrated. Either way, I firmly believe cycling together is the path to mutual happiness.

Hoopdriver

So true.

noglider 

Your story warmed my heart! There was a podcast story about how some blind people can "see" by using sonar (clicking their tongues) and by mapping space in their minds. One of the subjects could ride a bike, and that blows my mind.

I happen to be working on a Schwinn Twinn refurbishment right now. @Dan Burkhart connected me with the owner. I'm rebuilding the wheels. It came with 597mm rims, so we're putting on 590mm rims. It's a five-speed bike, and it has a five speed freewheel and an Atom drum brake rear hub.

Dan Burkhart 

Oddly enough, I'm working on a 1950 CCM right now that the owner just sourced some NOS 597 rims for. The tires are even harder to find than the rims, but he got some Schwalbes to fit.

Retro Grouch 

I hope that you have the proper brake lever for that Atom hub brake. As I remember, that requires a lot of cable pull. The original Schwinn wheel with the steel rim, Atom hub and uber heavy spokes weighed a lot. 7 or 8 pounds maybe?

Dan Burkhart 

My Twinn had that hub when I got it,(at least I'm quite sure that's what it was) but I swapped it out for a Shimano Nexus 8 speed with a roller brake. I kept the original levers on the bike, and they were both normal pull ratio. The front brake was just a side pull caliper.
The levers work fine with roller brakes front and rear.

noglider 

I don't know what the hub weighs, but it's a lot. I'll weigh it when I disassemble it. It's still built into the old steel rim, and yeah, the wheel is mighty heavy.

I don't think the owner is changing the brake levers. I'm not responsible for the bike, just the wheels.

Oldguyonoldbike

Thanks for sharing! We haven't gone the tandem route (at least not yet), but getting my wife a decent bike was one of the best things for our marriage.

NomarsGirl

That's a great story! My husband and I are always amazed at the couples we see out on their tandems. "Wow, they must really like each other!". We will stick to our individual bikes. Our riding styles are far too different to possibly ride tandem. He likes to put his in high gear and mash (and coast a lot). I use all my gears and spin at a steady (relatively fast) cadence. We always end up at the same place. (And I have more endurance than he does)