A New Tandem Team Joins the Ranks
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A New Tandem Team Joins the Ranks
My wife and I picked up our first tandem this past weekend, a (looks to be) mid '90s Trek T50 hybrid in excellent condition.
Yesterday we did a bit of riding around the neighborhood to get the feel of things. It took us a few attempts to get moving, but once we figured it out we were riding relatively smoothly in short order.
Today we headed out to a local rail-trail. We put in just over 23 miles and seemed to work very well as a team. We both enjoyed it.
Yesterday we did a bit of riding around the neighborhood to get the feel of things. It took us a few attempts to get moving, but once we figured it out we were riding relatively smoothly in short order.
Today we headed out to a local rail-trail. We put in just over 23 miles and seemed to work very well as a team. We both enjoyed it.
#2
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Welcome and happy riding!
Cheers!
Cheers!
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2008 Red Co-Motion Speedster Co-pilot (Redster)
2009 Surly LHT (captain's commuter)
2009 Surly Crosscheck (stoker's road bike)
2007 Giant FCR2W (stoker's commuter)
1980's NOS Legnano (stoker's toy)
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2008 Red Co-Motion Speedster Co-pilot (Redster)
2009 Surly LHT (captain's commuter)
2009 Surly Crosscheck (stoker's road bike)
2007 Giant FCR2W (stoker's commuter)
1980's NOS Legnano (stoker's toy)
1970's Stella rebuilt as fixed-gear (captain's toy)
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Good looking ride and sounds like you are starting out great! Enjoy!
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Thanks for the welcome and encouragement. Our goal is to be proficient and comfortable enough to take the tandem on Pedal Across Lower Michigan (PALM) in late June. This is a 6 day bicycle tour across the state of Michigan, averaging about 45 miles per day.
The biggest things we need to work on, as agreed by the both of us, are getting comfortable enough in the handling to ride comfortably with traffic and getting the fit dialed in. For the fit, we are replacing both handlebars (risers for her - she's coming from a comfort bike, and On-One Mary bars for me), and then general fine tuning of saddle and bar position.
We figured out pretty quickly that we don't do well with her being on the bike to start. We had great success with having our right feet on the pedals (in the power position), and both kicking off with our left feet.
I only missed calling out one major bump, and it caught me by suprise even. There were a lot of little chatter bumps that got annoying after a while (due to the fact the rail-trail is shared with horses). My wife doesn't care for the motion of a suspension seatpost, but I'm thinking we may try a sprung saddle for her.
The biggest things we need to work on, as agreed by the both of us, are getting comfortable enough in the handling to ride comfortably with traffic and getting the fit dialed in. For the fit, we are replacing both handlebars (risers for her - she's coming from a comfort bike, and On-One Mary bars for me), and then general fine tuning of saddle and bar position.
We figured out pretty quickly that we don't do well with her being on the bike to start. We had great success with having our right feet on the pedals (in the power position), and both kicking off with our left feet.
I only missed calling out one major bump, and it caught me by suprise even. There were a lot of little chatter bumps that got annoying after a while (due to the fact the rail-trail is shared with horses). My wife doesn't care for the motion of a suspension seatpost, but I'm thinking we may try a sprung saddle for her.
#7
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Welcome!!
Were are you located? There is a large group of Tandems in Troy area.
Were are you located? There is a large group of Tandems in Troy area.
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#10
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We wrapped up PALM earlier today. Roughly 260 miles spread out between 6 days. Everything went well, and in fact towards the end of the 2nd day my wife commented that she was "darn glad we had the tandem". She was getting pretty tired by that point.
By the 3rd day, she was comfortable enough where she was taking pictures while riding.
By the 3rd day, she was comfortable enough where she was taking pictures while riding.
#11
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Good work
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You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
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We just sold our T-50, purchased it last year. It was our first tandem, and we were the third owners. We rode it about 1,200 miles. It is an excellent entry level bike. We did a fair amount of riding in the mountains of NC, VT, and NH. The bike performed well. We did add an Arai drag brake, suspension stoker post, and Brooks saddles. We sold the bike for not much less than what we paid for it. We only sold it because we found a good deal on a used CoMotion. Enjoy!
#13
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Just remember: The stoker is always right.
Glad to see our KHS isn't the only tandem with very-slightly-out-of-phase cranks. I'm gonna work on that one of these days.
Have fun.
Glad to see our KHS isn't the only tandem with very-slightly-out-of-phase cranks. I'm gonna work on that one of these days.
Have fun.