DocB

Anybody tried the newer retro-style Tango Tandem Cruisers Schwinn is selling? My wife and I would like to have a go at a tandem and these look to be a cheap way to try it out. Any opinions?

zonatandem

They look good but are j-u-n-k!
Save your $$ for a better quality/used tandem.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

brewer45

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on considering riding a tandem. My wife and I started riding casually about 4 years ago on a Diamondback (about $750) purchased completely on a whim. Almost exactly a year ago, we decided to start riding more seriously and soon discovered that the Diamondback was not the bike for us. We are strictly road riders and like to go at least 25 miles when we ride (training for our first century this summer). The Diamondback was too heavy and not designed for any sort of distance riding. We got extremely lucky and found a used Burley Duet (about $900) just at the moment we knew we needed a new bike. The Burley transformed our riding and is one of the reasons we're still at it. Next week we will take delivery of a new Co-Motion Speedster Co-Pilot (about $7,000) and are looking forward to another transformation in our riding.

The Schwinn Tango and its inexpensive cousins are stylish and fine for short strolls along the beach/boardwalk. However, because the bike is heavy, unresponsive, and difficult to maintain, it is unlikely that you'll have the sort of experiences that result in a happy tandem team. The folks in this forum are typically at least happy tandem teams if not seasoned professional tandem riders, so the advice you get is based on years/miles of riding experience and a desire for you to have a good shot at catching tandem fever.

Based on my experience, I suggest that you
1) read the information at this site: https://www.thetandemlink.com/LearningCenter.html;
2) select your tandem based on mechanical quality and fit rather than looks;
3) ride;
4) take what you learn from your first 1000 miles on a tandem to help you get your next tandem;
5) keep riding.

Cheers!

Brewer

In_Kalamazoo

Avoid the Schwinn Tango Tandem.

My fiancee and I bought one of these to try out tandeming. I'm a veteran, and she's a newbie.

Anyhow, Its a $600 tandem, that looks great, but is very poorly made.

Notice that idler on the bottom, we had problems with ours in the first 20 miles. It got dirty, then seized, causing our timing chain to always come off. I cleaned it, moved it back into position, but it kept getting dirty, and moving on its own accord.

Pedals grind, must be because the bearings are shot-out-of-factory. Everything made a grinding noise, parts rubbing etc.

Its not meant for any kind or scheduled riding. Just a once in a great while, weekend excursion of less then 10 miles.

zonatandem

Talking about the Tango's pedals . . .
Couple years ago, we were tandeming in Duluth, MN when we spotted a couple with a shiny new red Tango with obvious problems.
Stopped to see if we could help. Stoker's pedal platform fell apart into pieces. The thing was pressed together and there was no way to fix it. They had ridden it a total of 6 miles from the bike shop. Told them to limp back to the shop and demand 2 sets of real pedals (front and back), or better yet, get a refund on that shiny Tango.
At 600 bucks, its 500 bucks overpriced!

Standalone 

Zombie thread, but I ride mine all the time, especially now that my 6 year old can fit on it as a stoker. It's heavy, and has obviously cheap parts, but the only issue has been getting the cheap seat clamp tight enough that first week we had it. Since then, no issues. It has been through the rain, to festivals, on the back of a van down to Virginia, and nothing to complain about. It is what it is, a low priced tandem, and I'm OK with that.

mach2race

the tango may be made with cheaper components, but the bike itself is beautiful. To me, its worth upgrading the parts as they fail. I have seen no other tandem park bike, that has its cool factor. So my question is, where can i get a parts breakdown for my 2012 tango and is there anyone that carries spare parts. I plan to upgrade them as they fail, but I need the original spec's, to upgrade.
Thanks!
TB

quplank

I know this is an old thread too, but ... I rode a cruiser bike every day to work for 6 months and those were some enjoyable rides! The comfortable seat, wide tyres, the position on the bike - I wasn't fast but I enjoyed every cycling with it. I am looking into Schwinn tandem precisely for this fact and don't plan to use it for anything else but short (10-20 km) city-only trips.

mach2race, I don't know how detailed part breakdown you need, but you can look and the old Schwinn websites at the Web archive. Here is the one for cruiser bikes from 2012: "http : // web . archive . org/web/20120622070522/ http : // www . schwinnbikes . com/bikes/cruisers". Just remove all the spaces from the URL (couldn't post the actual URL). If you click on the Tango tandem there you'll get the some specifications about the bike.