Originally Posted by
Smallguy
Can someone help me out with getting started in the tandem world?
My gf soon to be wife and I are both avid cyclists and both race as well
She has expressed interest in getting a tandem and more time on bikes is great by me.
We both have higher end road and mountain bikes and enjoy the performance of quality components.
I saw some prices on a khs tandem for under 2k and it looks decent and possibility entry level ?
We met a couple with a cannondale that looked very nice and I believe they are about double.
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I think you have been given good advice about going used, or going with the KHS....especially due to the cost. Good luck.
But the primary issue to me is that you are stuck with a tandem....no independent coasting, which while 50% more expensive, was worth the added expense to my wife and I
I purchased a Davinci Grand Junction tandem in October2011 for $100 less than sticker (they don't dicker much on these).
The Davinci Grand Junction has independent coasting whichallows the captain to stand and pedal (while the stoker is seated or standing,pedaling or not pedaling). It is also soeasy to start riding, we are completely confident at busy intersections andstoplights (your stoker starts pedaling while captain balances the bike for asecond and then captain begins to pedal)
I ride my bicycle regularly, my wife does not. On our honeymoon at Wrightsville Beach, NC,in August 2011, my bride surprised me with a tandem bicycle that was rented forthe week. This rented tandem was beatup, ugly, large tires, with huge seats that hurt after the second ride……but wehad a great time riding the island on our first 2 rides (20 miles first ride,10 miles second ride). We also test roada new $995 +/- Trek Tandem from a well-run LBS. We liked this Trek much better than our rental.
I became passionate about getting a tandem for my wife and meto ride as well as to share with my nephews. I read and reviewed what I could find on the internet, including thisforum.
We test road and almost bought a Co-Motion tandem(telescoping variety) in Raleigh. Theproblem was, the salesman (a tall Caucasian with, I kid you not, a waxedbandito mustache) almost sold me a tandem that was clearly too large forme. How did I almost make this obvious mistake?
I was on an unfamiliar bicycle with thinner tires than thetandem we had rented or the Trek we test road. I was enamored with Co-Motions from my internet research, I was focusedon not wrecking this $3,200 bicycle, and worried about my wife’s comfort…becauseshe was not happy riding the Co-Motion.
As is true in most cases with tandems, if your stoker is nothappy, it is probably the captain’s fault, and it was. My wife was upset because I would alternatebetween peddling and coasting without warning her. This banged up her shins a couple oftimes. We both banged our shins at timestrying to start after we had stopped. This of course happened while riding on theisland, and I had corrected it by warning my wife. However, during the test ride I was notcommunicating well with my wife, who, luckily, became clearly fed up with it.
Hours after we left the shop my wife and I realized howlucky we were to have avoided buying the Co-Motion (she never did like the Co-Motion). We later test road a Davinci tandem andknew we had found the tandem for us.
The only issues or regrets we have with our new DavinciGrand Junction involved our choice of the entry level model and the initialbreak in. Don’t get me wrong the GrandJunction is great, and probably will turn out to be the best deal for us. But I wish I would have spent the extra$1,200 and purchased the In-2-ition. Why? The In-2-ition is a little bit lighter, 4cranks instead of 3, and bike made in America by Davinci, not spec’d out toTaiwan.
During the first 4 or 5 rides, we had difficulty shifting tothe middle of three cranks (common issue noted on the internet…but issue seemsto work its way out). One time adownshift created a loud screech of metal on metal and the chain got stuckbetween the middle and largest crank. However,this did not reoccur. At first roughshifting was corrected by minor adjustment to the derailleur and by planningahead and shifting to the middle crank when there was no load on the chain andthe captain was pedaling and the stoker was not. By the 10[SUP]th[/SUP] ride, we quit having anyproblems shifting into the middle crank.
We also have experienced a sticking front brake caliper thatcomes and goes. But I finally realizedthis last weekend on a 30 mile chairy ride and it is going to the LBS tocorrect. But I just had to adjust the disk brakes, which was easy after a successfulGoogle search found a You-Tube video that showed me how.
Good luck