gordonrands

My wife and I were occasional cyclists until she suffered a brain injury and no longer feels comfortable riding solo. We're in our late 60s and want to get more active in retirement so we tried a tandem in Central Park last year and it worked for us but found we just don't have the strength for hills, especially starting off. So we've been thinking about electric tandems and last weekend rode a Pedego. It seems sturdy (and heavy: 70 lbs) and appears to have good power for hills. I don't expect us to do much trail riding but would like to be able to do a little. I'm also unsure of the transport issues. We're going to be getting an electric pickup truck (Rivian R1T) and want to take the bike with us as we travel to parks etc. Thinking about the Thule Tandem roof mount (or pickup bed rail mount) but don't know if there will be any problems with front wheel removal. Any comments will be appreciated!

fooferdoggie 

if you can find it this guy is what we have. with a mid drive you have a more natural feel. we have climbed 18% grades and tend to cruise around 18mph.
https://electricbikereview.com/gepida/thoris-xt10/

bboy314

I have no experience with their tandem but I have worked on Pedego singles and based on their quality I would not recommend anything from that company. Though it’s been a few years and maybe they’ve improved.

Alcanbrad

Having electrified a tandem, I'll add a few comments based on my experience. I electrified an older Santana steel tandem with a front hub motor and rear rack mounted battery. The bike now weighs 70 pounds. We transport our tandems inside a mini van and I quickly found that it was very hard to lift the bike into the van. Even removing the battery to lighten one end, it was cumbersome and a challenge. I ended making a simple ramp from some scrap wood and we roll the bike in and out of van. I would not recommend a roof rack as you will likely need a step ladder if you have a taller vehicle and lifting that kind of weight over your head is a younger mans game.

As for wheel removal, Most hub motors do not have a quick release and tighten into the dropouts with nuts. Also, there may be a torque arm included as well. Assuming the motor cable is connectorized (so it can be disconnected easily), you will need wrenches and possibly a screw driver to remove and/or reinstall a hub motor wheel. It's very doable, but it takes effort. Also figure there will be rotor/pad alignment futzing if the bike has disc brakes.

Looking at the Pedego tandem you mention, it appears to be a rear hub set up. The front wheel appears to be mounted with nuts with Lawyer clips to hold the wheel in place should the nuts come loose. You may have to completely remove the nuts to remove the lawyer clips (I don't know if this is true or not). The point here, for the Pedego bike, wheel removal is not easy, and has the potential for rotor/pad futzing. This could be fairly easily overcome by upgrading the front wheel to quick release (i.e. a new/custom wheel)

While I have no experience at all with mid drive ebikes, I see a lot of benefits that overcome a lot of the characteristics/challenges of having a hub motor set up.

My recommendations are pretty much embodied above: Consider your ability to lift a heavy bike in and out of a vehicle. Removing a motorized hub is not easy (Grin has a nice solution, but you are now immediately into higher cost and custom). Not knowing Pedego bikes, but looking at the pictures, I would tend to stay away from this one (however, we have higher end bikes and tend to have higher standards).

Let us know what you do. Good luck.

Leisesturm

I am in my mid-60's and in relatively good shape. We had a tandem like that that was not powered and it was a fairly unwieldy beast. I find it hard to imagine that that tandem is 70lb. But even if it is, getting it into a pick-up bed will probably be done just once and never again. It really is for a setting where it can be ridden right from the garage to nearby parks or trails. We are also at the age where, one by one, couples (teams) are dropping out of our tandem club and either going to single bikes or taking up Pickleball. The main issue is the loss of upper body strength as the Captain's reach their mid-60's. Neither this team (blind Stoker) or the o.p. team have the luxury of bailing to joint single bikes but what about a linked set of recumbent trikes? With the right gearing even the big hill in C.P. (we know it well from our first date on a rented Fuji Absolute) can be manageable without e-assist.

Each trike (~40lb) could be loaded in a pick-up bed separately and linked just before riding. E-assist could also be added to one of the trikes, it is not necessary for both to be boosted. No way around it though, it will cost more than the Pedego tandem, but not that much more if the trikes are not powered. We think it is worth it. Honestly, we would knock back some options on a new car and/or finance the bike/trike purchase and consider investing more in our physical well being to be worth any sacrifice. That's our take. FWIW.

Artmo 

As others have said, weight is a major consideration if you want to travel with a tandem. One review of the Pedego shows a weight of 85lb !!!.
if I were starting from scratch, I would look for a used, relatively light road tandem for under $1000 and add an e-system like Swytch or Cytronex. They are .easy to install, lightweight and provide good performance.