Tandems. What is the attraction?

[MacB]

It's a Pino, made by Hase.

They do a titanium one...

Hase website

Tim how do these vary from a regular tandem for handling etc? and, just asking for a possibly overweight and sweaty friend , does the person on front need some sort of waterproof cover/headwear?

Oh yeah, who are considered the best makers of regular tandems, maybe a top 3 or 4 list?

 

[clarion]

Best regular tandem builders IMO:

Santana
Bob Jackson
Orbit
Dawes
Hase (Pino)
Circe (Helios)
Landescape
Ventana
Cannondale
Santos
Bike friday (Tandem Twosday)
KHS at a pinch (if they're still building. We had one as our first, and it was really comfortable and reliable)

Unless it was from a respected framebuilder (Roberts, Dave Yates etc), I wouldn't really want to consider anything not on this list. In fact, Orbit and Dawes have some lower grade products on the list, but the top stuff is very good.

Here's the best link you need:
http://www.tandems.co.uk/

 

[clarion]

I see i got carried away.

Top 3?

Santana - far and away
Bob Jackson - sheer beauty http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/factory.php
Orbit - excellent value

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I have piloted a tandem with a blind stoker and it's quite a lot of effort controlling them compared to a solo bike - especially when it's a racing tandem with two racing cyclists on board

So I reckon the answer is two-fold - most tandems seem to be constructed with the place for the larger rider at the front and in a male/female pairing, the stronger is likely to be the male thus the more obvious candidate for the pilot.

Is there some reason why conventional (as opposed to that recumbent / upright mash-up - which I do like - I've seen them around from time to time especially in Germany/CH) tandems have the bigger rider at the front - is it some limitation of the design or merely convention?

several years ago I had a long and interesting chat with the guy who ran Locks of Sandwich about the feasibility of building a mixte small front diamond large rear tandem to suit myself and my wife who is over a foot shorter than me and doesn't feel the love in staring at my back. A Hase Pino worked out about £1000 cheaper. iirc it was largely convention, cost and the availablity of tubesets. Mixte mixte used to be common years ago which was highly adaptable.

We went with neither!

 

[srw]

Unless it was from a respected framebuilder (Roberts, Dave Yates etc), I wouldn't really want to consider anything not on this list. In fact, Orbit and Dawes have some lower grade products on the list, but the top stuff is very good.

Thorn is by far and away the most common manufacturer I see pictured in the pages of the Tandem club mag - and there's a very good reason for that. It's not just that they're pretty good at publicity...

In fact, of the three tandem pairs on the filthily damp Brighton FNRttC in July, two were on Thorns, with Tim Hall +1 on his Hase Pino being the third pair.

Here's the best link you need:
http://www.tandems.co.uk/

http://www.tandem-club.org.uk/ is fully independent (Clarion's link is a shop).

 

[srw]

These tandemistas have a bit of a way with words!

You have a verbal dexterity test forced on you before the shops let you buy one. Somehow I managed to scrape through.

 

[Tim Hall]

Tim how do these vary from a regular tandem for handling etc? and, just asking for a possibly overweight and sweaty friend , does the person on front need some sort of waterproof cover/headwear?

Oh yeah, who are considered the best makers of regular tandems, maybe a top 3 or 4 list?

I haven't ridden a regular tandem for a while, so my memory of their handling is a bit hazy. As far as I can recall, the Pino is a tad easier, although not being able to see the front wheel can be a challenge when avoiding potholes. Having said that I cleared all the notches in the home made speed bumps down The Badlands on the FNRTTC, so it's not that big a deal. Or I haz l33t bike hadling skillz.

The Pino has a much shorter wheelbase than a regular tandem, so that may contribute to the handling. The stoker sits pretty much inline with the centre of the steering and that helps.

Waterproof clothing is a bit of an issue. Either that or Mrs Hall is particularly rain averse. If it rains she tends to end up with a wet lap, down to the riding position. Rain legs help to some extent. I guess tapping the experience of other 'bent riders could give some tips.

Top 3 makers?

Santana
Roberts
Umm, that other American lot, make off road machines with couplers

Thorn are probably the most popoular. Depends what you want to do with it.

Does your POaSF want a go on ours?

 

[Tim Hall]

To be fair, you're in an ideal position to grab their bottom even if you are not romantically involved with them. But it might be considered impertinent...

Pippsy rode on the front of the Pino to Sarfend once on an FNRTTC. It was her first go.

"Ooh" she said "You could flash your boobs from here"

I maintained a dignified silence.

 

[MacB]

Does your POaSF want a go on ours?

Ta Tim, and Clarion, still very much in the encouraging to ride stage at present, I think a traditional tandem would probably suit better but, if we get to the serious purchase point, test rides on each type will be vital.

I think I'd be wanting a rohloff for definite and the jury is still out on everything else, I actually like the look of the Thorns, for a change, but they are insistent about their views on wheels and dics brakes.

 

[srw]

I think I'd be wanting a rohloff for definite and the jury is still out on everything else, I actually like the look of the Thorns, for a change, but they are insistent about their views on wheels and dics brakes.

The Rohloff is great... until it isn't. We've had a couple of flange failures (fixed under warranty, no questions asked), but it's much easier than faffing around with two stretched cables and guessing which gear you're in. I've never felt the need for disc brakes - XTRs are fine even with two not-so-light riders and full luggage.

I also like the look of Thorn bikes - they look serious. None of your frivolous carbon nonsense.

 

[theclaud]

The Rohloff is great... until it isn't. We've had a couple of flange failures (fixed under warranty, no questions asked), but it's much easier than faffing around with two stretched cables and guessing which gear you're in. I've never felt the need for disc brakes - XTRs are fine even with two not-so-light riders and full luggage.

I also like the look of Thorn bikes - they look serious. None of your frivolous carbon nonsense.

I have to say I really don't, but everyone who has one seems to love it...

 

[theclaud]

Pippsy rode on the front of the Pino to Sarfend once on an FNRTTC. It was her first go.

"Ooh" she said "You could flash your boobs from here"

I maintained a dignified silence.

Who'd have thought this would end up such a sexy thread?

 

[MacB]

I have to say I really don't, but everyone who has one seems to love it...

Generally I don't but their 'agricultural' approach seems to look better in tandem form than for a solo. But they now do a solo 700c rohloff light tourer called the Mercury and it has disc brakes!!!!, it's not a bad looking bike but not as nice as other makes in that price range.

 

[Bicycle]

I recall reading somewhere (many years ago) that Karrimor, manufacturers of rucksacks, panniers and similar was established out of a bicycle business in the north of England of which the proprietor became blind.

I believe the couple (she sighted and he increasingly less so) were keen tandem riders after he lost his sight and the Karrimor brand was set up essentially to provide them with carrying capacity for the tandem that no-one else was providing at the time.

I may have dreamed this, so feel free to correct me if that's wrong.

I used to ride a tandem with my elder brother when we were in our teens - it was like 60 minutes of unsuccessful suicide attempts every time we went out. Scary, but somehow fascinating and addictive. He steered.

After Ken Livingstone's 'Fare's Fare' revolution ended and tube fares went up again (1980?) I used that old nail of a tandem to carry self and then girlfriend round London. Years later she confessed to sitting for most of every ride with her feet on the long diagonal frame braces (it was an early-70s Gitane). I had no idea at the time.

Tandems are excellent, but you need a sense of humour.

 

[Arch]

I've never got on with tandems. I'm too much of a control freak to stoke (even with a captain I'd trust with my life), and not strong enough to hold the bike up to captain it.

There are a couple of exceptions - the Altena recumbent bike tandem, which I felt more comfortable on than perched on a saddle, and any recumbent tandem trike, which you simply can't fall off, unless you really try! Alas, the later requires a lot of money, and even more space! But what a machine. You think you get attention on a single recumbent, try riding with a tandem one!

I did find that on a regular tandem, I was more relaxed if I closed my eyes. And my companion found an odd psychological thing. If I put my hands on his back and pressed slightly, it felt like he was being pushed along, and it actually felt easier to him to pedal, despite it actually making no difference whatsoever....

For a couple who are both comfortable, I can see the benefits. I think it's especially good if the stoker is a less regular cyclist - their power is evened out, and they are less likely to fret over not having control.