I’m thinking of getting a tandem which we can use offroad, nothing too extreme as my wife is a novice MTB’er. I don’t want to spend a fortune so was thinking of buying something like the Raleigh Pioneer to start.

Does anyone have any experience of the Raleigh and know if this is a relatively strong frame I can use and upgrade over time? I’m not too worried about the weight, I just don’t want to buy a frame which will crack or worse as soon as I give it any stress offroad.

I’ve already got a pair of suspension forks and some xt disc brakes I could use on the 1st upgrade.

I’d also be interested if anyone’s got a 2nd hand tandem for sale.

Any advise will be appreciated
Nick

mrs xiphon and I hired a “Barracuda California” from the LBS – comfy to ride and had disks.

Would most likely get one like that in the future – we’re on a tandem, so unlikely to be going gnarrrr’

http://www.bikedock.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-bd.tpl&product_id=11383&category_id=21&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

WOrth having a look through previous tandem threads to see the relativemerits of cheap tandems vs more expensive models

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/tags/tandem

and I did se a tandem in the classifieds a day or two back

the Dawes mountain tandem is pretty good for the cash. Could take a sus fork too.
You should check on tandem club UK website. Have a second hand section.

Oh, you mean one of these?

IMG_2624web by colinsphotos26, on Flickr

Hi mate, I recently got an Orbit andromeda mtb tandem and all I can say is its quite a hoot. I would try and find yourself one that has full suspension. Remember the person on the back can’t respond to bumps in quite the same way a solo rider can. If you can’t find one at a reasonable price then getting something like a thudbuster on the back can be a suitable alternative.

Mine currently has shit forks/shocks/brakes and tyres. I have naerly all the bits I need to make it into a true offroad beast and I can’t wait.

Thanks all

I’m sure a full susser will be out of my budget, but good advise re the thudbuster. I was only thinking of spending £600 ish, mainly for a durable frame and basic bike I can upgrade with bits’n’pieces from my garage over time so the Raleigh and Barracuda kind of level look ideal.

Is that definitely the Raleigh in the pic? Looks very similar and if it can handle Glentress then I guess that answers my question 🙂

I did search the forum before posting but couldn’t find first hand experience of anyone riding the budget tandems offroad. I’ll search again.

Cheers
Nick

I think I took the same approach as you getting a semi-decent bike which was worth upgrading with mostly parts I already own. my big pitfall was I didn’t check what gears were on the bike so it has horrible gripshift + 8 speed rear. This means I’ve just bought 9 speed cassette + chain + 2 shifters which was more money than I really wanted to spend. Live and learn though.

well, the Dawes Mountain tandem rides pretty well off-road. It is stable (with a sus fork) and has disc tabs (not the earlier versions) so can stop properly. Other than going mega bucks, it makes a great bike.

Can take a fairly big rear tyre, but it could do with more clearance TBH. Not a real show-stopper… but drops marks slightly here.

That looks like it might be the quite lovely Rob and Sandra. Oh they are mad as well 🙂

If it is them then that’s not the Raleigh. Big fork, hydro discs etc

If you have any aspirations to do offroad things then avoid the cheap tandems. You don;t get much bang for your buck in the world of tandeming so a second hand machine would be ideal.

We started with a Dawes double edge, then graduated to a Landescape. Huge difference in comfort and control off road when you have big tubes designed for the task.

Cheap tandems are fine for the very occassional jaunt. Viking do one that’s super cheap that our friends ride.

enjoy – its great fun 🙂

R

Offroad tandeming is AWSUM fun.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWUwKnnNMR0[/video]

Mincy by sheldonattwood, on Flickr

I’d appreciate if anyone can help me compile a list of the MTB tandems available to purchase new in the UK. Ignoring tourers and assuming a MTB tandem should have disc brakes and suspension or capable of having suspension fitted. The names and rough prices I’ve come across so far:

Make / Model : Approx £ (fully built)
Viking ? : £?
Raleigh Pioneer : £600
Barracuda California : £650
Dawes Double Edge : £1400
Lapierre VTT : £2400
Co Motion Periscope : £5000
Ventana El Conquistador : £5000
Landescape ? : £?

cannondale? Check JD tandems for a specialist tandem shop http://www.tandems.co.uk/
or http://www.mtbtandems.com/fd_tandem_models.html ( in the USA )

Cheap and offroad really does not go together. Off road tandems puts a lot of strain on components.

Try before you buy – if you are local to us you can try ours and spend as much as you can afford if you are going to enjoy riding one.

Wwe run a cannondale mt 800 with uprated components – hope 6 pots, zi fork , big un hubs etc etc

tandem fence by TandemJeremy, on Flickr

I can’t find offroad tandems on Cannondale’s UK website. Have they stopped making them?

Nicolai do some good looking ones..

i quite fancy an Ellsworth Witness:

I like the looks of the Cannondale, but as slowoldgit asks – are these still made? I guess keeping an eye on ebay and here is the best bet.

Thanks for the trial offer. I’m just off on holiday, but will look into this more when I’m back.

I’m in the US and I can only find a road tandem on the Cannondale.com website; I don’t see a mountain tandem.

maybe they stopped making them. Mountain tandems were called MT something – ours is MT 800.

I’m in the process of putting 3×9 on my tandem. At the moment an 8 speed road chainset is on the front. I have deore xt mtb derailleur/shifter and I was wondering if anyone can tell me if these will shift correctly on a Road 3×9 crankset?

YIAT mtb shifter and road front mechs don’t mix sadly.

cynic-al. Its a MTB shifter AND deraillauer. The road part is the front chainset.

Its all a bit confusing.

Ah OK the spacing will be correct then but the mech is designed to work with smaller chainrings so that may cause problems.

Ok Thanks Al. I have a SR Suntour mech on there at the moment that works with the 48 tooth so I always have that as a backup if the XT doesn’t work.

Good thread.
Ms TPT and I had a go at Tandem Experience around Ironbridge/Bridgenorth:
http://www.tandeming.co.uk/
Nice chap, helped us build our confidence up after a poor first start elsewhere.
Has a sister shop:

Home

JD tandems had some awesome looking Ventana’s, amongst others, when I popped in t’other week. Seriously helpful people there too. Worth a call/email.

oh and if you have lots of questions it’s worth getting in touch with the Nutts at MTBTandems. US based but really very helpful and passionate about MTB tandeming. We almost built the flight cost into the budget to go and see them!

TM

I’ve got a 6yr old Raleigh Pioneer and I’d say it’s strong enough for Glentress duties. I upgraded the cable discs to hydraulic and the rigid fork to a Revelation, oh and it has a Thudbuster style seatpost for Mrs Beagleboy.

I’ve only been proper off-road on it a couple of times as this has generally ended with painfully bruised kidneys, so we tend to just stick to towpaths and country lanes now. However if your riding partner is more adventurous or packs a lighter right hook, you should get on Ok with it methinks.

If you live near Stirlingshire drop me a line and you can take it out for a test run.

Thanks Beagleboy and all

That’s good to know regarding the Pioneer, is that 150mm Revelations you have on it?

I’d be keen to see a pic if you have one?

Nick

MTB Tandem for sale – well my mate is selling his for not a lot of cash – email in profile.

I have one of the early MTBTandem Fandango’s. I’m located Surry/hants, email me if you want to try it out.

We progressed to this after an old red Dawes Double Edge, which was sold on here many years ago, a few people on here have since owned it 🙂

pic – Lon Las Cymru Start
pic – About to get wet

Martin..

Just thought, here’s a before and after pic of our tandem when I added sus forks

It originally came with V-brakes 😯 😯

You could hear the rims heating up and “pinging” when braking on anything more than a slight incline

slowjo
YGM

Same as Hantsnightrider here, Fandango from Alex at mtbtandems.

Excellent advice, superb service and highly recommended though he does a 29er fandango these days. Proper nice bloke as we had dinner one night with him and his family when passing through Altanta a few years back. Definately worth emailing him to see what he can recommend or offer.

Sorry I’m a bit late on this one, but as the photo is of us at Glentress, then I’ll chip in!
@Twiglett-monster – Hi rich, long time no see, how’s the toaster? Well spotted, it is indeed us on our latest steed Nancy.

@xiphon, if you want to write offensive things about people you don’t know, prehaps think before pressing ‘enter’. If you’d rather take Sandys place then I’ll see you at Glencoe next weekend and you can ride the red DH route like we did this weekend.

As far as the bike, it’s not a Raleigh, its a Ventana El conquistador. It came from JD cycles after we’d tried their demo bike. Brilliant shop, brilliant people.
We do have our original cannondale frame for sale (looks similar to TJ’s) if you want to build one up.
The main problem you’ll find on the lower end frames (even the cannondales) is the bottom brackets are a normal solo bike height around 11-12 inches. When the going gets bumpy you’ll be grounding the boom tube & smacking your stokers toes onto rocks or upslopes. The off-road specific frames raise the BB to around 13-14 inches.

Cheers,
Rob

What do you want for the frame rob?

Thanks Rob

I’d be interested in the frame if you have further details. My email is in my signature.

Thanks
Nick

Bit late to this one, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Raleigh Pioneer that we got second hand (but hardly used). Decent frame, could plug a sus fork into it, has disc mounts, room for big tyres. The stock components are about what you’d expect but a few choice upgrades from the shed sorted that out. We use it mainly for ferrying children around but it’s fine on gentle off-road. Don’t know if I’d tackle the kinds of things Rob’s doing, but for the money I reckon it’s a great bet. There’s been a few on ebay for around £300 recently.

@xiphon, if you want to write offensive things about people you don’t know, prehaps think before pressing ‘enter’. If you’d rather take Sandys place then I’ll see you at Glencoe next weekend and you can ride the red DH route like we did this weekend.

An apology is required here….

Just acquired a Dawes Double Edge and now with a few hundred miles on it after a couple of weeks, have the following comments that I hope help.
Great bike now that it has a decent handlebar and stem on, 710 dh bars and chunky stem make a huge difference to handling. So far, we’ve only used it for light trails, commuting and a tour with trailer, which it hauls absolutely fine. The slightly slow gear shifting requires a bit of communication to ‘back off’ the power, especially on up shifts.
I’m very happy with the original 2x cable discs and I’d be cagey about heat build up on long descents with hydraulics; more so on tours with the trailer. Tandemwarriors knows better than I do on this though.
The stock wheels are heavy but strong, which is the main thing. I know of a couple of these that have had big forks with 20mm maxles added and these ride really well on moderate singletrack where ground clearance hasn’t become an issue.
There’s a good margin on Dawes, so you may be able to secure a bit of discount on one, although supply of new ones is a bit erratic.