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I think I have it sussed with a new niche. superlongandheavypacking 😉 allways room for a new niche
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1738/41830953965_7a94d44b7f_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1738/41830953965_7a94d44b7f_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/26Jszfe ]DSC_0404[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr
Two week camping tour of the highlands. It could be sunny and hot, it will rain at some point, it could be a "frost in sheltered glens". For two weeks for us old gits comfy is nice. It actually rides and handles surprisingly well which is just as well as the route is 50/50 road and offroad and 250+ miles with 30 000ft of climb. Thank goodness for low gears! Last time we did this we put it on a weighbridge at Oban - with the pair of us ( built for comfort not speed) we were well over 200kg
What would Mike do?
😉
Enjoy your trip.
Where is his coffee pot? His chairs?
30 000ft of climb
= 30 000ft of downhill. Don't touch the rotors, they'll be hot !!
Have a good trip.
Enjoy.
You should have done one of those photos with all the kit laid out and you lying next to it
Its actually just stuffed with cushions right now - just checking all the luggage fits on OK and nothing fouls. Not heading off until next week. I'll do one of those pictures tho
You should have done one of those photos with all the kit laid out and you lying <span style="text-decoration: underline;">behind</span> to it
That's excellent 🙂.
What's the spec on the tandem, looks just the job.
Cannondale mt 800 frame - must be pushing 20 years old. rohloff hub on 37/16 gearing so nice and low. Hope 6 pots 200 front 180 rear. 'zocchi z1lite fork modified by me ( increased mechanical preload, thicker oil, higher oil levels) thudbuster on the rear seat 48 spoke front wheel on a hope big un
Maxxis larson tyres - dual ply rear
On a slight tangent (but not really, cos it could potentially end up with me bikepacking on a tandem!) what are your feelings re. one person being a much stronger cyclist than the other? Does it work? Is it better & can you cover more ground easier than just going at the pace of the slower person?
You go at the average speed of the two of you - I probably put in 55- 60% of the effort ( apart from on hills where a tandem is slower for reasons no one can explain. ) But Mrs TJ jas better endurance
We also had a clash of styles ie on solos I like to pedal downhill, Mrs TJ freewheels down so you tend to average that out as well. It also means you can chat as you go along and the person on the back does not need to watch the road on easy stuff so can get a good look at the scenery.
We love it but its not for everyone. Live anywhere near Edinburgh you can borrow it for a shot if you want
blimey. panniers on the trailer, for extra comfort!
have fun mr & mrs tj..
Very kind offer, sadly I'm in the SE so a long way away!Live anywhere near Edinburgh you can borrow it for a shot if you want
Do you ever swap around or is the same person always front/back?
@zilog - tandem touring is great, so much more pleasant than waiting/worrying about/trying to keep pace on solos but load carrying can be tricky. Managed to persuade my better half that we'd b&b it rather than camp for our first proper tour, which proved the right decision - but I've just rebuilt ours with off-road capability in mind & looking forward to a few bike packing weekend trips when the time permits. Not sure how we will manage the loading, we bust 4 spokes out of a 48 spoke rear wheel on road with panniers, so a trailer like TJ's may be on the cards ☺️
Edit - Mrs Db always on the back with us
usually me on the front - standover is a bit high for Mrs TJ and she finds it difficult to balance with me on the back also different seats at different angles so we really need to swap seats. shame really as sitting on the back watching the scenery is nice
The handling especially offroad is much better with the trailer and wind resistance is much lower. Its not a huge amount more space than 4 panniers and a rack bag. Its an utter pain to park and and manouvere in urban environments tho so we do use panniers when we are going to be in towns a lot like on this Netherlands tour
[url= https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4111/5055088636_c335794556_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4111/5055088636_c335794556_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/8GGDJC ]42 Windmills bicycle and us[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr
I wonder how many drivers thought they could just nip by, and found out they were trying to overtake a supertanker.
What's the turning circle like? Presumably you actively avoid any zigzag trails on the map.
We can do foot up U turns in a about a 5 - 6 m space. The trailer does not affect it compared to unloaded. If its really tight Mrs TJ pedals it slowly while I paddle around Zig zags are usually OK ( we have done the steep zig zags onthe spooky wood climb unladen) If its too tight to make a u turn tho its an utter pain - 3 pt turns are almost impossible for me
Did you pack a hairbrush or is the ponytail intended to reduce maintenance?
From the early days of Glentress there was a pic of someone - Edinburgh - Ian someone? - on the berm descent off the black radio mast.. looked a blast.
For the trailer, you really need a flag to top it all off. No, not the EBC / yellow one, I'll see if I can provide a link to ones we got done for NL last month...