Hi I have probably left this a little late for Christmas but are looking for a tandem for me and my partner i am 5 foot 9 and the other half is 5 foot 4 ish!.
Anyone got any advice or do not do it storys?
Will it just sit in the garage for ever?
Cheers

@tjagain

That’ll sort you out

Do it. We bought one and love it. Ridden it loads. Upgraded to a newer one recently. There’ve been a few threads giving advice around tandems, if you search my posting history you will see some of them

EDIT – cheeky link to our old tandem which will fit you perfectly, since I’m 5’9″ and Mrs NBT is 5’4″

Latest Classified Ads

DOuble edit – except it isn’t as they won’t let you link to a specific advert. Helpful, that is. The tandem is in the classifieds though

Road or off road? A used Dawes or Cannondale with 26” wheels is a good start. Stronger wheels, flat bars are also useful for beginners. Tandem Club is on FB and you can post a wanted there. Often plenty on EBay. They can be a pain to move around. We had a dedicated carrier on the roof.

“Wherever your relationship is going, you’ll get there quicker on a tandem”

EDIT. Buy nbt’s. Great price for a nice bike that will suit you fine. You don’t need front bounce on the road but it’s a lovely bike.

What’s the attraction compared to 2 individual bikes? I don’t see any to be honest, if it’s because one person is weaker/slower then get that one an ebike instead.

Thanks all Pm sent nbt

+1 for the Dawes nbt is selling, we’ve got the same model and it’s been great

I bought one (Ridgeback Panorama) in October for my g/f and I to cycle to le mans next summer bikepacking.

We’ve done about 10 hours on it and absolutely love it.

Wholeheartedly recommend it!

Benv I rode thousands of miles on my kiddyback tandem. That’s adult on the front and child sized on the back. It’s pretty hard to ride with a kid on their own bike at 15 mph, E bike or not.

For adults a tandem smooths out differences, provides a sense of teamwork and offers speed on the flat you won’t see on a single bike. Think double the power for about 30% more air resistance. Of course for those unable to see/balance, Tandem’s are a Godsend.

The dirty secret is that riding on the back is actually much more fun and more relaxing, no worries about steering, braking, traffic woes, just enjoy the view. Some stokers get to shift gears. If you like communication, you’ll like tandems.

What’s the attraction compared to 2 individual bikes? I don’t see any to be honest, if it’s because one person is weaker/slower then get that one an ebike instead.

It’s a good way to move 2 people and some luggage if you stick a rack and panniers on it and they’re a good laugh.

We got a cheap-ish aluminium Raleigh something-or-other MTB tandem for about £250, we chucked new cables on it (and routed them properly!) and some nicer (trigger) shifters on it to replace the awful gripshitters (not a typo) that were on it. It’s no wonder people give up on things if they only ever try crappy stuff.

The attraction is that the two of you can ride together even with different skills and fitness.

It’s also fun

What’s the attraction compared to 2 individual bikes?

You can hold a conversation while riding without having to shout.

The long wheelbase makes them super stable, combined with the extra momentum you can ride through rock gardens and over terrain that would stop a short travel solo bike dead.

If you can ride a tandem together your marriage will last.

Only downside is you can’t get round really tight bends on singletrack and they can get stranded like a long wheelbase truck on hump back bridge.

Mrs nbt here – We have such fun on ours.

We’ve been hardcore mtbiking on it. Gentle off roading on it, touring, shopping, visiting the pub, big all day rides and very short rides.

It’s fast on the downs and a tad slower on the steeper ups. The stoker gets to look around and enjoy the surrounds. Yes good team work is needed.

Most people who get a tandem are hooked.

We have a Dawes edge. I find riding the tandem bloody knackering.

Thanks for all the replies, I am pretty sure I am going to be going with nbt`s and bunnyhops tandem hopefully this is not a mistake!.
She did say buy me something special!

Try adding a tag along, two kids and luggage. Yes it can be hard work – they just don’t have the power to weight ratio! But always worth it.

Special you say. There’s. Titanium S&S titanium Santana on EBay. That was a ten grand bike. Personally I’m holding out for a Haze Pino for our next tandem for Mrs TiRed. Recumbent stoker in front of the captain. Electric assist is now a thing too!

tjagain

Member
The attraction is that the two of you can ride together even with different skills and fitness.

Aye, but then god invented ebikes. 😆

different strokes for different folks. As above, physical (or other) disabilities might be an issue (can’t just buy an e-bke for a blind stoker), but also some folks just wouldn’t ever feel confident enough to ride a bike on the road whether it’s an e-bike or not

donkeydave wrote:

Thanks for all the replies, I am pretty sure I am going to be going with nbt`s and bunnyhops tandem hopefully this is not a mistake!.
She did say buy me something special!

From what you’ve said in email you will love this. Mind you the upgrades can get spendy so be strong…

We need to see a pic of it gift wrapped under the tree

You’re going to have to buy a bigger tree.

Post Christmas bump, how was it received? Hoping there was lots of positivity and you’ve been out on it already?

Good timing – I’ve just put the final missing bits back on my 26in Cannondale.

Let’s rock!

Has anyone mentioned the UK MTB tandem FB group too? I think it must be time for another gathering… 🙂

@chipps

Need to revisit the 2020 meetup thing, asked preliminary questions on the FB group after going to a US tandem meet last September, started looking for location and dates, CYB and mid June is the rough plan, fancy joining us, have a spare tandem too to bring along if anyone else is interested after our recent upgrade.

June is full of many crazy things – Frontier300, Tweedlove, Fort William, Mayhem etc…

I’d be keen to come along/help pitch in, but June is probably (already) out for me.