What is the general consensus on MTB tandems?

weirwolf is a good directional front tyre on mrs nbt’s inbred, not really sure about using it as a rear tyre

When it comes to tandem brakes and tyres bigger is always better.

2.5 Minion DHF supertacky front and 2.35 60a rear for normal use.
Swampthing on the front if it’s wet.

Hope Moto brakes with 203 front rotor and 203 vented rotor on the back.

Never boiled them yet.
Though we do sometimes get them so hot they won’t stop us.
I’ve been told that it’s caused by a gas thats created by the heat stopping the pads from gripping the rotor. Happens on train too apparently.

I have just read through this post, (new here) Currently riding a pro Five and wanting to get my 10 yr old son out riding, we have been thinking about a tandem.
he has a mild left sided weakness which affects his ability to balance on 2 wheels. We tried a trail gaiter with great success but he is too big for now and i was wondering if a tandem would be suitable. Not sure on sizes etc.
I am aware that some place hire them including woods n wheels at Hamsterley forest. So when we get an ok week end I am going to be venturing out.
Has anyone else used one with a child?
Just as side note my wife thought that he would have to have stabilisers, not sure if that was a dig at my riding or just not understanding the whole tandem thing, bless her.

Have a look on the MTBR Tandem Forum.

There’s a few folks on there that ride with their kids.

Surely brakes getting so hot they don’t stop you is the same as boiling them? If you are using oil then only a little water in there would boil and stop them working.

Totaly different.

Boiling brakes evapourates the fluid in the system leading to no feeling/pressure at the lever.

Getting them so hot they stop stopping you is a whole other thing.
You still have good lever feel but can’t stop, only slow down.
Feels kind of like badly contaminted pads. They start working again as soon as they cool a little.

singlespeedstu, brake fade is a known problem on trucks and buses, and on cars when towing, caused by excessive heat. Like you say, it does no permanent damage and they work fine again once cooled down, assuming of course you get to the bottom of the hill safely with no brakes.

We went for our first proper ride today. The 180mm brakes have got enough power to lock either wheel on damp tarmac. The only fast road descent we did, reaching 58km/h, had a good run out at the bottom, so we never got the brakes very hot.

We are still learning to get the most from the tandem. We have found the best technique at junction stops is if Mrs MTG stays in the seat and clipped in and I put a foot down.
We’re OK standing to absorb the bumps on descents, but standing to pedal on climbs was a bit of an uncoordinated wobble & lurch.

bigalh, where are you ? We considered hiring a tandem in the Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire, before we bought this one.

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We have found the best technique at junction stops is if Mrs MTG stays in the seat and clipped in and I put a foot down.

Works for most other tandemists too.

standing on climbs is a no-no for us. Sit and spin is the only way we can make it work. We’re running a touring chainset so 26-32 is our lowest gear: I know TJ runs a 22t small cog and he reckons that he gets too much torque from 22-32 and destroys hubs

“Works for most other tandemists too.”
One of those things that are common knowledge to others, but we are having to learn all over. 😀

One minor problem is that I always get on a bike from the left hand side and normally start off by scooting along with my left foot on the pedal and swinging my right leg over once moving.
The scooting and swinging thing is never going to work on a tandem, but Mrs MTG normally gets on from the right and keeps finding that I’ve got there first and have got my right foot on the pedal at the bottom of it’s stroke with my left foot on the floor and the tandem leaning to the left, which makes it a bit awkward for her.

At the moment it’s got 42-32-22 x 11-30 8 speed.
It runs out of grip before we run out of power in 22×30.
I’m used to riding single speed or Rohloff though and my instinct when hitting a short steep climb is to stay in gear and honk up it. I’ll have to get used to using the gears more.

Getting them so hot they stop stopping you is a whole other thing.
You still have good lever feel but can’t stop, only slow down.

How does that work then? What causes it?

What causes it?

Trying to stop at the bottom of long steep hills. 😆

Graham.

When we first went to try out a tandem they gave us a few tips to get us going.
Captain gets on first and stands with legs wide apart away from the pedals.
Then the stoker gets on and clips in. Next the stoker turns the crank so the captains favourite pedal for setting off is in the correct position. Captain then clips in that foot and you both pedal off together.

Sound a bit long winded but works rather well as a base until you get to know what works for the pair of you.

We’ve got to the stage now when we aproach a gate, mrs ssstu jumps off opens the gate and i ride through. she them jumps back on as i ride out of the gate. 😀

As said before, it is really worth getting a suspension post too, my wife was really struggling until we got one for her.

I had to shout out for bumps without one (I kept forgetting….)

It does get better as you sort of learn to move with the captain but that does take quite a lot of practice. We got a older version USE one for about £30 from CRC.

“How does that work then? What causes it?”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fade
Or, to put it briefly, there’s a maximum temperature at which friction linings will still create friction with the disc or drum.
Long descents can raise the brakes above that temperature, so that they no longer work, just when you need them most.

“Captain gets on first and stands…”
Yeah, like a lot of things it sounds complicated when written down, but I’m sure it soon becomes second nature.

“I had to shout out for bumps…”
I’m doing that too. The 2.3″ tyres are surprisingly good at soaking up the bumps, but we’ll probably get a suspension seat post as well.

We’ve got to the stage now when we aproach a gate, mrs ssstu jumps off opens the gate and i ride through. she them jumps back on as i ride out of the gate.

Ooooh, need to suggest that one to mrs tandemwarriors, though I think with her wee legs we may need an ejector seat!

We also can’t stand and pedal, so lots of grunting low gears. We have folded the 32t sprocket over on a SRAM cassette before!

Graham. I’ve a USE shokpost in the garage if you’re interested.

Rob

Thanks, if it’s 27.2mm, then yes.

Not sure it’s worth the money, as a lot of the bits look distinctly ‘average’ but…

Lapierre Tandem in ‘invite-only’ CRC sale:
£1439.99

Frame – Tandem X2 Race Mtb Alloy Hydroformed
Shock Absorber –
Fork – Suntour Duro 20 Qlc 1,5 120-160mm
Headset – Fsa Big Fat Pig 1.5″
Bottom Bracket – Shimano Octalink Bbes25c18
Crankset – Shimano Lx Td Fcm571 26x36x48 170mm
Stem – Syncros Am 1.5 80mm / Lapierre Tdm 27.2
Seatpost – Suntour Ncx 27.2×350 / Syncros
Handlebars – Syncros Fr2014 40×710 / Black Straight 25.4×580
Front Derailleur – Shimano Slx Fdm661l6 34.9
Rear Derailleur – Shimano Xt Rd-M772sgs
Brakes – Formula Rx 203 White/Blue
Shifters – Shimano Slx 3x9s
Saddle – Lapierre By Sanmarco White/Blue
Wheel – Alex Fr32 / Lapierre Hubs
Sprocket – Shimano Hg50 11×32 9s
Tires – Continental Rubberqueen Tr 26×2.40
Weight – 20.9kg

When we first went to try out a tandem they gave us a few tips to get us going.
Captain gets on first and stands with legs wide apart away from the pedals.
Then the stoker gets on and clips in. Next the stoker turns the crank so the captains favourite pedal for setting off is in the correct position. Captain then clips in that foot and you both pedal off together.

A further refinement – Cap’n gets on by leaning the bike away from him and lifting right foot straight over top tube (as opposed to swinging over saddle as on a solo) then stands as above with left pedal forward and crank horizontal. Stoker mounts by putting left foot on pedal then swinging leg over cowboy style whilst Cap’n holds brakes on. Pedals then repositioned for takeoff if necessary.

We mount the other way around and most other tandem racers we’ve seen do too. The captain trys to stay on the bike as much as possible with the stoker hopping on and off as necessary to lift the back end around obstacles.

When we’ve both been pushing I throw my right leg over the front bars and clip in on the right, by this time Madame has lifted her foot over the rear top tube and as I feel her right foot hit the pedal I set off with both of us giving a good push with the left foot to get rolling. A good shove and a half turn of the cranks is usually enough to gain enough speed to allow us to get our left feet on the pedals before a stall.

We’re not the most gifted crew so we often resort to running through technical sections where more able crews can still ride – running often proves faster than riding but would no doubt offend any purists watching.

Even if I use SPDs up front Madame often has flats on the back so she can bale and get back on more easily.

Racing will certainly warrant speed over elegance.

Just been directed to this thread as I have recently been loaned a tandem by Charlotte’s tandems. I am using the tandem to encourage my son, who cant ride a bike due to a disability, to get out on a bike.

Been out for a couple of rides but I am having problems transporting it.

I currently have a Thule 591 bike rack but obviously the tandem is too long, does anyone have any suggestions how I can use this type of rack or any suggestions of what rack you use.

My 6 year old has learning difficulties so I bought a Kona Ute to take her out on family bike rides. I found the Thule 591 wasn’t long enough for the Ute. I toyed with the idea of a third spar across the roof for the back wheel but ended up buying an Avenir Tandem rack. It isn’t of the same quality as Thule gear but it does the job. Hardest part is lifting the bike onto the roof of a people carrier!

Tredz doing them for £80.

I use a kayak V bar http://www.kirtonkayaks.co.uk/home/index.php/shop/shop-racks/134-v-bar-kit with a hole drilled in it and an front axle bolted through. Front wheel off, forks clamped to the axle, rear wheel strapped to the back of the bar. I already had the V bar (and still use it mostly to carry kayaks around – I currently own a Mondeo estate, and before that a 406 estate which the tandem will fit in the back of with seats down and wheels off), so it only cost me about £10 to make, however I’m sure you could buy a length of aluminium section to do something similar with.

I was looking at buying a second hand thule 591 rack and cutting it up trying to extend the bar that I have. but I think it will take some engineering which I am not capable of doing myself.

Cheaper and easier to follow my suggestion. I checked on ebay and you can get suitable lengths of alu section for £15 to £20 delivered, and then you just have to be capable of drilling holes.

Pendle do a roof rack thingy for tandems.