And following Mossman's pics of Lenny & Freya, here's their best friend (& ours but sadly lost in January) Red

And the easy way to tire out a greyhound!!

Rob

I was at Bingley too. I have hazy (read drunken) recollections of singing 'stairway to heaven' in the campsite with a crowd of strangers, one who had a guitar. All friends in mourning. Anyone else recall it?

Remember seeing him at Olympia at Bike 94(?) with Rob Warner et al. Proper role model & hero. Ride free.

Rob

Or a bigger hammer.

Orange X2.
Frame bought new in about '97, was one of the first in the shops, hence the non-standard (but much nicer) colourscheme. So new that first the rear triangle, then later the front triangle were replaced under warranty due to that weird pivot bush design. It lasted almost 8 years till it cracked from the crud catcher boss right round the down tube.

been on 3 tandem rides as stoker since then, which helps keep me saneinsane.

ah, spotted at wee typo there bunnyhop, fixed it for you.

Rob

PS thanks for the email, Sandy will be on the case later.

Am off work but not 'ill', just lost my voice! Not much use as a driving instructor who can only say "squeak" !
Also means Mrs Tandemwarriors can't be argued with, but she is the boss anyway!

Croaky Rob

It is straight forward & logical, just take your time about it and you'll be fine.

First turds, now we're 'carrying a motion'. This toilet humour is getting too much!

I like the idea of an annual TURD, but would prefer to be more regular…….

EDIT – just seen
these

Same as ours. Have got a spare tandem length rear hose in the garage.

Yay, more tandem owners, welcome to the family!

Please get some discs on before you try any 'proper' downhills! Our 'dale had V's to start with. We launched her down Eyam Quarry on her first outing in the peaks. Even with the brakes on from the top we were hitting terminal velocity, thankfully the barrier at the bottom was open, otherwise we'd have been toast. We actually caught a motocross bike on one downhill, and that was with the brakes on!!!

The favourites seem to be Hope M4 / Ti6 / V2's or Magura Louise or Gustav.

Happy fettling!!

Rob & Sandy

Like it!

She's a bit tired today, slept till 10 but has been ok.
Sounds like you're in exactly the same situation as we are, and the tandem is indeed a life saver. A few years ago Sandy needed sticks to walk more than a few meters, she's much better now but just plans when to use her energy.
If you ever want to chat our email is in profile, or she's always on facebook. She takes no encouragement to chat to anybody, and would be delighted to help.

Best wishes,

Rob

PS – if you have a garage full of spare bike bits, our old cannondale tandem frame is sitting in the garage gathering dust. Will leave that thought with you!

nbt – Member
NOOOOO, don't say that, I've only just got her to stop using SPDs on the normal bike!

but a tandem is no normal bike!!!!
We must agree with the esteemed tandemers above, its gotta be spuds, even if you run them with a light release tension so you can bail out. The stoker has so much less warning of impending bumps (even with shouted pace notes from the captain) that they've no chance of riding like on a solo, so they gotta be attached or you'll loose them! Or you'll smack them in the shin when dropping the outside pedal on a corner.

Rear tyre? We're running a WTB Motoraptor. Seems plenty grippy but not too draggy. Combined with a High Roller on the front.

Rob (who's still buzzin from yesterday 😀 )

IIRC there's an old railway path that does most of the job, but it was 20 years ago when I rode it so am sure one of the locals will be along shortly to fill in the details.

falkirk-mark , yep that was us on Nancy.

TJ & SSS, yep a tandemonius tangle of tandemania sounds long overdue.

Rob

Not sure what the correct term is for a collective of tandems, but if you let us know when you'll be up it'd be great to get a few tandems out together.

Rob

We had a tandemtastic day today 😀

First visit of the year to Glentress and we were rockin' (even if we do say so oursleves!)

Sandy's ME was playing up so could only manage a few hours with the energy she had. So up from the Hub (the new climb is sooo much better, and the switchbacks nicely tandem sized).
Then an hour in the freeride park. We were carrying so much speed round the berms today. Not sure what we were doing different to before (think the High Roller on the front may feel more secure) but it was just amazing, suppose like an HGV down the Cresta Run!

Then back down the blue to the Hub, again riding sooooo much better than previous visits, just railing the corners.

One of those rides that leaves you grinning from ear to ear, and that nice feeling that the solo riders watching were gobsmacked!!

Happy tandeming everyone

Rob & Sandy

Undo the inner 8mm in the normal direction (anti-clockwise). That will push against the black cover which functions as a self-extractor, and the crank will magically remove itself from the splines.

Rob

EDIT – I clearly type too slowly!!!

I'm and 'inny' on the solo and an 'outy' on the tandem. Guess the ergonomics of different levers & shifters dictate what feels comfortable.

BB usually lasts 6 months, though I believe they have improved in recent years. Budget £60 for a Hope one to replace it. My Evolve cranks died after 2 years after spline wear made the RH arm wobble.

Now use SLX. Not as bling but feel more solid and will probably last much longer.

Not wishing to be negative, just my experience.

Rob

+1 mountain morph.
Fits happily in my mule and does actually 'pump', rather than 'wheeze' like mini pumps I've had before.
Put it this way, we run 2.3's on the tandem at 50+psi and we went way for the week and I happily left the track pump at home, knowing the mountain morph would happily do the job without killing me.

Tickets booked 😀

'tinternet booking wouldn't play so actually had to phone and speak to a real person! Still good availability apparantly but don't hang around.

And is a long distance picnic similar to a crown race?

long distance picnic

Now that sounds like a whole new riding style…

XC, all mountain, freeride, downhill, long distance picnic.

My vote for long distance picnic every time! Shame its a long way from Scotland.

When I first took our original tandem out, we went down the road and failed to make the corner at the bottom, as my girlfriend (now wife) tried to keep the bike bolt upright which prevented it turning the corner.

Sounds familiar! I remember Sandy & I getting back to her wee Leicestershire village from St John Street cycles in Bridgwater with our spangly new cannondale on the roof. We took it off the car, jumped on board, rode down the cul-de-sac, tried to turn at the bottom and went straight over all the neighbours gardens!
Happy days!

Now, SSS versus Paul & Nic, who's the best? FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!!

Rob

That's a top pic SSS, serious kudos for you both there. 'shore still gives me the wilies on a solo, I really need to MTFU and get better at it on the tandem!
As we're doing some tandem willy waving, here's top lunatics Paul & Nic on the Glentress see saw

Rob

Blimey, just looked at the 28dayslater forum that paul4stones linked. And I thought us bikers were eccentric, they go down storm drains taking photos!
But, undeniably fascinating! Where's me wellies & torch……..

I sent a wheel back via Royal Mail recorded delivery, absolutely fine. I fashioned a wheel box from a big cardboard box and Hope happily reused it.

Sounds like an excuse for a night out in the big city 😀

I'm just going onto my second Swift (the 1.5 3 door) as my driving school car. Servicing very reasonable, my dealer superb (Pearson of Weymess Bay), very reliable, excellent warranty on the few things that needed doing, considering it gets a hard life.
Haven't tried getting a bike inside, but don't think it'd be very sucessful. IIRC there was roof bars in the options brochure.

Rob

Welcome to the exciting and fun world of the tandem! They are an amazingly social machine, everyone stops to talk or gawp.

Pilots need to talk to stokers to let them know about upcoming hazards – when to freewheel, when you're stopping etc

yep, after too many trees in the face Sandy decided a full face helmet was essential stoker-wear!

Rob

Thanks for saving me, the 1.5mm allen key was getting in striking distance and my 'tinkering genes' were about to get the better of me!
Will leave well alone.

Rob

Northwind, thanks for that. Sounds like a day to leave the tandem at home.
Cheers,
Rob

Nickegg, STW is a very scary place sometimes…..

have just done an air sleeve service on my RP23 for the first time, pretty straight-forward, then discovered the rebound dial was stuck. Was just about to start a thread called 'stuck rebound knob on RP23' and spotted yours!

Have blasted it from all directions with GT85 which got some movement, then it stuck again which suggests some grit behind the dial.
There are 3off 1.5mm allen bolts, one in the Propedal lever and 2 on the shock body. If I undo them can I disassemble and clean the propedal & rebound dials, or will my shock explode into a million pieces and I'll be struck down with a bolt of lightening?

Rob

Fancy the sound of Drum, partly from the clips in Home, and partly from the good things said here.
Anyone tried it on a tandem? I like the sound of it being rolling, rather than big up, big down, big up, big down. That sounds tandem friendly (like Whinlatter blue which we did yesterday, that was tandemtastic), but too much rooty work might be awkward.
Any experiences to share?
Thanks.
Rob

Buzzlightyear – an apprentice at RR had a lathe disaster of impressive proportions.
A big Colchester lathe, they had a length of bar stock through the chuck and about 6ft sticking out the back, but foolishly no steady to support it.
Busy turning and the 6ft length starts to run a bit eccentric, then bends a bit, then bends 90degrees, still spinning at 600rpm. It repeatedly smacks into the floor, rips the lathe off the floor and starts bouncing the whole machine around the workshop.
Apprenticeship fail!

Did the same firestarter while still in my pre-pubescant 'expert mechanic' stage. Took hub to shop with freewheel still on and hedgehog-like spikes all round from chopped spokes.
Oh well, its how we learn I suppose…..

lol @ solamanda, just spat my porridge over the monitor!

Also had a crank puller malfunction many years ago as an eager 16 year old 'expert mechanic'(or so I thought on my first Muddy Fox, the lmtd edition red one).
Screwed the puller in nice & tight, then spent 20 minutes with my wimpy muscles swinging on the spanner, achieving nothing but starting to strip the extractor thread.
Utters some mid-pubescant profanity, unscrews puller, finds 14mm crank bolt still in place.
Mmmmmmmmm, that'll be the problem then……….

coogan – Member

All up weight gets a bit scary with the tandems. geroutofmyway – or be flattened

Need to catch people up first

Uphill that's dead true, slower than a slow thing going slowly, but on the way down……..INCOMINNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!