🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Nov3.173931.5693@nas.nasa.gov> blake@wk60.nas.nasa.gov (Matthew W. Blake) writes:

   Comments on these particular bikes?

Never tried the Trek tandems. Santana has a questionable reputation
for after sale service if net.opinion is to be believed. Ibis and
Santana are (relatively) expensive for what you get.

   What are your thoughts on 26 inch vs. 700cc wheels for road riding
   tandems?

Much better choice of tires and rims for 700C wheels. 48 spokes rims
are impossible to find in 26". I end up buying a 700C tandem since we
are not planning on any single track. Even with a road tandem, if you
put 700x35 tires (or wider, Bruce Gordon sells 700x43 tires), you can
certainly ride on dirt roads.

   Do I need a drum brake?

How fast do you want to go on downhills? And how long are the hills
you are likely to find? How safe do you (collectively) feel about high
speeds?

   Anyone riding and Ibis tandem?

Not the Uncle Fester. I have tried the Cousin It. It's a nice bike
but you can get one custom build for a little more money. Lippy was
quoting about US$2900 with a few available at $2600 with older
groupos.

Good luck. Send mail mail if you wish to hear more of my prejudices.

--

Spencer Cheng     scheng@BNR.CA  Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada  613-763-4046

In article <1992Nov3.173931.5693@nas.nasa.gov> blake@wk60.nas.nasa.gov (Matthew W. Blake) writes:
>Hi folks, I'm in the market for a tandem for myself (6'3", 180lbs) and
>my wife (5'6", 120lbs) and occasional stoking by my daughter (5', 80lbs).
>I have extensive road/century experience, my wife is a novice. We'll use 
>the tandem exclusively at first for road riding.  I doubt if we'll ever want
>to do off road work, other than perhaps some easy dirt roads.  We live on
>the Penninsula south of San Francisco and will be riding both level terrain
>and hilly areas.
>

I'm 6'1" and my wife is 5'6" and we use a 24"x22" tandem. (24" frame for
captain and 22" frame for stoker). That's typically the largest stock road
frame available. To go smaller you will likely find yourself cramped.
Your daughter may not fit at first but if she's mostly legs like my
daughter she'll be able to fit in a year.

I find that the extra speed is one of the main thrills of tandem riding.
The upright riding position and fat tires found on off road tandems just
takes the edge out of that performance. I have seen people put narrow tires
and drop bars on these machines but they still don't appear to have the
same level of performance as a road tandem.

As for some light off road riding you can put on some 700x35c tires and go.

>We've looked at the following bikes:
>
>- Trek T200, 1992 model, about $2100 on sale
>- Santana Ariva, 92 model, about $2400 on sale(93 model is $2800)
>- Santana Visa, 1993 model, about $2300 with drum brake, 48 spoke wheels
>- Ibis Uncle Fester, 93 model, about $2500, 26 inch wheels
>
>I believe all came similarly equiped, a mix of Deore DX or XT componenets, 
>clipless pedals.  The stores I talked to were willing to swap a few 
>components to make the bike as we want it anyway.
>
>Comments on these particular bikes?
>Are these prices good?  Anyone know where I can get a better deal?

Last spring I got some literature from Santana showing a substantial price
drop on several models. In particular I remember the Visa dropped from
$1795 to $1495 (I owned a Visa at one time). The prices for Santana sound
high, I don't know about the others.

>What are your thoughts on 26 inch vs. 700cc wheels for road riding tandems?

The 26" wheel is supposed to be stronger than a 700c wheel, but for road
riding 700c is plenty strong. I've not had problems with 700c wheels nor
have many tandem couples I know. For similar tires a 700c wheel has less
rolling resistance but I suspect the difference is on the order of climbing
an extra speed bump over 25 miles. A 700c tire will have a slighter longer
contact patch for better straight line handling which is desirable for road
riding but here again I suspect the difference is small.

>Do I need a drum brake?

The cantilever brakes that come on most tandems have sufficient stopping
power. A drum brake doesn't really add that much. It's purpose is more to
act as a drag brake for long winding descents where rims could be heated
to the point of blowing off a tire. I don't have a drum brake and yet I've
traveled over many mountain passes with my tandem.  I don't believe they're
necessary unless you plan to descend some very steep roads with switch
backs.

November 1992's Bicycling magazine has an article on page 72
about the Uncle Fester they rate it very highly due to it's
lateral stifness and on/off road capability.  They also say the
suggested retail is $2,200.  You can't beat the name.

	Another brand you should check out is called the Burrly tandem
I have ridden one of these before with a blind 10 year old.  (I was 
obviously the captin)  His legs were not long enough so we got a 
special adapter from Burrly that puts another crank set on the seat 
tube of the stoker.  Quite an ingenious set up it lets small children
ride with you.  I don't know where they are distributed from, but 
the bike shop I used to work at carried them.  Give them a call at
(617)244-1040voice and ask who to get in touch with.  Tell them Sanford
sent you.
Good Luck.
                 Sanford D. Whitehouse
                 The Bike Doctor     Boston, Mass.

If you have any other questions
E-Mail bikdoc@acs.bu.edu

>Comments on these particular bikes?
>Are these prices good?  Anyone know where I can get a better deal?
>What are your thoughts on 26 inch vs. 700cc wheels for road riding tandems?
>Do I need a drum brake?
>Anyone riding and Ibis tandem?
>
>Any help would be greatly appreciated,
>
>Matt 
>blake@nas.nasa.gov
>

Matt:
I have many of the same questions.  I am not in the market yet, but I would
like to eventually get a tandem for myself and my wife-to-be.  We are very
close to the same sizes (well, I'm an inch shorter and 20 lbs lighter) and I
would like to hear the responses you get.  Could you forward them to

djv@sabine.psu.edu

(not the address I sent this from -- this is her account).  Thanks a lot.

Dave

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