Popular Post JerrySTL ★ Posted July 1, 2021 Popular Post Share #1 Posted July 1, 2021 Some might remember that just before WoJSTL and I did the GAPCO ride, the rear wheel on the tandem basically self-destructed. 3 broke spokes plus another one pulled out of the rim. The bike came with a strange rear wheel having a disk brake and a 7-speed freewheel. I could only find one wheel like that and it was a cheap single-wall rim. Therefore I bought a MTB wheelset with an 8-speed hub. I found a 7-speed cassette and placed a thin spacer to make up the difference. This allowed me to use the 7-speed rear derailleur and shifter. Now that the trip is done, I had time to find an 8-speed rear derailleur, shifter, and cassette. I installed them today. The new combination has a 34-tooth granny gear as opposed to the 7-speed's 32 so that should help on steep climbs. Plus the extra gear makes for smaller jumps. I also replaced the knobby tires with some smoother 26x2.125" tires. I'll store the knobby tires in case we want to do something like the Erie Canal or Katy Trail. Tomorrow WoJSTL and I are going to ride our ages in kilometer which is about 42 miles if you want to do the math. Hopefully it all works well. 9 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted July 1, 2021 Share #2 Posted July 1, 2021 Good to hear you are still getting a lot of use from the tandem. I think the couples who can pull it off also stick with it. I see several tandem riders regularly, and over the year, I start to recognize them and their various unique bikes. There are quite a few varieties of them out there - from "normal" to pretty interesting recumbent types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted July 1, 2021 Share #3 Posted July 1, 2021 Also, while I doubt 8sp cassettes nor 26" tires are going to disappear completely in the next few years, you may want to start looking for bargain closeouts and buy a nice stockpile. Chains too? I have seen, in the past few years, selection and availability of 26" tires (and wheels) go WAY DOWN. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share #4 Posted July 1, 2021 1 minute ago, Razors Edge said: Good to hear you are still getting a lot of use from the tandem. I think the couples who can pull it off also stick with it. I see several tandem riders regularly, and over the year, I start to recognize them and their various unique bikes. There are quite a few varieties of them out there - from "normal" to pretty interesting recumbent types. The strangest tandem that I've seen was a recumbent in the front and somewhat regular bike in the back. I found a photo of one. There's once couple who ride a tandem around her that cost about $15K. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share #5 Posted July 1, 2021 2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: Also, while I doubt 8sp cassettes nor 26" tires are going to disappear completely in the next few years, you may want to start looking for bargain closeouts and buy a nice stockpile. Chains too? I have seen, in the past few years, selection and availability of 26" tires (and wheels) go WAY DOWN. I think the tire and tube shortage issues might have something to do with the pandemic bicycling boom. No problem finding chains (need 2 single-speed chains for the front) but the 8-speed shifter was difficult to locate. Speaking of which, they are Schwalbe Big Apple tires. They are made in China and were shipped from Holland to me through Amazon. Seems that they may have been most of the way around the world. If you have a tandem, you definitely want to carry a rear derailleur and brake cable. They are about 3500 mm long and a lot of bike shops don't carry them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted July 1, 2021 Share #6 Posted July 1, 2021 8 minutes ago, JerrySTL said: The strangest tandem that I've seen was a recumbent in the front and somewhat regular bike in the back. I definitely see some of those style. Not sure of the brands, but those do catch your eye. I'd also think that most new tandems are crazy expensive as they are almost "custom" these days with such a small market share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted July 1, 2021 Share #7 Posted July 1, 2021 1 hour ago, JerrySTL said: If you have a tandem, you definitely want to carry a rear derailleur and brake cable. They are about 3500 mm long and a lot of bike shops don't carry them. Hmm... now I'm worried. I suppose I should check my cables. Just today... the rear derailleur (9 speed) caused the chain to skip a few teeth from time to time in some of the smaller cogs. I was thinking I need to adjust the cable. Now I need to look closer... maybe my old cable is starting to fail. Of course I don't have cables. 1 hour ago, Razors Edge said: I think the couples who can pull it off also stick with it. Yeah... WoBG and I have been riding our tandem since 2004. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted July 1, 2021 Share #8 Posted July 1, 2021 1 hour ago, JerrySTL said: The strangest tandem that I've seen was a recumbent in the front and somewhat regular bike in the back. I found a photo of one. There's once couple who ride a tandem around her that cost about $15K. Ok it looks like the Back rider shifts the gears and worked the brakes but who steers? Does that mean the stoker has the front seat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MoseySusan Posted July 1, 2021 Popular Post Share #9 Posted July 1, 2021 #2 son and mr. ride a Trek T900 tandem. I tried to ride with #2 in Colorado, but he said, “That’s dad’s job!” and he wouldn’t pedal. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted July 1, 2021 Share #10 Posted July 1, 2021 8 minutes ago, MoseySusan said: he wouldn’t pedal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted July 1, 2021 Share #11 Posted July 1, 2021 Many happy miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted July 2, 2021 Share #12 Posted July 2, 2021 6 hours ago, JerrySTL said: WoJSTL and I are going to ride our ages in kilometer which is about 42 miles if you want to do the math. Of course we want to do the math! Let's see... 42 miles rounds up to about 68 kilometers, and there are two of you (of course!) riding the tandem. If you are riding your ages and we assume you're each the same age, then: Let x = your age = WoJSTL's age x + x = 68 2x = 68 x = 68/2, or you and WoJSTL are both about 34. Am I close? 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rattlecan ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Popular Post Share #13 Posted July 2, 2021 I own a tandem that was given to me by the original owner who purchased it new in the mid 60s. It is a Schwinn Twinn Deluxe, date of manufacture according to the Schwinn serial data base is Oct 22nd 1964. I did a complete resto mod on it including a paint job, new wheels and drive train hoping my wife would get into it, but it only took her a couple of tries to determine that she hated it. I got some use out of it when my grandkids were small, but in recent years, it has been stored in my mother's garage and her neighbour kids use it from time to time. Photo is with my son and grand daughter who is now 15, so it was a while ago. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #14 Posted July 2, 2021 Schwinn Twinn. Cool name. David Schwimmer would approve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlecan ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #15 Posted July 2, 2021 Just now, Philander Seabury said: Schwinn Twinn. Cool name. Yup. 65 pounds of Chicago electroforged goodness. The tubing is so thick, I didn't even need rivnuts to install the bottle cages. I was able to just drill and tap. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #16 Posted July 2, 2021 3 minutes ago, Rattlecan said: Yup. 65 pounds of Chicago electroforged goodness. The tubing is so thick, I didn't even need rivnuts to install the bottle cages. I was able to just drill and tap. It was cool we had a bike store here that finally closed maybe 10 years ago and up to the end it was like stepping into the 50s. Huge store full of Schwinns i think, run by an old couple. I was quite surprised when I found it while looking for a tube. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Author Share #17 Posted July 2, 2021 We recently rode with a guy on a Twinn like yous. He was riding solo on it as his wife didn't feel like riding that day. About the only similarities with mine were the name and number of seats and wheels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlecan ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #18 Posted July 2, 2021 5 minutes ago, JerrySTL said: We recently rode with a guy on a Twinn like yous. He was riding solo on it as his wife didn't feel like riding that day. About the only similarities with mine were the name and number of seats and wheels. Mine originally had a 5 speed derailleur drive train with a drum brake on the rear and caliper on the front. I converted it to a Shimano Nexus 8 speed with roller brakes front and rear. I replaced the original 571mm rims with 559s so the caliper brake was not going to work. The bike actually works very well, and has a reasonably good ratio range as long as you don't head for the big hills. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #19 Posted July 2, 2021 very cool, enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Author Share #20 Posted July 2, 2021 Out riding it now. So far so good 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #21 Posted July 2, 2021 Just now, JerrySTL said: We recently rode with a guy on a Twinn like yours. He was riding solo on it as his wife didn't feel like riding that day. About the only similarities with mine were the name and number of seats and wheels. That is SO CRAZY. A re-post from some Cafe hiccup??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Author Share #22 Posted July 2, 2021 1 minute ago, Razors Edge said: That is SO CRAZY. A re-post from some Cafe hiccup??? Not sure what happened. I just changed the duplicate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #23 Posted July 2, 2021 I think tandems are cool. My wife and I think about it but we seem to be enjoying our solos as is. We do so much together already that the idea of also being attached on a bike doesn't come with some resistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlecan ★ Posted July 2, 2021 Share #24 Posted July 2, 2021 17 minutes ago, Dottles said: I think tandems are cool. My wife and I think about it but we seem to be enjoying our solos as is. We do so much together already that the idea of also being attached on a bike doesn't come with some resistance. As they say, whichever direction your marriage is headed, a tandem will get you there faster. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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