# Looking to get a tandem bike. . .



## Harksaw (Apr 25, 2005)

So my wife and I are looking into getting a tandem mountain bike. The nearest shop has a nice Burly running around six G's:eekster: , while sears.com has a diamondback tandem running for $250. I:thumbsup: We're hoping to find a non-department-store mountain tandem for something just over one grand. . . Is this feasible? What brands on what websites could we look at? (I"m thinking we definitely want disc brakes but I'm not sure if that's feasible in our price range.)

Is there anything we should definitely get, or avoid? Tips would be much appreciated! Thanks.


----------



## trailville (Jul 24, 2006)

There were quite a few mountain tandems available back in the 90s, but they seem to have faded away since then. There is a tandem specific forum on bikeforums.com that you may want to browse to see if they covered mountain tandems or just start a new post . Don't mean to push you away from mtbr, but I just think you'll have better luck there.

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=44


----------



## damion (Jun 27, 2003)

*Have you ever ridden one?*

If not, GO RENT ONE FIRST!

Make sure it is something you are interested in first, before spending the money. Spouses that cycle together do not always go for the tandem feeling.


----------



## Rufudufus (Apr 27, 2004)

Burley Zydeco: http://www.tandemcycleworks.com/burley_album/pages/zydeco_jpg.htm
surprised the shop didn't mention it to you.

It's a good idea to rent before you buy, tandeming requires a lot of communication. First time we tried it, my wife got PO'd and made me ride in back so I could experience the joy of having the brakes slammed when you're not prepared for it. Good times. Still married and still tandeming.


----------



## jpelaston (Feb 27, 2007)

try bikerbob.com
i know he has a KHS Mt. Tandem even though it is not listed on his site. just email him about it. i dont know that he wants to sell it or not but its worth a shot.


----------



## arly (Apr 20, 2005)

*MB tandem*

We sell and ride MB tandems and put about 2000 miles on them a summer.  If you care to see us (and friends) riding them just go to our gallery in MTBRcom. http://tinyurl.com/yedwox

What kind or riding or trails do you hope to ride it on?? Off-road tandems have come a long ways over the past 20 years and they definitely haven't gone away but these improvements come at a price. To build one that really can be ridden off-road takes many expensive and specialized parts which makes them a bit costly. If you'd like one that can truly be ridden off road your going to have to look at used bikes and maybe even spend a bit more than you mention. Oh and you should BOTH get some tandem training if you've not received this before. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions if you like.

Arlyn Aronson @ Superior Tandems (906) 370-2911
[email protected]



Harksaw said:


> So my wife and I are looking into getting a tandem mountain bike. The nearest shop has a nice Burly running around six G's:eekster: , while sears.com has a diamondback tandem running for $250. I:thumbsup: We're hoping to find a non-department-store mountain tandem for something just over one grand. . . Is this feasible? What brands on what websites could we look at? (I"m thinking we definitely want disc brakes but I'm not sure if that's feasible in our price range.)
> 
> Is there anything we should definitely get, or avoid? Tips would be much appreciated! Thanks.


----------



## fred-da-trog (Oct 28, 2003)

Try craigslist.com for a used one.


----------



## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*Disc Brakes Are A Tandem No-No*

They're not designed to have to stop that much weight and will easily overheat.
Canti brakes are where it's at for tandems and an additional drum brake on the rear to scrub speed on longer descents.


----------



## Harksaw (Apr 25, 2005)

Shayne said:


> They're not designed to have to stop that much weight and will easily overheat.
> Canti brakes are where it's at for tandems and an additional drum brake on the rear to scrub speed on longer descents.


Really? Even if they come with disc brakes stock?

I suppose you classify V brakes as cantis, right?


----------



## itsdoable (Jan 6, 2004)

Shayne said:


> They're not designed to have to stop that much weight and will easily overheat.
> Canti brakes are where it's at for tandems and an additional drum brake on the rear to scrub speed on longer descents.


Magura Gustaf's are tandem certified, and many DH specific disc systems are perfectly suited for tandems. 
Rim brakes on tandems are know to over heat on long descent too.


----------



## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*Nope, Real Cantis*

V-brakes generally dont have enough pad. They work fine but require more maintanance.

Yes, some discs are tandem rated, but most of them are not.

Rim brake overheating isn't as big an issue as it is with discs.


----------



## TandemGeek (Mar 14, 2004)

Shayne said:


> V-brakes generally dont have enough pad. They work fine but require more maintanance. Yes, some discs are tandem rated, but most of them are not.


Let me play the camel and stick my nose in the tent here...

I thought rim brakes were fine and dandy until we had complete front & rear brake fade and then melted the pads off of the rear LX V brakes on our '98 MT3000. Yes, we could have gone with a supplemental drum, but given the heat capacity of the emerging 4-Pot hydraulic open disc systems coming on the market from Magura (Gustav) and Hope (04DH / Enduro) for the downhill racers, the discs seemed like an attractive -- albeit an expensive -- option.

We fitted a set of Hope's 04DH to our first Ventana back in 1999 and they worked pretty well even with the 185mm rotors that were available at the time. Having fresh Motul 600 brake fluid in a properly bled system was the key to avoiding hydraulic brake lock (or, heaven forbid, popping a compression fitting) under severe conditions. We had one weekend where I overfilled the master cyclinder and experienced two rear brake lock-ups but that was no big deal compared to our exciting MT3000 brake failure. I bled-off some excess fluid and all was well.

Our '02 Ventana  has the newer Hope Enduro models. The front one screams like a banshee, but that's the only nit. We've bombed some nasty single track in the Pisgah National Forest (Squirrel Gap) to the point where the rotors and calipers were smoking, but with only minimal amounts of fade. The folks running the Magura Gustav and Julie Tandem models all seemed to be getting good performance from their discs and I can't recall anyone suggesting that they were disappointed with the discs vs. their previous tandem's cantilever and linear-pull canti brakes. As for the other hydraulic and mechanical systems, a few folks have successfully used the Hayes brakes even though they aren't approved for tandems and there are several folks running the Avid BB7 203mm mechanicals without any complaints. In fact, I believe daVinci's factory "Wrecking Crew" raced their tandems using the Avids exclusively.

FWIW, here's a group photo taken of the only Double Forte gathering do date back a few years ago at Tsali Recreation Area near Bryson, NC. You'll notice that most of the tandems are running discs... and the Cannondale owners second from the right that had canti's and a drum are now riding a Ventana ECdM with, you guessed it, discs.


----------



## mbmojo (Aug 9, 2004)

Can somebody tell me about suspension forks for tandems? I know most aren't up to the job but I don't know how to find out which are.


----------



## TandemGeek (Mar 14, 2004)

mbmojo said:


> Can somebody tell me about suspension forks for tandems? I know most aren't up to the job but I don't know how to find out which are.


Contact Alex at www.MTBTandems.com via the Email links or phone numbers on his Website.

He works directly with Marzocchi, ATC, Manitou, Maverick, and a few other fork manufacturers to tailor and tune their heaviest-duty forks for use on off-road tandems and knows what's required for all the various different riding conditions and team weights.

Keep an open mind for his suggestions as he had amassed a pretty good understanding of what works best for everything from lightweight XC to Clydesdale DH and FR applications.


----------

