I met up with Tim for a coffee ride this morning. Neither one of us was feeling strong, but we meandered around town, me on my rSogn, Tim on his Quickbeam, and stopped at coffee shops along the way.
At one point, he mentioned a tandem bike for sale on Facebook for a reasonable price. I’m not on Facebook, so asked him to send me contact information.
Later, I met Diane after she got off work (she had ridden her bike) and we rode home together, discussing a tandem. After contacting the seller, we drove to his house, to check the bike out.
Oddly enough, I knew the seller. He used to work at the bike shop that I bought my recumbent from back in 2008. He remembered me. He’s no longer working in the bike shop industry (and kind of misses it), but he’s doing well. He was glad to see the bike go to someone who would actually ride it.
It’s an older Trek T900. It could use a little TLC. We paid cash and hauled it away.
I’ve adjusted the brakes, installed a rear rack, adjusted the saddles, aired up the tires, switched out pedals, popped some lights on, and we headed out for a ride.
It is so much faster than me hauling Diane on the Big Dummy. I’m already in love with this bike. We put about nine miles in, stopping for beer along the way.
It still needs a seatpost clamp, and some minor stuff. I’d like to put fenders on it at some point. Until then, it’ll do as-is.
There’s an old axiom that a tandem will make or break a relationship. Our first ride was good. I hope that’s a positive sign for the future.
Cool. I wonder if I could persuade Mrs. Pondero to join me for a tandem ride…
C’Mon up and visit. We’ll let you try the tandem. 🙂
I have been talking to my lady about getting a tandem. It would be interesting to hear Diane’s thoughts about being a stoker after you’ve ridden it for a while.
Adam,
The few thing that have come out so far (one ride’s worth):
She doesn’t want any foot retention, but looses her footing occasionally
She loves going faster in traffic, without having to deal with said traffic
She likes the fact we can climb hills quicker
We still need to make some tweaks to the bike. I’ll definitely post more later.
A couple we know just got one of these, and they love it. I am not brave enough to get on any bike on Chicago streets, though. Color me chicken!
“I’m already in love with this bike. We put about nine miles in, stopping for beer along the way”
You funny.