[Enel]

I am in the market and need to get edumacated since I know nuttin about tandems.

Mainly looking for a bike with kiddie stoker.

I'd probably like to start used and cheap and work up from there. At the speeds I will ride it for now, I doubt suspension is required.

Anyway: Is there any sort of FAQ section around here?

Can anyone share their favorite sites for learning/researching mountain tandems and riding with kiddos?

Any tops on where to look for used bikes besides Ebay?

Thanks.

 

[Team Fubar Rider]

Welcome to the world of off-road tandem riding! Once your in, you'll totally dig it.

The biggest thing I'd tell you is don't underestimate your child in the stoker position. My son is 6, but we've been riding the tandem together for almost a year. Once I got the child stoker kit dialed in where is it safe and comfortable for him, we have tackled some singletrack that makes a lot of people get off and walk! He thinks it is really sweet that he is a braver mountain biker than his mom! He is so into it now that he wants clipless pedals (I might have a hard time finding size 1 kids SPD compatible shoes).

Anyhow, I'd focus on the frame as you can upgrade parts later. The nice thing about a lot of high-end tandems is that if they were built in the last 10-15 years, you can upgrade most of the parts to the modern standard (save for disc brakes) without much hassle.

As far as where to buy, keep an eye on Craigslist as well as eBay. I am sure others will chime in with a great place to buy a used tandem, but the one thing I've found is used tandems don't tend to lose their value quite as quickly as a "single" does. Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

 

[Enel]

The biggest thing I'd tell you is don't underestimate your child in the stoker position.

Anyhow, I'd focus on the frame as you can upgrade parts later

Sounds good. The 7 almost 8 yo is a decent rider on his own, and had a lot of time with me on the trail-a-bike. The 6 yo is on the trail-a-bike currently. I would like to get her on the tandem since she is not as adventurous or daring a rider as her big brother. Then I could hook the Trail-a-bike to the tandem for the 4 yo and have a reeeaaalllllly long train. Should be fun though.

As far as the frame: I would assume the Ventana Tandem is one of the higher end ones??? I have a Ventana frame I can trade in on it for some savings, so it might be worth it. The real cost comes with fork, wheels and other componentry. Also, how would one pick a stoker size assuming these kids are going to grow, and eventually the wife might jump on (doubtful, but I can dream).

 

[Team Fubar Rider]

First, yeah, Ventana tandems are sweet. If you can get one, go for it. But there will be a limiting factor...

Second, I'd size the "stoker" compartment for your wife. As far as the child stoker kit goes, it has another crankset that attaches to the seat tube, with a third chain that attaches to the "timing" side of the stokers crank via a second chainring. Seems complicated but isn't. This is where a full suspension Ventana tandem will complicate things. Just about where the child kit would attach is where the rocker arm of Ventana's suspension attaches. Don't think those items would play nice together. You would be far better off getting a nice rigid tandem frame, like a Santana or a C'dale.

Third, yeah, you can attach a Trail-a-Bike to the tandem. You need a CDL to drive one...nah, but they are LONG. I just did a little off-road riding with my son and one of his friends. As we started down a hill, we hit about 13 mph and his little friend says to me "Mr. Seeley, will you slow down? I'm not used to going this fast!" I've hit almost 40 on a gravel road with my son! Good timing though, as right after he said it, a herd of about 10 elk went ripping across the trail right in front of us.

 

[TandemNut]

We've built several Ventanas with the 14" rear size to accomodate kid stokers. I was able to get all three of my kids on the back of the Ventana around age 6, without using a stokid setup. Shorter cranks helped a great deal, and we had to use pedal blocks for my middle son, but it worked very well. Since there was no room for a suspension seatpost with the kiddie on the back, the rear suspension helped greatly. That and velcro-ing the kid to the bars and pedals

 

[laksboy]

Realized I replied to take old thread. Delete.