# Whoohoo! We`ll be "twicers" tomorrow morning!



## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

I had my mind all made up to buy myself a touring bike this fall, but things change. With a tourer this year, a tandem sounded good for next year`s spree and I had pretty much decided that a Co-motion Periscope would be our best bet (wife is 4`10"). Well, cruising CL the other day a listing caught my eye- softride Burley Samba, unknown year, right in my home town. After a few email exchanges and an in-person introduction, the touring bike went on next year`s list, the seller went home to swap stems, and my wife and I went on an ATM binge. I called the guy back after dinner and it turns out he has a job out our way tomorrow, so we`ll meet up then. The bike is an odd critter to say the least- besides the beam, it`s pretty much a mountain bike but he set it up with drop bars and Barcons. It`s sporting 26 x 1.0 slicks currently, but I have a set of 1.75 sorta knobbies on a spare wheel set out in the shed that ought to be a good match. A little lower gearing would probably be nice, but we might be OK as is with a 28t little ring and 30t big sprocket. It wasn`t what I had in mind, but I`m expecting it to be a great way for me to get my wife to some places we haven`t been able to see together before. Can`t wait to pick it up! Pics comming later in the "show mw yours" sticky.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Sweetness.

Looking forward to the pix!!!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Well, still no ride pics, but I finally got the camera away from my wife long enough to grab a few static portraits in the front yard. I swapped out the uber-skinny slicks and the plastic pedals (the last owner had SPDs and we use CBs/street shoes), got the cockpit and saddles as close as possible. I really need a shorter stem but haven`t had any luck finding one locally. 1 1/8 quills are in short supply. Also plan to shim the brake levers so I don`t have to stretch my fingers so far to reach and slide them down a little lower on the drops- will probably do that when I get the stem so I only have to rewrap the bars once. Also, I have a barbag mount in the closet that I need to install this afternoon. As of now, the gearing seems like it`s going to be OK. The fit is pushing it- I was concerned about getting a bike that would let the stoker saddle drop plenty low and this does it just fine, but the TT is a bit long for me. I think it`ll be allright if I can dig up a 60mm stem to replace the current one (110?). The guy we got it from thought he had a shorter one for us, but couldn`t find it. It`s my first experience with barend shifters and that`s turning out to be pretty nice. Oh yeah- need to check on crank shorteners for the stoker cranks. They make a bike that can accomodate a GI Joe doll as far as saddle height goes, WTF is the deal with the 175mm cranks?

A little mouth-running: We rented a tandem of the toy store variety a few years ago and took a picnic cruise by the river for the afternoon- had a great time, but I remember having a lot of trouble getting used to the handling. I`m really hoping that we`ll get things worked out well enough to take some around town rides in the 20-30 mile range and maybe later (cross fingers) a few dirt roads and easy single track in order to get my wife out to some of the cool places around here that are too far for her to hike and can`t be reached by car. She`s a very occasional biker and I`m no powerhouse, so we`ll just have to keep practicing and see what we get. ThinkCooper`s entry in the picture sticky gives me hope. So far, my wife only has about ten minutes on this bike. I`ve been rolling it around solo in order to get used to it. When she was on back, I found myself on the verge of telling her to calm down and stop throwing her weight from side to side- glad I kept my mouth shut because I had a friend captain it for a few minutes with me stoking and I could feel myself doing the same thing! It`s amazing how little it takes from the back seat to throw that big old bike all over the place. I also found out that I need to tie the stokers pedals in place when riding solo because they get to flopping around and sometimes the toe clip is down at the same time as the crank on the same side and when it goes under it tries to jump the bike. We`re both off this weekend and it`ll be our last "same days off" for a while, so tomorrow we`ll take a spin around the neighborhood then throw the bike in the truck and try our luck with the river path again. Wish us luck!


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

With the stoker's bullhorns so high, how you get off the bike? Swing a leg to the front over your bars?

Every once and a while, I'll get impatient waiting for my wife to clear out of the stoker's area so I can dismount to the rear, and I'll swing a leg over the front, but it's always a stretch...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

I mount and dismount by high-stepping over the top tube. I forgot to mention the other thing I have to learn to watch out for- the timing chain. My mtb has polished shiny aluminum spots on each chainstay from where my heels rub. I`ve gotten too close on the tandem a few times and caught the top of my shoe on the timing chain. Better than the tip of my finger, but still worth avoiding.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> With the stoker's bullhorns so high, how you get off the bike? Swing a leg to the front over your bars?
> 
> Every once and a while, I'll get impatient waiting for my wife to clear out of the stoker's area so I can dismount to the rear, and I'll swing a leg over the front, but it's always a stretch...


I can't swing a leg back on our cruiser tandem for the same reason. You get used to it.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

I step over the front bars as well. Its a good habit as your stoker might be standing right behind you....


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Shortened the stem, put together a tube and took kit, installed a QR plate for our bar bags and went for a ride. We had time for a little spin around the neighborhood yesterday eveninig before it got dark (half hour or so) and had a grand time today by the river. We still need practice, but I`m very happy with our progress so far. Today`s trip was probably a little shy of twenty miles- all flat, and I think it`s the longest my wife has ridden before in a day. Can`t wait to take it out again!


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