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Step 5Riding it and other notes
At this point you should have a two-person bike with one gear and one brake (the front one). Buy a long cable and you can hook up the rear brake too - probably a good idea given the extra mass of the second body and the higher speeds you can get to (though we never got round to it...)
Gears are pointless on this - not being able to go too fast (we top out around 35mph as vs 45mph on a proper tandem) is probably a good idea given the crummy brakes and debateable structural integrity! Choose one that you like and leave it there (there are screws on the derailluer that you can adjust to set its 'home' position)
Handlebars can be added by taping them to the back of the front saddle, though we found it easier to ride on the back with no handlebars (if the person on the back uses the handlebars to balance against, it upsets the balance of the whole machine, whereas if they hold on to the person in front then they tend to follow the lead of the person leaning into corners etc better) Depending on who the intended passengers are you might want to leave the handlebars off as a deliberate excuse to have to hold on... ;-)
Longevity? Despite the slightly unnerving flex in the frame (you can see 5-10 degrees fo twist front-rear as you turn a corner!) this tandem was used and abused for six months by the two 182lb (13 stone) guys who built it without any indication of the joints working loose. Proof-testing to 700lb (50 stone) by cycling back from the pub with four blokes hanging off the thing led to a buckled wheel, so all indications are that the duck tape construction is sound! :-)
Else - apologies for the lack of pictures, hope there's enough here to encourage you to try this. If you do build one and wouldn't mind taking a few snaps along the way please add them to this instructable!
Gears are pointless on this - not being able to go too fast (we top out around 35mph as vs 45mph on a proper tandem) is probably a good idea given the crummy brakes and debateable structural integrity! Choose one that you like and leave it there (there are screws on the derailluer that you can adjust to set its 'home' position)
Handlebars can be added by taping them to the back of the front saddle, though we found it easier to ride on the back with no handlebars (if the person on the back uses the handlebars to balance against, it upsets the balance of the whole machine, whereas if they hold on to the person in front then they tend to follow the lead of the person leaning into corners etc better) Depending on who the intended passengers are you might want to leave the handlebars off as a deliberate excuse to have to hold on... ;-)
Longevity? Despite the slightly unnerving flex in the frame (you can see 5-10 degrees fo twist front-rear as you turn a corner!) this tandem was used and abused for six months by the two 182lb (13 stone) guys who built it without any indication of the joints working loose. Proof-testing to 700lb (50 stone) by cycling back from the pub with four blokes hanging off the thing led to a buckled wheel, so all indications are that the duck tape construction is sound! :-)
Else - apologies for the lack of pictures, hope there's enough here to encourage you to try this. If you do build one and wouldn't mind taking a few snaps along the way please add them to this instructable!
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Jun 8, 2006. 2:43 PMkenneth1247
says:
This is awesome! Seems like it might be a bit unsafe, but it sure sounds like fun.
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