brilliantly simple tandem bike

Step 7 You're done!

that's it? what?!

yep. it's that easy. just make sure everything's tight and the hand - controlled parts are properly tuned up, and it's ready for a ride!

so how do you ride it?

yeah, there are three wheels and it's pretty difficult to turn (I say it turns like a semi-truck going through the drive-through of mc donald's) but trust me, it's not that bad once you get the hang of making really wide turns.

I recommend having the captain get on first, support the bike completely and have the stoker mount themselves on the pedals, then take off with as little horizontal movement as possible. there might be some play in the rear bike's steering, as why I cut them down to size, considering that the stoker will have less leverage as a result, and it's proven to be effective.

I'd cross streets by walking the bike and never take turns too quickly. also, think about getting a higher pressure middle tire, just because the wheel has twice as much weight on it as it normally would.

Comments

[msspurlock]

I love this. It really is brilliantly simple. Now can you start work on a tandem that's side-by-side? I want to put an electric motor on it. Oh, and a penny-farthing conversion. That'd be cool. I don't ask much, do I? :-)

[richardmasoner]

Of course, if it's side by side then it's not in tandem. But for a realization of that concept, see this.

[genhalftrack]

Look what I dug up in the old photos box, from the late 80's. After a benefit ride, Aramis and Clinique, two Estee Lauder brands, gave these away as Drawing prizes, Hope they show.

[msspurlock]

That's pretty ingenious in itself. Similar to the buddy configuration, but less geared to filming. Lately what I've been wishing for in my space-challenged life, is a tandem add-on, kind of like the one in this article, that's easily separable from the whole. I know they make the Third Wheel, but that's somebody leeching off the pedaller. I have a design in my head, but it would really be slow, since it involves a modified crankset. That also violates the rule of not requiring a modified mother bike.

[carlitos]

Here you go.. just published my.Side by Side Bicycle instructable.

[msspurlock]

LOL! Yeah, I was searching for the right term. Then I thought, to be that technical, is a tandem cycle, usually with three or four wheels, even a bike or bicycle? "Buddy bike" does kind of say it, I suppose. I was picturing more of a four wheel configuration, but this is intriguing, too.

[john3347]

"Back in the day" I used to weld a washer onto the dropouts and spread the fork blades and slide one fork over the rear wheel of another bicycle and make no additional modifications. This way, the bicycle would bend in the middle in turns and not require 40 acres and skidding the tires through turns. The fork would quickly work its way out of the axle of the front bicycle without the 360 degree retention provided by the washer welded to the fork dropout. The chain that is connecting the two bicycles together in this example is completely unnecessary. It is not only not necessary to prevent the rear fork from pivoting in turns, but quite undesirable. both forks should be able to pivot.

As another poster here discusses, I used to string 3 or 4 bicycles together by this method. I never tried more than 4.

FYI: "Tandem" refers to the arrangement of one in front of another; not to quantity. Mother duck and all her little ducklings following along behind her are "in tandem".

[Nkevin90]

True; I know your comment is old and I hadn't really ever gotten around to replying to it, but my goal was to make a connected-drive tandem, as most real tandems are. It did take a lot more effort to set this particular version up for something that turns less efficiently than what you described, but this had more of a genuine tandem feel (minus that third wheel) than simply stretching out the fork on a beater bike and attaching it to another.

At any rate, if I build another one, it probably will have independent drivetrains!

[O-Budd-1]

If I may?

It steers like a truck because it can't flex around the middle wheel.

Back in the middle of the last century (ok, I'm an old coot ), we used to chain as many as 15 bikes together by hooking the fork of one over the axle of the bike in front, usually for parades. Watching them snake thru the floats was wild as all the riders usually dressed up as clowns.

Each bike kept it's own chain drive and coaster brake (pre-ten-speed era), but the lead guy decided where you went ... and no arguing about it.

Take the bolts out, disconnect the rear bike drive from the front bike and you'll find it works a lot better.

Budd

[zogworth]

I just thought I should let you know, a side by side is usually known as a sociable, because you can chat :) 

[SirJoey]

Pretty funny, & definitely original! Kudos! :)