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The only bike that makes Oba-chans look like they’ve just seen something naughty (aka my tandem)

RabidChi

Warming-Up
Jul 18, 2019
8
25
I've been asked to write a post about my tandem.
And yes, it turns out that when many Oba-chans notice my wife and me riding our tandem, their face either turns to an expression of amazement or displays a wry smile as if they had seen something naughty. I have some theories on what's behind the latter.

Here it is:
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It's a Nazca Quetzal recumbent tandem, meant mainly for touring. I bought the frame and built the entire thing, even laced the wheels. Gearing is 1x12 SRAM Eagle, 44t chainring, 10-50 cassette. 203mm disc brakes. The frame and cables are separable so that it will fit in two rinko bags. It weighs about 24kg, 4 times more than my climbing road bike. But 12kg per person for a steel touring bike isn't that bad. I could provide more technical details, but be forewarned. Imagine a Venn diagram with a circle for each of the following geeky microcosms of cycling: recumbents, folding bikes, S&S coupled frames, 650b randonneurs, 1x road, 12-speed MTBs, e-MTBs, and not the least, tandems. This build would be smack at the intersection. If ever you're interested in one, Nazca's standard builds are perfectly fine. I just like to geek out.
 
damn man, first I thought what? then how? then, seriously, built it up himself? flabbergasted, I stand with obachans on this one!
 
S&S coupled frames
But it isn't, is it? I have an S&S-coupled Timtanium road bike, which is wonderful.
If ever you're interested in one
Back in the mists of time I had a folding tandem MTB from @TOM, but the buddy who wanted to ride with me moved away, the missus never showed any interest, and I can only imagine the hassle of negotiating Arakawa gates on one. But I'm still interested in an 'everything with two wheels and pedals' way.
 
It's coupled, but not S&S. However I used cable couplers usually found on S&S coupled bikes.

Arakawa gates aren't too bad, I just put a foot down, ease it through and fancy myself a tanker captain on the Panama Canal. However the gates on the ramp to Kasaibashi are tedious, we have to walk the bike around them.
 
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I guess your wife puts her feet down at stop lights?

I had a Vision R60 in a past life, could never balance on it confidently enough to... even say I knew how to ride it.
 
I guess your wife puts her feet down at stop lights?

I had a Vision R60 in a past life, could never balance on it confidently enough to... even say I knew how to ride it.

She stays clipped in, i get to put my foot down. She already gets to put her foot down in most other contexts ;)
I've never ridden a Vision R60 myself, but I can guess that the combination of a high seat, broad seat base and handlebar configuration made it a nightmare to start and stop.
To be honest I dislike the term "recumbent": it's unsexy, says nothing about the use (unlike road, downhill) and lumps together many configurations and characteristics that only have in common that the rider is in a variety of sitting or reclining positions. Plus so many bikes under that broad category are so fugly that I wouldn't be caught dead riding them.
 
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@RabidChi I googled the bike name and found a blog that answered most of my questions. I was wondering how it would fit the tall and the small. The blog I found had the company custom build a frame to fit the short inseam of the bloggers Mrs that didn't fit the range of the standard model.
What kind of routes are you doing on it?
 
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