Tandem bike carrying question

ddl · May 7, 2022

Advice needed.
Hubby recently became severley sight impaired and I am looking to buy a tandem to keep him cycling.

Problem is transporting it.

We have two electric bikes we used to use and carried on a Pro Diamant Plus tow ball carrier -absolutely brilliant by the way and breaks back far enough to get tailgate open!

Does anyone know of a way to carry a tandem on a tow ball carrier? I will not be able to use a roof carrier and can't put inside Cali when travelling for obvious reasons.

Thanks in advance.

kurienp · May 7, 2022

ddl said:
Advice needed.
Hubby recently became severley sight impaired and I am looking to buy a tandem to keep him cycling.

Problem is transporting it.

We have two electric bikes we used to use and carried on a Pro Diamant Plus tow ball carrier -absolutely brilliant by the way and breaks back far enough to get tailgate open!

Does anyone know of a way to carry a tandem on a tow ball carrier? I will not be able to use a roof carrier and can't put inside Cali when travelling for obvious reasons.

Thanks in advance.

@Amarillo , you carry a tandem - right? (but I think on top). Did you explore any alternate options?

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Amarillo · May 8, 2022

kurienp said:
@Amarillo , you carry a tandem - right? (but I think on top). Did you explore any alternate options?

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Not really. I thought about trying to mount it vertically on the rear, but not for very long!

We already had a tandem carrier, but for a double not a triple, so all I needed to do was buy a longer bar (£8.43 I think it was) and clamp the extended carrier to the roof bars.

It is a faff to lift the tandem onto the roof, but it’s only once or twice a year. There are easier, but expensive, options I’ve seen advertised. But for us it is not worth the cost.

The Tandem Club Facebook page is a mine of information about carrying tandems.

66tim99 · May 8, 2022

I don’t like the look of the photos of these mounting options much…
https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/16794/can-i-carry-my-tandem-on-a-bumper-carrier
Perhaps a trailer is safest and least faff as you can keep wheels on?
https://amlingscycle.com/blogs/rack...ption-for-transporting-single-or-tandem-trike

greenfintry · May 8, 2022

Try these … works for our tandem. http://www.bantambicycles.com/ss-couplers

owen_h · May 8, 2022

It’s (obviously) not a tandem but I have just got a Kombi Rak from @Johnboy . He does fittings to take a cycle carrier so the load (bike or kayak) can be put on low down and easily lifted and locked onto the roof. In the case of a bike it ends up almost flat on the roof.

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cableboy · May 8, 2022

ddl said:
Advice needed.
Hubby recently became severley sight impaired and I am looking to buy a tandem to keep him cycling.

Problem is transporting it.

We have two electric bikes we used to use and carried on a Pro Diamant Plus tow ball carrier -absolutely brilliant by the way and breaks back far enough to get tailgate open!

Does anyone know of a way to carry a tandem on a tow ball carrier? I will not be able to use a roof carrier and can't put inside Cali when travelling for obvious reasons.

Thanks in advance.

Consider a Circe Helios. It's a small-wheeled (20") tandem that shrinks down to the length of a solo bike with the front wheel removed. Circe sell a standoff kit that allows the tandem to be fitted to a Thule rack. I have one and can send pictures.

The length of a full size tandem is around 8 feet/2.4 metres which means it will stick out either side of the van. You could buy one with s&s couplings meaning you can separate the frame, but this is perhaps a faff.

Amarillo · May 8, 2022

I think these roof racks can be adapted for tandems.

ddl · May 9, 2022

cableboy said:
Consider a Circe Helios. It's a small-wheeled (20") tandem that shrinks down to the length of a solo bike with the front wheel removed. Circe sell a standoff kit that allows the tandem to be fitted to a Thule rack. I have one and can send pictures.

The length of a full size tandem is around 8 feet/2.4 metres which means it will stick out either side of the van. You could buy one with s&s couplings meaning you can separate the frame, but this is perhaps a faff.

Hi , thank you and yes if you could please send me pics that would be great.

We can't/don't want to use roof mount as I will have to load on my own, also don't want to increase vehicle height for travelling/ferry purposes and also need to be able to use pop up roof bed with taking bikes off and hence still want to utilise tow ball mounted carrier (and not a trailer either as this will increase length and I have never towed )

I know I seem to be asking a lot but there must be a way.

If would be really interested to see the standoff kit you mention.

Thanks

Amarillo · May 9, 2022

Thorn Raven (the Rolls Royce of touring tandems) come with SS couplings as standard. This means that you separate the front section from the rear, leaving the chains intact.

It is a bit of a faff to separate the two parts of the bike. The brake and gear cables will have a fairly straightforward quick release, but the three tubes need a specialist tool to separate.

If you have time, it’s probably best to visit their showroom and workshop in Bridgewater, Somerset to see if it might be right for you.

Full transparency: we have three Thorn bikes, a solo, a twin and a triplet. None have SS couplings.

Full details of Thorn tandems here.

http://www.sjscycles.com/thornpdf/ThornRavenTwinBroHiRes.pdf

ddl · May 9, 2022

Amarillo said:
Thorn Raven (the Rolls Royce of touring tandems) come with SS couplings as standard. This means that you separate the front section from the rear, leaving the chains intact.

It is a bit of a faff to separate the two parts of the bike. The brake and gear cables will have a fairly straightforward quick release, but the three tubes need a specialist tool to separate.

If you have time, it’s probably best to visit their showroom and workshop in Bridgewater, Somerset to see if it might be right for you.

Full transparency: we have three Thorn bikes, a solo, a twin and a triplet. None have SS couplings.

Full details of Thorn tandems here.

http://www.sjscycles.com/thornpdf/ThornRavenTwinBroHiRes.pdf

Thanks Tom, not sure about taking apart - I could probably cope with quick release wheel LOL but will take a look at the link thank you.
Does this mean it will then fit on my Dianante Pro User tow bar mounted bike rack ?
Thanks
Deborah

BrugseB · May 9, 2022

Or you could consider a "smart" tandem like the Atala Duo Smart; fits on the standard bike rack.
It looks lik this https://picclick.co.uk/Atala-Duo-Smart-21-speed-Compact-Tandem13M-wheelbase-113149129132.html

Amarillo · May 9, 2022

ddl said:
Thanks Tom, not sure about taking apart - I could probably cope with quick release wheel LOL but will take a look at the link thank you.
Does this mean it will then fit on my Dianante Pro User tow bar mounted bike rack ?
Thanks
Deborah

I can’t advise on how easy it is to separate SS couplings as I have no experience. I do know that the division of brake and gear cables is straightforward.

Neither can I advise if the two halves of a Thorn tandem will fit your bike rack. I expect there would be a fairly easy way for it to work.

In essence you have four options.

#1 roof mounted
#2 mounted vertically on the rear
#3 partially dismantling the bike
(It is unlikely that simply removing the front and rear wheels would be sufficient).
#4 a folding tandem

If you ask the same question on the Tandem Club Facebook page you will get well-informed answers from people with a broad range of experiences.

owen_h · May 9, 2022

With both wheels off (and no mudguards) would the width be OK I wonder? Could then maybe have a transverse rack that holds the front forks and bottom bracket(s) / 'keel' tube.
Something like this :

Tandem Bike Rack — Long Bike Tote

The LongBikeTote Tandem rack is a solid steel constructed, fully adjustable bike rack with simple, one person easy loading of any tandem bike. The rack comes standard with a rear tire holder, 2 wheel holders, one of which has a frame support holder attached. The rack folds down for easy trunk access

www.longbiketote.com

US company but maybe could get a local engineering firm to make something similar to fit your existing towbar rack.

ddl · May 9, 2022

owen_h said:
With both wheels off (and no mudguards) would the width be OK I wonder? Could then maybe have a transverse rack that holds the front forks and bottom bracket(s) / 'keel' tube.
Something like this :

Tandem Bike Rack — Long Bike Tote

The LongBikeTote Tandem rack is a solid steel constructed, fully adjustable bike rack with simple, one person easy loading of any tandem bike. The rack comes standard with a rear tire holder, 2 wheel holders, one of which has a frame support holder attached. The rack folds down for easy trunk access

www.longbiketote.com

US company but maybe could get a local engineering firm to make something similar to fit your existing towbar rack.

Hi Owen,
Thank you this link - it is really interesting.
Thanks

Milo4 · May 9, 2022

I’m not sure of your budget but have you considered side by side tandems or something cool like this one https://www.getcycling.org.uk/products/hase-pino-2021-2/

cableboy · May 11, 2022

ddl said:
Hi , thank you and yes if you could please send me pics that would be great.

We can't/don't want to use roof mount as I will have to load on my own, also don't want to increase vehicle height for travelling/ferry purposes and also need to be able to use pop up roof bed with taking bikes off and hence still want to utilise tow ball mounted carrier (and not a trailer either as this will increase length and I have never towed )

I know I seem to be asking a lot but there must be a way.

If would be really interested to see the standoff kit you mention.

Thanks

Hi, I've attached some pictures. The tandem will take a 6 foot plus rider on the back,though it is currently set up for my daughter. The standoff kit supports the bottom bracket and is designed for a Thule proride roof rack, though it *might* fit a towbar rack.

Measurements here: -
https://www.circecycles.com/product...ING HOW COMPACT,around this reduces to 1560mm.

Circe can apparently retrofit S&S couplings.

It might fit in the Cali if the front wheel is removed and the bench moved all the way forwards? I can't try this until my van is built and delivered.