At 9:30 AM +0000 1/16/11, alex m wrote:
>Looking through period photos and magazines, and as a Rene Herse
>Alex Singer etc collector, I notice that tandems were really popular
>in the 50s and 60s in France. Always husband in front, wife behind.
>Sometimes a little trailer behind for the offspring.
>
>Why is it you never see a tandem on the road nowadays?
>
>Something to do with people being more individualistic? Or women's
>liberation? The radical decrease in the number of tandems produced
>and ridden must say something about the history of social relations.
>
>Are there any tandem riders on the CR list? Peter (Weigle), have you
>ever made a tandem?
Alex, Unpopular? This is something that must vary by location. In my area it's likely that on any weekend ride you will encounter at least a few tandems. Not so likely M-F. Even recumbent tandems are relatively common here. Perhaps because Americans work longer hours than the French we have to multi-task, combining exercise with "together time".
We have 5 tandems. The on topic ones being a Mixte-back 1964 Gitane and a Campi/Phil Wood equipped road tandem that was the 2nd frame I ever built, over the winter of '81-'82.
Norris mentions off-topic MTB tandems as helping their acceptance. Darn right. More room for the stoker, stiffer (something I avoid on singles but definitely a plus on tandems) and lower standover height (again, more important on a tandem). Our latest road rig has an 8.5 pound MTB frame, over 28" between the riders and 2" x 26" Schwalbe Kojacs that weigh only 430g and have about as much rolling resistance as an air bearing. --
Mark Stonich;
BikeSmith Design & Fabrication
5349 Elliot Ave S. Minneapolis, Minnesota 55417 USA
Ph. (612) 824-2372 http://bikesmithdesign.com