triple tandem bike tips appreciated

wsa30h

if anyone has any tips for storage and riding it please let me know

The Ging and I

Those brakes would need to adjusted to their maximum to stop a triplet.
I use a conventional tandem with 3 rim brakes and a disc and sometimes I wish I had more.

wsa30h

thanks i will be adjusting the brakes to their maximum i also have a drum brake for descending down hills. i also have a conventional two seater tandem bike so i have experience to go off of

mitchelsontour

You could change the front fork to a disk brake compatible one with a 203mm disc to increase stopping power. Make sure its rated for the job.

As for riding its important for the captain to keep the stokers informed of whats coming up in terms of what you need to safely navigate changes in surface, tight bends, hills, descents and any other perceived dangers/changes that you see coming.

wsa30h

yeah might just swap the brakes in the future. do you have a triple ?

mitchelsontour

No experience of a triple but plenty of cycling with a kid as the stoker and needing them to understand what is going on and how much their movement can affect the handling of the bike.

wsa30h

i actually got the 3 of us on it and it didnt seem any harder than the tandem

mitchelsontour

Glad it went well hope you get many miles out of it.

wsa30h

yea hope so too might swap the wheels for one size smaller if that is even possible

magicbastarder

why smaller? the brake mounts would probably not allow for the rim to be in a different position.

wsa30h

so that the bike fits me better

magicbastarder

the size of the wheels will have nothing to do with how the bike fits you once you're on it.

fryup

triple tandem? never knew it existed

wsa30h

yeah fryup they make tandem for 2 3 4 5 or even 6 people a tandem for 3 is called a triple for 4 a quad for 5 a quint for 6 a hex. magicbastarder are you sure that if i change the wheels it would make a difference the bike is only to tall by an inch so wheels smaller by an inch would drop the bike by an inch allowing me to ride it comfortably.

magicbastarder

changing the wheels will not make a jot of difference to the bike fit once you're riding on it.
you have three points of contact with the bike - handlebar, saddle, and pedals. changing the wheels does not make any difference to those three. if you find the size is wrong your options generally are changing saddle height and handlebar position (which can change in three ways - height, width, and how far forward of the saddle it is).

wsa30h

ok

Odelay

Have you considered side marking lights?

wsa30h

nope but magibastander would put wheels that are an inch smaller on it not drop the bike down an inch ?

magicbastarder

yes, but that only makes a difference when you're standing over it. if the whole bike drops an inch, it makes no difference to how big the bike feels when you're cycling it.
you mentioned being uncomfortable on the bike, i am reading that as if the saddle is too high, or you're stretched out, etc. - can you clarify?

wsa30h

too stretched out when am sitting on it its a little too tall but just a tiny bit an inch off the height would help but the front saddle doesn't go any lower and it wouldn't if i got a rim that is 1 inch smaller but the whole bike would go down by that much as for the length of the bike that doesn't bother me it is harder to turn than a tandem but not much.

magicbastarder

but if you drop the wheel an inch, it makes zero difference to the distance between the saddle and the pedals.
the difference it'd make would be in the 'standover' height, no difference at all when actually cycling.

as mentioned, the frame is almost certainly built for that specific size wheel, and replacing the wheels would be costly - you'd be looking at a set rated to take three times the normal weight a wheelset is designed for.

wsa30h

yeah so probably at least 600 euros ?

cletus

Unless I'm missing something, reducing wheel size by an inch will drop overall height by half an inch.

Otherwise, everything else magicbastarder has said stands

wsa30h

thanks makes sense

wsa30h

actually they arent 700c they already are 26 and am not sure if 25 inch wheels that are strong enogh to hold 3 adult riders exist

magicbastarder

you're not going to fix the problem with smaller wheels. the bike is built for 26" wheels anyway, the brakes are mounted to take 26" rims.

wsa30h

i guess i will have to work around it in a different way then

mitchelsontour

To help with being stretched out you could get handlebars that are swept back which should reduce the forward reach.

Change the crank arms to a shorter length would help with the saddle height issue maybe 165mm or less.

wsa30h

changing the crank arms length wont help because i can reach the pedals no problem but when i sit up on the saddle and straddle the bike i can only reach the ground with the tips of my toes.

mloc123

Did I just see on twitter somebody stole this last night?

wsa30h

no i still have it must have been someone elses

magicbastarder

wsa30h wrote: »

changing the crank arms length wont help because i can reach the pedals no problem but when i sit up on the saddle and straddle the bike i can only reach the ground with the tips of my toes.

i'm not sure about what the expectation for tandems is, but this is considered normal on a road bike.

wsa30h

well on a road bike this would be fine but not on a tandem and especially not on a tandem built for 3

Seth Brundle

mloc123 wrote: »

Did I just see on twitter somebody stole this last night?

Similar but different...
(thieving ba**ards!)

https://twitter.com/primroseliz/status/1242727719974076417

wsa30h

should be easy to find if anyone spots it somewhere as 3 person tandems are extremely rare in Ireland