TANDEM Diversity
Here, panniers are being used to carry everything needed on the tour. Again, bike cases and additional luggage are either stored at the starting point or are transferred to the ending point of the tour.
Airline/airplane considerations
This is an area that is largely a matter of personal preference, budget, airline loyalty, and which airlines go where you actually want to tour. We tend to have no particular airline allegiance and tend to base airline selection on cities served and price. We use airline miles as much as possible, traveling in business class when possible. Being in business class offers more free checked luggage and more checked luggage weight. Airlines vary somewhat in terms of checked bag allowances.
We recommend placing trackers (Apple Air Tags or similar) in your bags. This is useful not only when traveling with the airline, but also in keeping track of your bags if you use a daily luggage transfer service during your tour.
If you are traveling with a full size, non-coupled tandem in a large box or case, be aware of possible limits imposed by the size of the plane being used on the routes you are flying. Big planes can carry big bikes. Little planes maybe not so much.
In this photo, taken on a guided, fully supported tour, you see examples of hard side cases from S&S as well as the Safe Case from Santana:
We recommend carefully reading through Bill McCready's article on flying with your tandem. He and his wife Jan have logged more airline miles with tandems than anyone else on Earth, so his tips are tried and true.
Climate change and air travel
We don't mean to imply lesser significance of this issue by placing it last on the list of tandem travel considerations. In a nutshell, air travel contributes a fairly small percentage of overall global CO2 production, but it is increasing. And being relatively small by no means indicates it is small in terms of absolute CO2 production.
We refer you to several resources to educate yourselves about the climate impact of your tandem travel and how to mitigate that, not only through your behavior in your non-travel life, but also by means of purchasing carbon offsets for your travel (mostly the air portion). Resources include:
This graphic summarizes actions you can take while flying to mitigate the carbon impact of your tandem travel:
If on a self-guided tour with daily luggage transfer, or on a guided, fully supported tour, you only need to take with you on the bike whatever you will need on the road that day, for example a few tools, flat repair items, lunch, a jacket, your phone/camera, etc. This photo was taken on a recent self-guided tour:
The two options most often seen for carrying gear when self-contained are panniers and a trailer. Bob trailers are popular. Which of these to employ is entirely a matter of personal preference; in our experience they are essentially identical in terms of practical considerations and performance.
Travel cases for the tandem
Once again, personal preference is important when selecting cases to transport your tandem. Up to now we have preferred the soft side cases from Co-Motion since they are easy to load and easy to manage while on the ground, and we have experienced less bike damage with them than with hard side cases. However, the latest Co-Motion cases are of lesser quality, in our experience, sufficiently so that we may need to re-assess our preference. Time will tell.
Soft side cases are easy to load and to handle in the airport:
This set up is for a self-contained, self-supported tour using Bob trailers to carry everything needed on the tour. Bike cases and additional luggage are either stored at the starting point or transferred to the tour ending point.
And here is a photo of the rack trunk bag and rack installed on a tandem:
Do we advocate tandem travel? Yes, but please do so responsibly, as much as you can.
Bon Voyage!!
But, couplers add weight and cost; couplers add $2495 to the cost of a Co-Motion tandem.
In general it is not feasible to add couplers to a non-coupled frame, due to differences in the tubing used for the two frame types. Check with your manufacturer to see if adding couplers to your tandem is possible.
Having a non-coupled tandem complicates, but does not exclude, air and ground transportation, due to the size and weight of a box containing the tandem. Also, you need to pay attention to airplane size; smaller planes may not be able to accommodate a large tandem box or case. Also, you need to know if your airports can handle large items.
Frame and fork material
Choices are steel vs titanium vs carbon for the fork and steel vs aluminum vs titanium vs carbon for the frame. Choices here are made based on a combination of personal preference and budget, in addition to what is actually available from your preferred tandem manufacturer.
We tend to prefer steel, as the ride is good and the potential for repair is good worldwide. We often ride on carbon forks simply because Co-Motion, our preferred builder, specs carbon forks on many of their tandem models these days. We cannot really tell much difference in the ride between steel and carbon forks. Note that, in the case of loaded touring, Co-Motion recommends keeping the weight placed on the carbon fork down in the 10-15 pound range. They tell me this has to do not so much with the strength of the fork itself as the strength of the glued-in fork eyelets for mounting the front rack.
Wheels and Tires
The world of bicycle rims and tires is constantly changing, especially as a result of research that has proven high volume, low pressure tires to have lower rolling resistance and subjectively more comfort than low volume, high pressure tires. The trend nowadays is toward all-road tires, similar to gravel tires; they are great not only for touring but also for everyday riding.
Note that we are not referring here to tires and rims for racing. In the case of racing, there is a balance between rolling resistance and weight; these two factors seem to intersect at about 28 mm tire width for pro racers. Anything smaller might have too much rolling resistance, while anything bigger is potentially too heavy, so pros are often riding 28 mm tires.
Tandem manufacturers are trying to catch up with tire size trends and most now offer a number of models of tandem that can accommodate a wide range of tire sizes, including all-road tires. But there are still plenty of tandems being built that cannot fit larger tires. And of course, many of the older tandems on the road have frames that limit tire size choice.
In our travel/touring experience, 35 mm is a good tire size to handle most of the surfaces encountered on most tours. Bigger is better, though; 44 mm is a size that can handle almost all touring situations.
Rim selection is also important. For example, Velocity Dyad rims have been a mainstay for tandems and touring. Optimal tire width for these rims is 25-38 mm, so if you want to tour on larger tires, you will need different rims.
Low spoke count, light weight wheels such as those made by Rolf Prima, while light and durable, also may be able to accommodate only a limited tire size. Rolf tandem wheels have a recommended tire width of 24-34 mm, while the Rolf Carbon AR tandem rims are recommended for tire widths of 31-45 mm. The standard tandem wheels might not be the best choice for loaded touring, for example.
Velocity Cliffhanger rims are optimized for 45-65 mm tire widths, so are a good choice for touring.
The new Velocity NoBS rims look very promising, offering a 20-45 mm tire range!
What if your frame does not accommodate larger tires but you want to ride them without getting a new bike. Are there options for you?
Yes, many couples are having success going with smaller, 650b wheels. Benefits of 650b include that you can use larger tires and also and an added bonus you get lower stand over height, making it easier for us old guys to throw a leg over the top tube. However, they lower the bottom bracket so you need to be careful not to drag a pedal in tight turns (keep the inside pedals up) and when going over speed bumps.
You can read about our experience converting a Co-Motion Carrera Rohloff Co-Pilot from 700c to 650b wheels.
Components
As with frame and fork, component selection can be a matter of personal preference, combined with weight and budget considerations. Certainly the Rohloff hub with Gates belts is the most durable and least likely to be cantankerous when traveling, but these days most component systems are reasonably robust and can provide good travel experiences if treated properly and maintained well.
We do like the Racktime rear rack since it can be collapsed and packed flat for travel. It's easier to place in a bike travel case than a non-folding rack. These photos illustrate the Racktime rack and bag system, with the rack assembled and folded for travel, as well as the clip on device on the bottom of the rack trunk bag; it clips securely into place on the rack.
Tandem Travel and Touring
Options and Technical Considerations
Note:
Prior to traveling/touring with your tandem, have it checked over carefully by a fully qualified tandem mechanic (or do it yourself if you are qualified). Fix any problems and take care of any safety issues. Especially make sure your brakes and drivetrain are in good shape and that your tires have enough life for the trip you are taking. Doing this will potentially save you from expensive delays on the trip, not to mention frustration on the part of your guides and travel companions. Also, if traveling internationally, check your passport expiration and blank visa pages.
Options:
There are several possible modes of tandem travel and touring; the planning process begins with the question: is this for just the two of us, or with a group? Note that a group can be of any size, even as small as just one other couple.
After that decision is made, the travel mode can be considered. There are essentially three options for mode of travel:
1) Self-supported and self-contained
2) Self-guided
3) Guided, fully supported (Choosing a guided tour almost always implies travel in a group).
The choice of travel touring mode might impact technical decisions (see below).
With any of these modes of travel, you will be dealing with how to transport yourselves, your gear, and your bicycle to and from the start and finish of the tour (drive vs fly vs train, etc), and how to store/retrieve your bike case(s) and other luggage, unless of course, this is an out-the-back-door tour, requiring no travel to the start or from the finish. If the tour is a loop, cases and other luggage can be stored at the start/finish, typically at a hotel or B&B. If a point-to-point tour, then transfer of the case(s) and other luggage from the start to the finish will need to be arranged. Or you might store cases and luggage at the start and return there via bus/train/shuttle/rental car at the conclusion of the tour.
The exception to this is a guided group tour, in which case usually the tour company makes all arrangements and also deals with luggage and bike cases.
For self-supported, self-contained travel/touring, you make all travel and lodging decisions and arrangements. You design or find the routes. You carry all your own gear. In other words, you are responsible for everything, including bike case and luggage handling, if necessary.
In the case of self-guided touring, you hire someone to do some of these tasks, possibly including:
-Daily luggage transfer between lodgings
-Lodging arrangements
-Routes
-Bike case and luggage handling
You are responsible for everything else, including getting yourselves and your gear to and from the tour, and also daily navigation, though this may be done using provided routes, most often GPS routes made available via an app such as RideWithGPS. And there may be variable levels of spupport while on the tour, often by phone.
On guided tours everything is arranged and you have on-the-road support, usually with a sag and on-bike guide(s). In other words, except getting to and from the tour, it is a turn-key experience.
Pros and cons of each touring mode can be summarized as follows:
Self-supported and self-contained
Pros:
This is the least expensive and has the most control and freedom of decision making
It is the easiest for making on-the-fly changes
You choose your travel companions, if any
Since you are self-contained, the ending point can be flexible unless fixed by bike case/luggage transfer and storage
Cons:
Most work is required from you of any of the travel modes
There is the least amount of support of any of the travel modes
There are restrictions on how much weight you can bring along (you have to haul it)
Self-guided
Pros:
There is still quite a bit of control and independence, especially in terms of daily on-the-road pace and activities
There is usually at least some level of phone support
It potentially takes away worry about route finding and locating lodgings
You can bring more stuff, if daily luggage transfer is included
You choose your travel companions
Cons:
It is more expensive
You give up some some control and independence
You may give up some flexibility if the ending point is set by bike case and luggage transfer and storage
Guided, fully supported
Pros:
A turn-key tour, requiring less work from you
The best level of support of all the travel modes
Camaraderie of the group
Meeting new friends and potential future tandeming/traveling companions
Cons:
The most expensive of the modes
You give up even more control and independence
You may not have a choice of travel companions
You may not enjoy all the group
Here are some examples of set ups for self-supported, self-contained touring:
This is the Tandem TwosDay from Bike Friday, with travel suitcases converted into a trailer. Everything for the tour is with you on the bike.
Technical Considerations:
The bike/frame
A key question to consider is coupled vs non-coupled frame.
Couplers allow the tandem to be packed into airline checkable cases, making for easier airline travel. Possibly even more importantly, couplers make for easier ground transportation and easier handling of the tandem on the ground, for example when walking through crowded airports, and for splitting the tandem into smaller pieces to load into a bus or car trunk, or van. For example, the tandem seen in this photo was split into two pieces for loading into a taxi, along with other luggage; the couplers made this taxi ride feasible:
On a guided, fully supported tour, the organizers usually take care of storing and transporting bike cases and luggage. In this photo, tour organizers are loading bike cases for transfer to the tour ending point.
In this photo, taken while on a guided, fully supported tour, you will note the front and rear racks for panniers. After the conclusion of the guided tour we embarked on a self-supported, self-contained tour, carrying everything in panniers while riding a loop, storing bike cases and luggage at the start hotel, in this case in downtown Munich, Germany. We like to maximize the value of international air fare by riding two or more tours once we arrive at an international destination, with just one plane ticket.