Hi
I found this forum very useful so just trying to put a bit back. I cycle everywhere but I know surprisingly little about bikes and even less about pedelecs. That said my experiences to date may help some of you out there and I'm happy to answer questions - the more of us on pedelecs and bikes in general the better for us and the planet.
We wanted to transport two young kids to school but they had outgrown the trailer and where too young to cycle all the way on their own. We decided a tandem with a tag-a-long was the answer and particularly liked the rear stear tandems so we could keep an eye on the little one in front. The Hase Pino looked great but the price tag floored us, plus it was too knickable. We settled on the Tandemtransporter from the Netherlands. We chose a Heinzmann motor based on AtoB.org reviews and particularly requested hill-climbing ability.
The tandem has worked really well and we hardly use the car at all now. It runs very smoothly, fly's up hills and is easy to handle.
However there are some things to bear in mind:
- Braking, the bike is big and heavy and the original brakes are puny (probably even struggle in the flat Netherlands). We added a canteliver brake to the rear wheel, it has a rolling break already. We should have ordered a Heinzmann with a disc brake fitting for the front wheel (it has a very basic break on it at present) - we are currently trying to retrofit a disc brake (if you are interested I'll let you know how it goes).
- Size, the bike is for Dutch women - ie, tall people.
- Seat post quick release and a pedal both broke quickly - although replaced quickly too.
- Price, cheaper than a car or bus fare's in Bristol but still a serious investment.
cheers
Joel
I found this forum very useful so just trying to put a bit back. I cycle everywhere but I know surprisingly little about bikes and even less about pedelecs. That said my experiences to date may help some of you out there and I'm happy to answer questions - the more of us on pedelecs and bikes in general the better for us and the planet.
We wanted to transport two young kids to school but they had outgrown the trailer and where too young to cycle all the way on their own. We decided a tandem with a tag-a-long was the answer and particularly liked the rear stear tandems so we could keep an eye on the little one in front. The Hase Pino looked great but the price tag floored us, plus it was too knickable. We settled on the Tandemtransporter from the Netherlands. We chose a Heinzmann motor based on AtoB.org reviews and particularly requested hill-climbing ability.
The tandem has worked really well and we hardly use the car at all now. It runs very smoothly, fly's up hills and is easy to handle.
However there are some things to bear in mind:
- Braking, the bike is big and heavy and the original brakes are puny (probably even struggle in the flat Netherlands). We added a canteliver brake to the rear wheel, it has a rolling break already. We should have ordered a Heinzmann with a disc brake fitting for the front wheel (it has a very basic break on it at present) - we are currently trying to retrofit a disc brake (if you are interested I'll let you know how it goes).
- Size, the bike is for Dutch women - ie, tall people.
- Seat post quick release and a pedal both broke quickly - although replaced quickly too.
- Price, cheaper than a car or bus fare's in Bristol but still a serious investment.
cheers
Joel
