Raleigh USA Bicycle Company 2000 SC Tandem

Price Paid:  $600.00 at village bike

Favorite Ride:
split tree

Bike Setup:
Purchased w/o seats.A couple of take-off seats I found are working fine.Chen-shing h-d tires found in the back of the bike shop.Flat bars and bar end mounted on the front.Rack on the back,computer,bell,BMX pedals.

Summary:
Nice Bike for the money.I bought a year old model on close out.My wife calls it "her bike" it allows two people of different fitness levels to ride together

Strengths:
Good frame/value/price.Most parts "good enough"

Weaknesses:
Kenda tires popped in 5 miles(won't ever buy any of those).Brakes not "good enough" for any real hills.Front fork weak,should be ridgid or a real suspension fork.(hard to do at this price)

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $700.00 at Bath Ski & Cycle

Favorite Ride:
Trek Across Maine

Bike Setup:
Swapped saddles, installed 1.5" 85 psi tires, STX shifters, LX rear deralleur, handlebar mount waterbottle holders, dual Cateye Mity3 computers, dual mirrors.

Summary:
Wow, what a bike for the money! I bought it so I could take my 10 & 12 year old daughters (one at a time) on the American Lung Association Trek Across Maine - a 175 mile ride in three days. We have ridden the about 500 miles since last August.

I changed the shifters because I don't like twist grip shifters. The Nexave rear derauller is reverse of normal, so I switched that as well. The bike is very fast and stable. We have gotten as many as nine OMS (open mouth stares) on a single ride. I highly recommend this bike for parents that want to ride their children.

Strengths:
Small size stoker frame, great value, stable ride.

Weaknesses:
Stock seats are a pain! Small stoker frame limits size of rear pedaler (also an advantage).

Similar Products Used:
None.

Price Paid:  $750.00 at Connecticut Yankee Pedaller

Favorite Ride:
RAGBRAI

Bike Setup:
Replaced stem with adjustable stem. replaced bars with road bars on front and stoker bars on back. Changed to Shimano 105 STI road shifters. Replaced tires with road slicks and replaced saddles with Terry liberators. Replaced shock fork with regular fork and changed to pedals that are clipless on one side and a regular cage on the other. Modifications cost approximately $250.00

Summary:
Good bike to get started in tandem riding. Worked well on 7 day 450 mile tour with no major problems. Large chainring could be a little bit bigger to allow more speed on downhills. I would not buy this bike if you are an experienced tandem rider with a bigger budget.

Strengths:
Good value for the price. Great bike to get aquainted with tandem riding without spending your life savings.

Weaknesses:
Little heavy for long rides. Component quality could be better but is fine related to price paid.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $750.00 at Local Shop

Favorite Ride:
On this bike, long rural treks

Bike Setup:
Stock bike.

Summary:
This is a wonderful tandem, and the price is right. The whole family can use it - and best of all our rides have become much longer as the kids get a larger bike with less effort required for the mileage. This is also a great training aid for older children who can't keep up with me on my road bike. You can comfortably take this bike around the corner or on a 50 mile tour.

As a stock bike, it comes with 26 inch wheels designed for bike trails, so it's a bit slow on the road - but very stable on trails and tow paths. I plan to change to a more road-friendly wheel and a larger front ring to speed this bike up for longer rides. I had to switch the seat posts so my youngest could reach the petals - the shock post on the rear brings the seat too far from the petals for riders under 4' 4".

Strengths:
Comfort, quality for the price, brakes and shift system, shock seat and front fork.

Weaknesses:
Lack of speed

Similar Products Used:
None, really.

Bike Setup:
bigger comfy seats

Summary:
My wife and I were looking to do some kind of activity together, where we could get exercise and be out doors. We found cycling but she doesn't feel comfortable riding a bike alone, so we didn't know what to do. Then we heard about tandems. We realized that we were in way over our heads, with bikes giong up to 7000 dollars. We wanted to stay reasonably priced and the bike shop suggested Raleigh. This bike has been eveything we were looking for!!! it is affordabe and comfortable to ride. Raleigh answered our prayers becasue they make a bike that is affordable and my wife and I can now get exercsie togehter, that is priceless, 1000 stars

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
None