Chris Timm
Hans Christoph Timm

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He owns a bike which is interesting enough to be portraid here: Many teams are looking for an affordable tandem which will allow them to enjoy the pleasure of riding together even if Santana's prices are out of their range. Many well-known companies working with reputed far-east frame builders have completely changed the single-bike market in recent years. Only very few bikes for highly specialized sections of the market are still built in North America or Europe, greatly bringing down the price for high-quality bicycles. Howerver, most tandem teams are still forced to pay for small production runs.

Not anymore! Companies like Pedalpower are having high-quality Al frames built to their specs by reputed frame builders in Asia. Judging by this bike you lose very little while gaining a significant price advantage. The frame offers an impressive combination of light weight and surprisingly high stiffness. The frame tubes are strong enough to not suffer dents upon the slightest contact like so many of the current light-weight singles. The extremely fat headtube is an especially nice treat, as many DH racers, who stress their frames similarly to off-road tandem teams, have reportedly broken the headsets out of their frames (which is why Chris King invented the massive 'Steelset'). As on many Al frames, the welds are not exactly pretty to look at, but they seem well-made. The frame is coated in thick powdercoat, which is very resistant to chips, but lacks the high-luster shine of the more expensive brands.

The steering geometry is very well designed when combined with the Marzocchi Z1 suspension fork. This makes for excellent handling. In fact, the handling in tight sections is considerably better than any other off-road tandem I have ridden. Even with a rather heavy stoker I managed to ride many turns in which we had been forced to dismount on my other tandems. Still, the bike is very stable even at high speeds.

Due to financial restraints, the bike is outfitted with an odd choice of components taken from an old Santana tandem and several club members' used parts bins, thus Pedalpower cannot be held responsible for component problems. Currently, the chainline is somewhat off due to too long BB spindles. Components highlights are certainly the 2002 Magura Gustav M brakes. Once the captain has gotten used to their tremendous stopping power and quits braking his stoker's nose every time the team is slowing down, they are simply perfect. They provide effortless one-finger braking down every descent. I do not know what else one would want from a brake! The front wheel is currently a lightweight Ritchey rim laced to a a 32° Shimano Deore disk hub. Despite it's light weight and the low-cost components, it is still holding up well. The rear wheel was provided by Pedalpower, an XT disk hub laced to a Sun Double Track rim. This is the strongest rim I have ever seen. Shimano XT hubs proved their dubious reputation in combination with ultra-low gears on off-road tandems when it broke the other day. It will soon be replaced. Any better alternative is much more expensive, but well worth it.

Aside from the frame, the Z1 fork is the part which surprised me the most on this bike: Even with two male riders on board it is stiff enough for any downhill one would try on a hardtail bike. Currently, the springs are still a bit too soft, and the dampening could benefit from heavier shock oil, but the current setup is not too far off. Steering precision could benefit from the use of a QR20-axle fork like the Marzocchi Dirt Jumper, but overall I would say this is a good fork suitable for most riding. Only for the most extreme trails like those found at Lago di Garda would I recommend another fork - but for year-round riding there one would certainly want a long-travel full-suspension tandem anyway.