Tandem Bikes: Why You Need Two to Make Things Right

Choosing a Bike

February 12, 2019

Tandem Bikes: Why We Don't Manufacture Them

Tandem bikes manufacture is currently on the agenda for sixthreezero. It's something from a personal level I would love to do. The reason why we don't do tandem bikes is, number one, it's a very large product that is very expensive to ship. Being direct to consumer company and conducting most of our business online requires shipping. Shipping a tandem bike requires large boxes. And it would be too expensive for us to figure out the best way to deliver that to the consumer. And so to this day, we've yet to come up with a great solution on how can we make a tandem bike and send it out to customers. The other thing is, unfortunately, there are very few tandem bike riders in the United States. It's a product that is hard to stay profitable when making a tandem bike.

There are other companies that have done it. Yet there are reasons why few companies currently even make tandem bikes. One of the companies I'm sure you've heard of, its called Schwinn. There's another company called Sunlight, they make tandem bikes as well. Unfortunately for sixthreezero, it's been difficult to add to our collection. And even more challenging to find a way to make it profitable in our product mix.

The Benefits Of Tandem Bikes

It's obvious when you talk about tandem bikes in regards to what makes it different than a normal bike. There are:

Two seats
Two handlebars
Two sets of pedals
And two sets of crank

It's an interesting feat to have two people powering one bike versus one person powering one bike.

It takes the workload and allows you to split it amongst two people. Also, you can have one person doing no work and another person driving the entire power of the bicycle. So it's kind of a fun way to ride a bike if you want to alternate pedaling. If you're someone looking for a serious workout, put someone on there with you and make him do all the work. He'll be working twice as hard versus if he were to ride by himself.

Searching for a tandem bike can be a challenging feat. Not many bike stores keep tandem bikes in their inventory because of how much space they take up. Not to mention the cost and the slow frequency of purchase.

What To Know Before You Buy

The way sixthreezero can help someone find a tandem bike is to give our words of wisdom. The first would be to do some research online. This is a product where you'll most likely have to research a store that carries them. One of your best bets would be to browse Amazon so you could buy it online.

Unfortunately, in the case of buying a tandem, you may not be able to test ride it beforehand. If you'd want to find a bike store that carries it, my suggestion is you'd have to call a lot of them and ask. You may also be able to get a bike shop to special order it for you. However, there might be an obligation on your side to buy it when it comes in. It is possible that you could strike a deal with a bike shop and say, "Can you order it so I can try it?" There might be some out there willing to take that chance on you.

In conclusion, consider the following before you purchase a tandem bike. I would be certain that you have test ridden a tandem bike beforehand. Since they're harder to find, they're also harder to return.

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