Product Features :
- Tandem bike with oversized 7005 aluminum frame
- SRAM 4 0 21 speed shifters and SRAM rear derailleur
- Sure stopping alloy linear pull brakes rigid fork
- Supersonic Alloy 36 hole rims Mega Range freewheel
- Weighs 57 pounds 1 year warranty
>> Fun per dollar of the charts
I looked at tandems all over the price range including used ones costing much more than this new one before deciding on this It s perfect for our needs as new tandem riders Yes its a lower end bike But it is a fraction of the cost of a higher end bike and even a fraction of the used ones we looked at A new Kia is a better car for most people than a 15 year old Mercedes and this bike is better for most people than an older higher end tandem
Many of the reviews I read on this bike said it was hard to assemble I didn t think so With some metric allen wrenches and a pump it was ready to ride in about an hour Most of the time spent was removing protective packaging and making minor adjustments to get the seating position right and brakes adjusted Simple stuff that most anyone can do
I didn t find a lot of info on sizing so here is some I m 6 0 The captains perch fits me OK but it s a little on the small side The seat is about as high as it goes in the adjustment range and the bars are three inches or so lower than the seat That s fine for me since I m a road rider but many people may want to swap out taller bars or stem My wife is 5 4 The stoker perch fits her perfectly The seat is about in the middle of the adjustment range and the bars are comfortable for her
Like most people I m making some changes to make the bike fit best for us I ve already replaced the stoker seat with a gel padded one so she s comfortable I m replacing tires with a smoother tread pattern to make it roll easier and with less vibration And I expect to upgrade other things like pedals over time but it works fine as is The SRAM shifting works perfect and the brakes are much better than I expected considering they are slowing a heavy bike with two people aboard
All in all I couldn t be happier with this purchase The fun per dollar quotient is outstanding and it allows us to get out and ride together with each of us working as hard as we choose and it allows for easy conversations as we ride
One tip I did some reading first on tandem etiquette The best articles I found came from Santana the bike I ll upgrade to if we decide we want a higher end bike The Golden Rule is the stoker makes no mistakes With that in mind my wife is confident that she can do no wrong on the bike and I m reminded that everything that happens on the bike is my responsibility I like it because it definitively answers any questions and minimizes the chance of quarrels
>> Good frame parts are just OK
The Mongoose Wanderer AL tandem has a good oversized aluminum frame The same frame is sold in steel under the Pacific brand name Assuming that the frame fits you and your partner I doubt you ll find a better frame even if you pay far more The frame is light and feels solid
The steel fork and components are inexpensive but serviceable
You ll have to take the bike to a bike shop to assemble unless you re an experienced mechanic Every bearing needed to be adjusted and both wheels needed to be tensioned and trued This is the way all bikes come from the factory
The weight out of the box is 41 pounds By replacing some of the steel parts with aluminum we easily lowered to weight to 37 pounds You could lower the weight further without great expense
The annoying thing is that the Mongoose choose parts that save a dollar but cost a fortune to replace
The most important part to replace are the tires We put on 1 4 Tom Slicks and it felt like a different bike
The seats and pedals are cheap plastic No big deal I always replace the seat and pedals when I buy a bike
The bike has a threaded headset A threadless headset would have cost the manufacturer a dollar more but for the consumer to upgrade to threadless fork headset stem costs about 200
It has a freewheel not a cassette This increases the stress on the rear axle increasing the possibility of breaking And it has a Mega Range 7 speed freewheel which is a 14 24 6 speed plus a 32 tooth cog 14 32 is a good range and 7 gears are adequate but the shift from 24 to 32 teeth causes the pedals to increase in speed suddenly and the stoker loses her feet off the pedals Replacing a cassette is easy but replacing a freewheel is harder Luckily I found a 14 28 7 speed cassette on an old bike
Both wheels have 36 spokes 48 spoke wheels would have cost just a few dollars more but for me to upgrade the wheels will cost hundreds of dollars
The spokes are undertensioned which will increase spoke breakage so you need to have a skilled mechanic spend some time tensioning the wheels This isn t simple you have to true tension and re true the wheel go for a ride true tension and re true again etc After doing this four times the wheels stayed in true
The bike only has mounts for rim brakes Disk brake mounts would have cost another dollar I guess The ProMax brakes work acceptably but if you want to upgrade to better brakes I put on Avis Single Digit 7 s you ll need brake boosters Without brake boosters you get squealing and shuddering because the fork and frame aren t as strong as the brakes
Both seat tubes are standard 27 2mm but the captain has a 25 4 seat post with a shim to fit a 25 4 stoker steam These non standard sizes increase your cost to upgrade
The handlebars stems and seat posts are steel They re functional but heavy using aluminum would have cost only a little more
The SRAM 7 speed derailleurs and shifters work perfectly well
The cranksets are functional no name brand square taper and work perfectly well
I wish that there were a more expensive model with this frame and a threadless headset 8 or 9 speed cassette 48 spoke wheels and standard sized aluminum handlebars stems and seatposts
All in all this is a good bike if you just want to do easy rides in the park with your sweetheart or if you are a serious cyclist with the skills and time to upgrade parts If you want a quality tandem but don t have skills or time to work on the bike go to a good bike shop and get a Burley or Santana
The frame measurements are
Captain s seat tube 18 75 top tube 21
Stoker s seat tube 17 top tube 24 5
Wheelbase 68
BB height 11
>> Great Platform for a Low End Tandem Bike
Looked at lot of 1500 plus tandem bikes before deciding to order the Mongoose The basic bike platform is a good one The wheels and gear train are sound For the 350 00 price there is a lot of accessory room to fill before one would jump up to the next price category Recommendations OEM tires and tubes are junk First thing I did before letting the bike off of the assembly stand was to upgrade to thorn resistant tubes and no flat strips Put them inside of Contental Town and Country 26 x2 1 tires Wife and I then rode up the driveway for a short ride and promply decided the handlebars were way too low Unless one is about 5 tall or Quasimoto porportioned way too much hunch back involved Upgraded the front stem to an adjustable one and the rear bars to 5 lift ones Should be OK with the formentined modifications
