[Yak] tandems - for young stokers

[John S. Allen]

At 05:07 PM 3/30/2010, Geof Gee wrote:

>Where do you find four (+ 1/2) inch cranks?

My son began his tandeming career with a kidback (raised bottom 
bracket clamped to the rear seat tube) and that might even be 
necessary on a Friday tandem with a kid as little as mine was when he 
started. We used a high-riser handlebar tilted back to reach him. 
Photo of our tandem setup  is at the bottom of the page at

http://bikexprt.com/bicycle/antennae.htm

With the low rear saddle on the Family Tandem, it might be necessary 
to remove the rear cranks and bottom bracket axle and use front drive 
and a diagonal chain (as on my tandem) to avoid interference with the 
kidback cranks.  Or else use a long seatpost and raise the kidback. 
With a higher saddle, it is necessary only to tie the rear pedals 
horizontal when using front drive and a kidback.

Tandems East, a tandem specialty shop, has a Web page with cranks 
shorteners and 127 mm (5 inch) cotterless cranks -- 
http://www.tandemseast.com/parts/cranks.html. One of the kidbacks is 
by Burley, which is in Eugene and was founded by the Scholzes who 
went on to found Bike Friday.

I made my own kidback attachment. The cranks I used are from an old 
Raleigh child's bicycle and are steel, cottered cranks.Most cranks on 
small child's bicycles this country are one-piece steel cranks for 
Ashtabula bottom brackets (the kind with the large bottom-bracket shell).

John S. Allen

jsallen *at* bikexprt.com

http://bikexprt.com