Tandem Two'sDay
The customs officer called us over, singling us out of the crowd. Maybe she did it because we had so much baggage; maybe we just looked suspicious. I unlatched the two nondescript Samsonite cases and watched the inspector's face as she tried to figure out what exactly it was that we were trying to bring into Mexico. The jumble of tubes, four small wheels and assorted odds and ends packed into the cases had her stumped. I pulled out the instruction booklet with the diagram of the assembled tandem with trailer and, with a bewildered shrug, she waved us on by.
And that was the extent of the hassles we had on a recent trip to Mexico with Green Gear Cycling's Tandem Two'sDay. That came as somewhat of a surprise, since it was a last-minute decision to take the bike, and I didn't have any practice packing or unpacking it. The day before we left I watched intently as the guys at Green Gear packed it away and tried to give me some hints on the process. It was complicated and when they took Polaroid shots of the packed bike in the cases, I expected trouble.
The first morning at the hotel in Mazatlan I set out bravely to rebuild our new travel steed. With the cases laid out in the sun on the balcony, I set to work with a couple of innocent bystanders nearby in case I needed help. Don't expect to do it quickly your first time. It took me a hot and sweaty hour and a half to have it up and running properly. The directions included are pretty good, but don't be afraid to pick up the ball and run with it. It's just a bike after all. Keep telling yourself that and you'll be OK. And I'm sure that it will get much easier.
Green Gear is well-known for folding single bikes with 20-inch wheels. Its Bike Friday (as in the handy man-servant from Crusoe's island) models are available as racing bikes, triathlete bikes, touring rigs, mountain bikes and entry- level travel models for the RV crowd. The bicycling press has heaped accolades on this ingenious invention that makes traveling with a bicycle as simple as bringing along an extra suitcase.
With the Tandem Two'sDay, Green Gear has applied a proven design to a tandem bicycle. Doing this was not as simple as it sounds. The strength and rigidity requirements of a tandem forced Green Gear's designer, Hanz Scholz - co-founder of Green Gear with his brother Alan - to spend quite a while refining the folding mechanism to work simply and still provide a suitable ride.
According to Hanz, "We've found that the tandem buyer is the hardest to satisfy, and we worked very hard to get the Two'sDay where it is now. We think we have done very well in satisfying our customers with a no-compromise traveling tandem."
The first Tandem Two'sDay was completed in December of 1993 and sales have been going full speed ahead since then. Green Gear is an exemplary company - nearly fanatical in its devotion to customer service and quality.
All Green Gear framesets are built in an efficient factory hidden in a low row of industrial garages in Eugene, Oregon. The frames are custom-built by hand using a system unique in the bicycle industry. Green Gear uses the "Toyota Production Method" that emphasizes employee involvement throughout the entire process of building each bike - each person is a team member that is at least familiar with the other steps in the fabrication process.
Green Gear builds each bike to order, and doesn't begin building a bike until an order is received. You won't find a lot of partially completed bikes, or "standard" bikes already made, like you might in most bike building shops. This "just in time" process allows each bike to be slightly different, and makes custom sizing simple.
"By using this method we achieve a continuous incremental improvement in both quality and the process," said Hanz. That quality was evident in this most unusual tandem they provided for us to test.
CONSTRUCTION
The Tandem Two'sDay is built from straight gauge 4130 Chromoly seamless aircraft tubing. Ours was powder coated a brilliant fire engine red that immediately draws your attention. It's then you notice this tandem is something very different.
To start with, the frame is designed around 20-inch wheels, and the whole thing has to come apart and pack into two standard Samsonite cases. If you have seen one of Green Gear's Bike Fridays you have an idea of what we're dealing with. If not, imagine a tandem with a standover height of just under two feet. And it's about two feet shorter in overall length than a normal tandem. While this is weird to look at, short is just an illusion caused by the smaller diameter wheels. The actual hub-to-hub wheelbase is normal. The top tube and bottom tube run parallel about five inches apart. And the seat tubes look more like giant seat posts. Green Gear even calls them seat masts, not seat tubes.
Closer inspection reveals even more eccentricities. As if there is no eccentric. Nope, the front bottom bracket is just like that of a single. Instead, timing chain tension is adjusted by the size of the frame. The top and bottom tubes fit together with some space for adjustment when you unfold your bike. And don't spend too much time looking for a front derailleur either. It's AWOL, too. An internal 3-speed Sachs rear hub substitutes for front derailleur and chainring.
The craftsmanship of the merry elves at Green Gear is a wonderful bonus to this sweet little thing. Welds are smooth, critical alignment is spot-on and the look of quality is obvious.
Finer details are not forgotten, with five bottle braze-ons, rack and fender mounts, a peg for the Zefal HP pump (standard equipment - thank you very much). The rear triangle is attached up top with a nice monostay. The seatstays proceed down from the wishbone to curve around the dropout and become chainstays. A trick little air fitting brazed onto the chainstay holds the trailer on tight.
COMPONENTS
The drive system of the Two'sDay is unique with the Sachs Neos internal 3-speed rear hub combined with the 7-speed 11-28 Sachs freewheel to provide a gear range between 24 and 114 inches. The Specialized tandem cranks deliver the power and are nice to look at, too. Sachs Power Grip Plus shifters work the Sachs Centera rear derailleur and the Sachs hub. When I rebuilt the bike I could not get the rear derailleur to shift without a lot of effort. The problem appeared to be with the cable and cable connection.
Wienmann rims are laced, front and rear, to Sachs Neos hubs with 14-gauge stainless spokes. The front hub incorporates a Sachs Drum drag brake. Low rolling resistance Avocet FasGrip Freestyle 20 x 1.5 slicks round out the set.
Shimano LX cantilevers and Dia-Compe PC-7 levers (combined with the Sachs drum brake) make up the braking department. We experienced a little trouble with this set-up. The cable routing may have contributed to this, as no matter what we tried, we couldn't get the rear brake dialed in. The drag brake was a big help, and I wouldn't get this bike without it. We handled some very steep and twisty cobblestone streets in Copala that we couldn't have managed without the drum brake.
The handlebars are flat, chromoly bars with the Bike Friday logo. Stems are Kalloy aluminum in front and chromoly at the rear. Because the bike is custom fit, the stoker stem is not adjustable, but one is available as an option if you prefer. The headset is a 1 1/4 YST, and seat posts are Kalloy aluminum. Pedals and saddles are reserved for your choice.
Each bike is custom-built and any combination of size and components are available. The complete touring package that we tested included the two Samsonite cases ($300) with the trailer option ($200). The cases are necessary for airline use.
THE RIDE
This is a very friendly tandem. The low frame makes getting on and off simple - especially for beginners. The seating arrangements are spacious, particularly for the stoker, with a 29-inch rear top tube on our bike.
Ride quality is comfortable, with some flex at the seat mast absorbing road shock. Even without a suspension post and with the small, more rigid wheels, the cobblestone streets didn't hurt as bad as Lisa feared.
The little wheels of the Two'sDay don't take much to get rolling. This tandem is a rocket, but it demands continual effort. It doesn't hold momentum like a larger wheeled bike, and that takes some getting used to. The power curve is very up and down. The stability is also altered slightly because the smaller wheels don't exert as much gyroscopic effect. This didn't seem to be a problem as the tandem loves to blast its way down windy roads at high speeds. The stability question is more noticeable at low to moderate speeds, and the psychological edge offered by the low top tube negates any uneasiness about the stability. Lisa and I were very comfortable on the bike in a half day.
Quick acceleration, coupled with nimble handling makes this an excellent bike in traffic. And that's important when cycling in a busy city in the Third World - believe me. This is another instance when the easy on and off really helps out. You can bail and drop anchor at speeds that would cripple you (or your stoker) on a normal tandem. Being a couple feet shorter overall doesn't hurt either, as you can thread through start-stop traffic like a snake in the grass. The Two'sDay invites a whole new way of tandeming in the city. It's the Secret Weapon of urban cycling.
We tested the touring hybrid, and it is fully capable of loaded touring, but I would opt for drop bars if you plan serious long distance riding. As a bike to bring along for more leisurely rides on all your travels, this is perfect. It spoiled us. Our trip was not specifically a cycling vacation, but the freedom of having a bicycle along was wonderful.
We took the Two'sDay for an overnight adventure to Copala, a small village in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, about an hour and a half from Mazatlan. The road was not recommended for bicycle travel because of bandits and traffic, so we arranged for a ride up there. The Two'sDay fit easily in the back of a standard size pickup - without any folding or removing a wheel.
After exploring the historic silver mining village and relaxing in the shade of the brilliant bougainvilleas, we arranged a ride back to Mazatlan on a tourist bus. Once again, the stubby little Two'sDay was not a problem. We didn't even have to remove a wheel - let alone fold the bike - to fit it in the undercarriage luggage compartment.
If we would have taken a smaller vehicle, such as a taxi, it would not have been much more difficult because the Two'sDay folds quickly. Now this is not the same as completely dismantling the bike for travel in the Samsonites, but a convenient and quick fix that makes taking this tandem along even easier.
Packing the Two'sDay for the trip home was a piece of cake compared with rebuilding the bike. Part of this ease was due to familiarity with the bike. I have no reservations about taking a Two'sDay on any of my future trips.
CONCLUSION
Green Gear has done more than just fill a niche with this bike. It eliminates many of the reasons people don't bring a tandem along on every trip, but it doesn't stop there. The Two'sDay makes a pretty convincing case for itself as an everyday tandem for many couples.
SPECIFICATIONS
MANUFACTURER: Green Gear Cycling
MODEL: Tandem Two'sDay Touring Hybrid
PRICE AS TESTED: $2,449 + $500 for travel system w/cases and trailer
SIZES AVAILABLE: Custom
SIZE TESTED: 23in. X 21in.
STAND-OVER HEIGHT: 18in.
TOTAL WEIGHT: 42 lbs.
FRAME MATERIAL: 4130 Chromoly seamless aircraft tubing
FORK: 4130 Chromoly 7/8in. blades, 1 1/4in. OS
WHEELS: Weinmann 20in. rims, Sachs Neos internal 3-speed rear hub,
Sachs Neos front drum brake hub
TIRES: Avocet FasGrip 90 psi 20in. x 1.5in.
DRIVETRAIN: Specialized tandem cranks,
Sachs Neos internal 3-speed rear hub,
Sachs Centera rear derailleur,
Sachs 7-speed 11-28 freewheel
BRAKESET: Shimano LX cantilevers fr/r
HEADSET: 1 1/4 YST
HANDLEBARS: Bike Friday MTB fr/r
STEMS: Kalloy fr/r
SEATPOSTS: Kalloy fr/r
SADDLES: choice
PEDALS: choice
TUBE DIAMETERS:
TOP TUBE: 1 3/4in.
LATERAL: n/a
BOTTOM TUBE: 1 1/2in.
SEAT TUBES: 1 1/4in.
SEAT STAYS: 1/2in.
CHAIN STAYS: 5/8in.
FORK BLADES: 7/8in.
FRAME GEOMETRY
FRONT TOP TUBE LENGTH: 21in.
REAR TOP TUBE LENGTH: 29in.
FRONT SEAT TUBE (CT): 20in.
REAR SEAT TUBE (CT): 18in.
BOTTOM TUBE (CC): 29in.
FRONT BB HEIGHT: 11in.
REAR BB HEIGHT: 11in.
WHEELBASE: 69 1/2in.
FRONT CENTER: 23deg.
CHAIN STAYS: 17deg.
HEAD ANGLE: 73deg.
FRONT SEAT ANGLE: 73deg.
REAR SEAT ANGLE: 73deg.
ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS: Front Sachs drum brake,
5 bottle braze-ons, Zefal HP frame-fit (with braze on
peg) pump, air fitting trailer hitch.