kentercanyon
Finally riding a big boys bike
Don't let the old naysayers get you down, we are all just old and bitter and twisted, lol. A Schwinn Twinn Tandem can be great fun for a young couple. Looks like maybe 1980s era replacement seats have already been put on, and the front seat post is bent from a heavy rider, or someone with long legs who intentionally bent it back. Read up on how best to restore this bike, paint and chrome, etc and you will have a lot of fun together. You can do all the cosmetics yourself and let a bike shop do the mechanicals if you like, there isn't a lot to them mechanically. Buy some light "four-ought" 0000 steel wood and WD-40 and scrub the paint and fenders lightly and it will surprise you how much luster comes back. Be advised that brakes are very important and a lot of older tandems have bent front forks (easily replaced) from not being able to stop in time and hitting a car's rear bumper. You should replace the chains with new chains for safety reasons, a broken chain will cause a wreck because you will not have a rear brake and may loose balance or footing when the chain snaps. Yours has a coaster brake and a front side-pull caliper, which is less than ideal but adequate for light use. Don't ride this down any big hills, just don't. Find a nice flat paved bike trail like around a lake or at the beach. The front rider is called the Captain and the rear is called the Stoker. Ride it as the solo Captain alone for a while to get used to it before you add the Stoker, and be clear and kind with instructions and you will be fine. Always keep in mind it takes twice as long to stop as you think you have twice the inertia to combat. And good luck with the divorce. I mean the wedding! They make classic props for engagement photos. They are hard to store and transport but that's a problem for those who have too many bikes, not those who have just a few. In a few years your children can be riding on the back. This is a fairly common model so don't feel bad if you decide to modify or upgrade it, although yours is clearly in mostly original condition. I can guarantee you will get your money's worth of enjoyment from it if you have the capacity for work, fun and cooperation.
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