Martyn Ashton's Random Tandem | GMBN Tech Pro Bike Check

[@gmbntech]

What do you think of this crazy custom tandem bike? Let us know

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

Looks neat with its current config, would love to see a bit higher BB on the rear, and thatbdropper post in action. Aside from Martyn and the Random Tandem's guests, I guess people like MTB coaches, tour guides, or even older cyclists, could put a similar metallic beast of burden to good use. Hoping machines like these can handle the rigors of long rides, next. 😁

[@DorifutoRabbit]

It's a great feat of engineering and a great premise for an interview too

[@martinh2075]

Love it! The whole world needs to ride a session with Martyn :)

[@TheTubaEmporer]

I absolutely love this bike and everything it represents. The level of care and love present at GMBN is beautiful. Thank you.

[@glennpettersson9002]

This is an amazing bike, it is a new sport, an evolution born of desire, creativity and community.

[@gavinstuart4163]

Its absolutely amazing to see the work and craftsmanship that has gone into this. Truly exceptional. Not to mention the man up front, a true inspiration.... so much respect for a man I've never met.... 👍👊

[@gmbntech]

Thanks Gavin, everyone has worked really hard to get the bike this far and we think it can only get better! 🤘👊

[@gavinstuart4163]

@Andrew Dodd it's amazing to see behind the scenes and how the team all pulls together and works to achieve these sort of goals. Cant wait to see how things develop and grow over the coming months...

[@stevenleslie8557]

Martyn, this must be a game changer in your life. I would be terribly depressed if I could not ride my bike. So happy for you!

[@vaynomblenner]

This could be a new paralympic sport.

[@mej6519]

you could have a blind stoker on the back, and a paralised "pilot" on the front, great idea.

[@ewin1st]

I'm looking at how they could make a cheaper version of bike to help handicap people and kids that can get on a a bike. There is no limits for people now . Great work guys

[@Mattypmtb]

Amazing work guys! As a visually impaired rider I would love a bike like this to tackle some more technical trails!

[@tom_davis]

Matthew Panting me too - also visually impaired. Is inspiring to see Martyn pushing the boundaries!

[@Mattypmtb]

@@tom_davis Great to hear from fellow VI riders :) Martyn has always been a huge inspiration for me

[@maxb7281]

It can definitely done a lot cheaper it won’t be upto the level Marytn Ashton’s but he is a pro rider riding with other pros so will be pushing the capabilities of what a tandem can do.. My wife has poor eyesight so I have converted my Trek tandem with an after market kit which is a bit more difficult on a tandem but perfectly achievable would cost around £700 for the conversion.

[@classydays43]

*walmart has joined the chat*

[@lopesrf]

Martin's stretch limo, for very special clients!

[@CodSlap]

I think Doddy nailed the new name of the show at @18:10 - Martyn Ashton’s Mental Tandem.

[@CodSlap]

Cool to hear - looking forward to seeing the upcoming episodes then. :) Also, a big thanks to all of the crew for the great content you’ve been putting out over the past few years.

[@davehalliday3217]

The positivity Martyn brings is unbelievable. Such an inspiration to live each day and make the most of your life. The people behind the scenes who have helped keep a smile on this mans face restores my faith in humanity. Keep up the good work guys 👍👍

[@Jayneflakes]

Engineering, science and inspirational stuff all in one film, well done GMBN team for another great video.

[@spinnymclittlelegs101]

To Martyn and all involved, hats off to you , most epic tandem ever

[@macswanton9622]

It's been such a long time coming. Just needed more minds involved, and now really you can feel the momentum towards something truly ground-breaking. I'm stoked. As a handicapped life-long rider, this story is paradigm. I ride to live.

[@jessvarey2597]

I’m constantly blown away by this team of people, and the incredible skill and tenacity Martin has to ride his bike. I just went and re-watched “Back on Track” and serious smiles were happening... especially his cute little beard-less face. Lol. Epic kudos to all of you guys. I love watching you doing what you love.

[@MrAdambinnie]

The Random Tandem, its development, and the potential for what Martyn can achieve on it is genuinely the thing in mountain biking I am most excited about. More videos and tech specials please!

[@hokkypro]

Thanks for getting me into shape and into the woods, without GMBN i would never have any interest in bikes

[@ichallengemydog]

I’m gonna go in my “office” to dream up a couple of insane ideas now! All jokes aside, I absolutely love how this group of friends got together to solve a problem.

[@arfmf]

I love this "suspension master guy"! There's a video around KZbin where he, casually, in an interview drops the best masterclass about suspension tunning I've ever seen. Literally ooozes knowledge

[@mikee8244]

@arfmf Chris Porter is a legend for sure, that video where he casually chats away explaining technical details while working simultaneously is awesome, suspension zen master!

[@nickcarolan2805]

That is a work of art. Brilliant bike. Will open up a market to people who never would have been able to get on a bike. Truly inspirational. 👍👍

[@scottarnold2107]

This is why I watch this channel. Excellent content. Keep it up, guys.

[@gmbntech]

Thanks Scott! ✌️

[@peglor]

The tandem is a brilliant idea and the videos are masterpieces - they hearken back to the origins of MTB, where it was nothing but a bunch of people having a laugh doing something that looks insane to anyone outside the sport and where even the people doing it weren't sure whether they'd get away with what they were trying. I'd also like to see more done on a single seat bike though. If Martyn's seat was mounted to a linkage that moved it upwards relative to the bike when the seat is pulled to the bars and down when it is moved away from the bars it should allow Martyn to not only move his weight forwards or backwards relative to the centre of the bike for traction, but also up and down. If the movement is done suddenly on the way off a jump it should sort out a lot of the dead sailoring he's currently getting on jumps. There would have to be a decent bit of spring assistance to bring the seat back to a neutral position to avoid very tired arms, but it would bring back the ability to ride light over certain trail obstacles and possibly the ability to hop the bike by pulling forwards and pushing back very suddenly, though serious upper body strength would be needed for anything big.

[@ahrencaron6111]

Greatest Tandem bike ever built. Awesome work guys. Keep riding Martyn. 👍

[@michaelselmes7312]

I wish this series would come back it’s absolutely amazing

[@yegmtb8377]

This warms my heart so happy to see how many people came together for Martyn.

[@Flash_of_the_peat_hill]

The love that you all have for each other brings a tear to my eye.

[@rayyee4470]

Love your work Doddy, the tandem definitely has a place in the world.

[@raceace]

An unshakeable group of Martyn, great friends and Nicolai, simply the most passionate frame maker in current history. The perfect Storm.

[@chrisjamz2206]

Absolutely brilliant!! This rig could open up a whole new world for adventure seekers with disabilities. Seeing Martyn ride again is incredible!! He is an inspiration for everyone!

[@Bretandmarisa]

I love this series and it's awesome to see Martin back at it

[@Latchfpv]

Amazing to see the tech that went into designing this bike and the improvements that can be made etc. I'm eagerly awaiting episode 3 of Martyn's Tandem ride because goddamn, what a brilliant series so far, I absolutely love it, and it'll be amazing if this tech ends up being adopted for the masses at some point so we can get more handicapped folks out and on bikes, it would be absolutely amazing!

[@casualsportshighlights]

i love the custom tandem! great vid GMBN Tech!

[@the_spanner_ch7mp]

What an amazing insane machine you guys have thought up and built! You can see how proud everyone is with what they have achieved. Martyn you designed a trials bike now you've help design a bike that i can see being developed to get people who can't ride back riding or getting out on the trails. Amazing work by all at #GMBN and all the GMBN friends Martyn ever need a STOKER i'd be well up for it (as i'd imagine many GMBN fans would be) Awesome stuff GMBN

[@jalapenohotcakes]

Sooo cool! Mountain Biking is for everyone. These innovations will probably change how people ride bikes forever.

[@ceecrb1]

I really hope this long term leads to paralympics tandem mountain biking! For the good of the sport, the people and the extra payoff for all this work!

[@gsportgeorge]

Brilliant project/video. Reversing the fork offset will increase stability from trail at speed but will make wheel flop worse. Best bet would be to separate wheelbase and headangle by extending the front end and then running a linkage back to a separate steering column (like a long-john cargo bike). That would let you run a steep head angle to reduce flop but keep the contact point a good distance out in front for weight distribution etc. Also can you gain rear BB height by making new bolt on dropouts maybe?

[@ocbyn]

Really enjoyed this Doddy et al. Top marks all round.

[@gmbntech]

Thanks! 🤘👊

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

Now I'm hearing the specs of this beast, I went damn... This one is really for *serious* adventure.

[@Jabeyer44]

This is the best interview series out there as well as being one of the coolest MTB stories in years just through the pioneering of taking tandems to the extreme.

[@Hadgfeet]

Chris Porter is a legend

[@stevent1565]

Been a fan of Ashton since the early days.. amazing skills and crazy stunts.

[@captainmakai]

Watching these guys on these bikes are really inspired me to try and get my nan out on a bike again, she's too old to be able go out on her own but I'm hoping I can find somewhere to hire a Electric MTB tandem to take her out on some nice gentle nature trails.

[@ryandury]

Will be interesting to see how this geometry evolves! I can see how there might be a way to get the whole setup tighter by getting the back rider much closer to the front without the traditional handlebars. Kudos to the builders for making this a reality!

[@MissingLinkMTB]

The technology is so crazy on this bike, and you probably couldn't have any better than Martyn to push its limits.

[@roichir7699]

Been waiting for a long time for this video. This bike is awesome. Next contestant on the Random tandem: Doddy. And after that Blake.

[@alexdeboer334]

So good to see Martin riding again! such an inspiration!

[@maxb7281]

What a beautiful bike ! The tech could really advance mtb tandems massively hopefully making them less sketchy off road. I ride an e tandem with my wife and the slow manoeuvring braking technique you were using is the same as I use and it is really the only way to get the fine speed control on a tandem.

[@LongPeter]

Perfect! That’s the video I was wanting. Episode 0 of Random Tandem.

[@colinthompson5881]

Amazing bike for an amazing bloke, properly talented team on that bike as well, super cool

[@Kim_Miller]

In the motorcycle world we say the most critical component is the nut that joins the handlebars to the seat. Martyn sure takes that to a new level. 😁

[@gmbntech]

🤣

[@charuhasmehendale733]

Well put.

[@saywhaatnow]

Please do more of these!!! So cool.

[@jakehopkinson2031]

Really appreciate the behind the scenes look at how you achieved the thought process and its turned a couple of gears on my own ideas! Love the bike, would it ever be considered to let a fan on the back at an event of some kind?

[@stegotron]

Pretty sure Doddy could ride the tandem on his own, sitting on the back saddle and holding the front handlebars. This thing is ace!

[@mikethebike5014]

This is just wow superb well done guy's. Got to stop watching these things in the middle of the night when I can't go out on my bike just have to wait till tomorrow lol😁

[@gafrers]

Awesome. I've been waiting for this video since the first Tandem video on the main channel. Awesome.

[@leightaft7763]

How the hell does someone thumbs down this??? Super cool bike I’m stoked for you martyn!

[@tylernicholls917]

Superb bicycle tech. Stoked for Martyn!

[@ribinrobin8925]

Proper interesting bike. So awesome seeing marytn riding

[@uonadtehrrocks]

This is one of the coolest things ever

[@cccpkingu]

Stretcher tandem, loving it.

[@tamserenity]

This is really freaking AWESOME!

[@gaddmeister]

Brilliant! Love the support everyone has given Martyn! Cant wait to see Sam Pilgrim on the back!😂

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

The question is: can riding the Random Tandem scare the hell out of Pilgrim's wits? 🤣

[@gaddmeister]

Nah!

[@jacquesduplessis6175]

This has got to be the coolest project bike ever🤟🏼

[@ericliebert5260]

I like it! I think a Hopey steering damper would seriously reduce that front wheel flop.

[@Dan_Kornfeld]

A brilliant upload dudes! The problem solving of the steering dynamics and riders geometry is just fantastic! Martyn, this is all fine and good, but I won’t be truly 100% impressed until you and Doddy pull at least a 30 meter wheelie! (Or a manual with power assist.) Oh, and Doddy said he wants the two of you to try A Line at Whistler next!

[@tirabbi1]

Awesome stuff, prototyping is all about experimentation & refining the product. More power to ya. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@lukasek81pl]

i just say that is great job to make that kind of bike for Martyn.

[@alanduncan5998]

Awesome tribal brotherhood!

[@Noneofyerbisnis]

Man is a legend

[@leahuldan]

awesome video, thanks Doddy!

[@darius2640]

Keep going, with next bike fit 3 riders on, call it a bike bus

You should develop a similar style Tandem but where there is a pivot in the center. This would allow for tighter turns. The rear handlebars could be incorporated in some way to act as turning mechanism for the pivot. If the Rear handlebar location was located in front of the pivot on the front of the bike, and the rider sat behind the pivot, they could use the bars and their body to get the rear of the bike to point left or right of center. Probably only need a very small range of motion (say 20 degs to either side) to get a much smaller turning radius. A motorcycle like steering damper could keep the rear inline with the front and slow down the rotational speed somewhat, and require more effort to move the rear around. Incorporating a 360 deg like pivot (like heim joint) could also allow the rear rider to lean independently from the front frame section, which would help the bike track even better in turns from the induced camber.

[@petinka721]

That bike is perfect for challenge GCN if they can fix a tandem gravel bike! ;))

[@manueltauchhammer]

Such a cool project and interesting tech! Keep it up!

[@gmbntech]

As Doddy said, keep an eye out for future videos on this bike as we are going to be recording it's progress. Thanks Manuel 👍

[@manueltauchhammer]

@@gmbntech I'm already curious about your progress and the videos to it ✌️😉

[@tomgilfedder3515]

I see a Martin Blake Mega in the future ..... 😀

[@nicholasallez6899]

Custom front hub and fork for a twin rotor & brake caliper might be a valuable addition as well.

[@gmbntech]

He's not had a complaint with the braking power so far and we could still add more power without having to go twin rotor. Risse Racing were making them a few years ago.

[@nicholasallez6899]

Just had a look at the Risse brakes, didn’t realise they even existed. Cool looking but of gear. I figured that an OTB situation wouldn’t be a real issue and the fact you’d be able to have the full weight of a rider on the fork would enable some major braking forces to be imparted without traction loss. I was getting caught up in the engineering or over engineering side of things, but no doubt this is something that you guys had discussed in some of those “meetings” 😂 Awesome bike though, look forward to seeing more updates on the changes. 👍👍

[@maxtorque2277]

Given the bike is already V heavy, and you have plenty of battery power on-board, hows about an electric linear ball screw actuator driving the rear shock hard point up and down the slanted tube it's currently bracketed too? That would give the rear rider on-the-fly dynamic adjustment of rear ride height, low for the fast stuff, high for the techy pedaling?

[@LumenateBinauralBeats]

Martyn, you got some thick arms there mate.

[@plunder1956]

I once did Cycling for the blind. With a 6'4" very strong Piano tuner on the back. Who didn't really stop peddling at junctions until I screamed at him. Riding a heavy steel frame with steel wheels and crap break blocks. That was quite dodgy. At least Martyn can see! However With Martyn, I would have to keep MY EYES shut. Good luck with your project.

[@naoyukisasanami]

Like helicopter gun ships, little bit higher rear pilot position could be more stable maneuver?

[@th_js]

Don't know about stable, but they could see better.

[@twr2632]

Awesome bike! There was talk of holding onto the seat because of the bar width but what about mounting the bars off the top tube and sliding martyns seat 5 cm back (so bars would originate below martyns seat). Stoker should still have enough room. Looks as though it would be easy to go OTB at the moment. Could you also mount martyns seat on sliding rails so he can transition his weight a little bit? Not sure how easy the transition control would be so maybe dampen the rail with springs etc..

[@rodsofgod6863]

Amazing...Martyn is the MEN..

[@takusuns5028]

Would love to see these bikes racing downhill!

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

The bike looks a great development bed and a scream to ride on .I wonder if some form of controllable tilting function on the front seat would help in the corners.

[@NinetyTres]

Cool stuff Martyn !

[@casualsportshighlights]

Man, before Martin mad his tandem, I felt sorry for him. having a disability that stopped him from biking must've sucked! Atleast now he has a way to get on the trails, good for you Martin! P.S. Yes, I know that this is not when the tandem was actually made and yes, I know that he has taken it for some rides.

[@Kaffeeking]

Malan Vanderlinde do you also know that he has had two bikes before this to get out on the trails?

[@gmbntech]

Check these other videos he has made🤘👊👇 gmbn.eu/MartynRidesWhistler gmbn.eu/downNOTout

[@casualsportshighlights]

@@Kaffeeking yes

[@danielsantiago5129]

Best bike I ever owned

[@donniediscgolf951]

This is so cool

[@richardbeto1615]

Love your guys videos I watch constantly I recently bought a hardtail despite having a back injury and now I've realized I can't really ride it im quite bummed about it. Good luck boys thanks for the great content

[@peglor]

Depending on the injury, spending a bit of time in the gym working on particularly lower back strength might sort you out. I ruptured a disk in my back over 20 years ago, and after a couple of years of putting it out at random and losing a week to a month each time, I started consciously working on strengthening it and have nearly 20 years without issues at this stage. Check with your doctor first though - certain injuries are made much worse by the impacts from riding.

[@joelfearick2220]

Amazing work guys, great video and love the detail keep up the great work 👍🏻

[@sidneybales9062]

I once saw a bike that held 5 people. 2 adults and 3 children. It was insane.

[@amandapeine6745]

I'd be interested in seeing a tandem with a mid-frame shock as well as front and rear.

[@givemeakidney]

At low speed on a tandem, dragging the rear brake in corvettes really stabilises the bike. A bit like a sea anchor on a small boat.

[@eddolous]

This thing is insane

[@LVCMTB]

Its absolutely amazing

[@robinzimmerman6014]

Martyn my wife is jealous but is extremely excited. My wife has a neuro muscler disease that mess with her balance. Very excited for you.

[@Aphos88]

It's just popped in my head. Don't know if you guys have considered adding pseudo-brake levers. Brake levers that feel like they're doing something, maybe even connected to a sprung reservoir or something.... but they actually do nothing, to give the stoker a sort of placebo of control?

[@chw0112]

It needs one of Katherine's custom frame bags!

[@derekhuber7239]

Thanks guys

[@FalcoBikes]

@GMBN Tech I have several ideas to clean up the center of the frame design and save a bit of weight while at it. At some point, it will be useful for you guys to invest in a carbon mold and then the possibilities are endless.

[@ethanv1140]

Maybe to give both rider brake controls is maybe each rider gets control of 2 pistons on a two piston caliper if there’s a way to mode it like that

[@tylerkammerer4932]

I think the seat design could be improved. I think it should have some sort of pivot points so the rider can shift their weight around, especially on the non tandem.

[@Jukebox4Jesus]

Could you move the bottom bracket forward so that the “stocker” would be in a more reclining position, sort of like a recumbent bike position? Just a thought....