The World’s Fastest Racing Tandem?

[@chrisridesbicycles]

Lighter than I expected. What about a challenge to find the fastest duo of presenters on the tandem? Can super competitive Si make up for Dan? Does Connor on the front with a smaller rider on the back give the best aero teardrop shape?

[@PrzemyslawSliwinski]

Not that much I expected. Our Lapierre X2's weight is 16.7kg (alu frame and wheels, and XT 3x9).

[@DanuelNuel]

Can Connor ride this bike solo from rear seat?

[@ravennexusmh]

Love the incredibly large 180mm rotor haha. 203f 180r is my standard for all bikes. Powerful brakes are best when the hands are tired and no longer work properly.

[@marianneoelund2940]

Many tandems these days are equipped with 250mm (10") rotors.

[@kevinomeley3043]

Nice bike. Great seeing GCN finally giving the run down on the specs. A shame though it wasn’t washed and clean for the video.

[@eagleironic5815]

I’ve been looking forward to this overview! Excellent video. Connecting the timing chain to the inner ring of the rear chainset is a genius idea, something I haven’t seen before. Utilising a wide ranging gravel cassette to compensate for the 1x set up is also very clever. However, calling the bike “world’s fastest racing tandem” I think is a bit of a stretch! No aero handlebars to be seen!

[@patrickgibbons5961]

Everything done on this tandem has been done many times before. Some of it is old school now.

[@patrickmarcoux8661]

Very nice. Thanks for a fine presentation. Cute photobomb at 9:41 😂

[@SonnyDarvish]

not that big of a deal, but the brake pads seem to be installed the other way around (the fins are vertical)

[@brianrainey2739]

Superlight at just over 34 lbs! The way Alex was lifting it I was thinking closer to 50. This beautiful rig is less than a lot of full sus mtn bikes….

[@jamesmckenzie3532]

I was going to comment that most tandems are over 20 kg. This one is very light but very strong...

[@TheFroztv]

Hell Yeah !! Cyfac FTW !!

[@BikeFitnessCoaching]

Friend of mine built the fastest tandem. Same engineer that designed and built the R5ca and RCA. In fact, he put 2 R5ca's together as his tandem which came in at 18 pounds!

[@roleypup]

Was wondering what computer you were using that could receive signals from two power meters. Now I see it's just two computers. Would be very cool if there was one computer set up specifically for tandem, which had two displays so that the rear rider could have info too.

[@Long_Machine]

In paracycling, it's common that the front teammate mounts both computers. I've had success with the PowerTap pedals front-rear and two Wahoo computers mounted up front during TTs.

[@woody9382000]

I like the paint scheme and this was an interesting look, but I'm surprised my titanium racing tandem is about 1kg lighter with more affordable bits.

[@Red-ju4mi]

🤣 beast and will last a lifetime.

[@Alex-kr7zr]

Titanium is more affordable than Carbon? No way. I mean this one us custom, but in general definitely not. As for weight: Probably because of the aero-ish design, aero and especially TT bikes are slightly heavier than race bikes.

[@tybysdad]

Very surprised at the weight. 15.58kg is a lot for a carbon tandem. Our Aluminum Santana Sovereign weighs around 14kg. Also, the 1x setup while perfect for gravel riding is not ideal for a tandem. At least a compact 2x system would work worlds better for climbing. Imagine 2 GCN riders putting out 400 watts each while spinning at 90rpm up a climb. That would be amazing to experience!

[@ResilientTim]

Exactly my thoughts as well. I have seen Calfees come in lighter that are built for adventure/gravel.

[@keithc5729]

@@ResilientTim Yes, the Calfee tandems are awesome. Way ahead of their time. They don't even need the diagonal tube and they run belt drive between the cranks.

[@marianneoelund2940]

You didn't see the tandem "Wall of Doom" episode with Si and Hank?

[@tybysdad]

That was a great video. If they had a 39t front ring, that would have allowed a knee friendly spin up that wall instead of mashing the 56t. Which in turn may very well have enabled a faster time.

[@siriustraining1774]

Santana Evolve Carbon tandem as a complete bike is 27.5 lbs!!!!!!! Their Escape (Scandium Aluminum) is the 'World's Lightest Tandem @ 22.8 lbs!!!

[@chinobikerkid7058]

Nice!

[@ltrtg13]

I bet that was a first. Lifting the rear wheel to do the freehub sound check. With the front wheel firmly planted on the ground.

[@Long_Machine]

WE had to switch to 203mm rotors, kept shredding the smaller rotors. A 50mph descent every lap during a road race smokes 'em.

[@Lacking_something]

Is anyone familiar with tandem records from late 80s early 90s? I had a teacher in Dorset called Mr Stroud or Straud who broke a record. Probably only a British TT record or something but it would be good to know.

[@laurentiubadea8075]

The best thing I ever got

[@russmeyer6939]

Currently racing a tandem in time trials and we are looking for a faster wheelset to help us. We are worried about weight as our total race weight is over 180 kg. I noticed these Duke wheels, but couldn't find them on the site. Would you be able to point us to a suitable aero tandem wheel set that can handle the weight? Many thanks.

[@taufikabidin412]

Barney and BHPC would like a word with their tandem bents and faired streamliners

[@bugboy152000]

Can we get some #GMBN crew on this bad boy?! And a #hellyeah for Alex @ #GCN #GCNTech too!

[@dawoudabdulaziz9920]

HELL YEAH!

[@paulmckeown3425]

Raced against (OK I was on the same start line as) Zak Carr RIP in some great crits which tandems are great fun in. GCN need to organise some tandem crit racing to see how fast their bike really is against the people who race them regularly. I'm sure they'll get some of the Paralympic squad to join in and circuits at Preston and Lancaster have hosted before. I would also add that if they try and sprint it properly it will probably drop the chain due to frame flex. If they need an organiser I'll step up.

[@andras.89]

Hell Yeah :D

[@murdoch9106]

Still weigh less than my 1980's touring bike! xD And that sound was clearly a V6 of the cycling world! ;)

[@marianneoelund2940]

It's only 3 lb more than my 1990 Trek touring bike. And 26 lb less than our tandem when it has pannier, tools and water bottles loaded.

[@VK2JIW]

Hell Yeah!!!

[@ewetopiafarm]

Fastest Tandem? It's heavier than my Co-motion Carrera, and a lot heavier than the Macchiato that I have on order.

[@dimaakh]

Do your bikes come with a warranty?

[@Seppster58]

After all the videos I watched with this bike, including the GCN+ documentary, I didn't realize the huge GCN logo print on the side of the bike until Alex pointed it out.. Thought is was just a random pattern. 🤦‍♂ Was intrigued though what ran behind Alex. Thought it was a racoon but after watching a few times, I gave up...LOL Couldn't figure it out.

[@davidziemelis1593]

Not as heavy as I expected, around the same as a DH mtb

[@therealcaldini]

Next video: a racing trandem, please.

[@kakablee]

In electric shifting era, tandem bike can be perfected. Now, we need a differential mechanism between two cranks.

[@patrickgibbons5961]

DaVinci tandems allow independent coasting. Nobody makes a tandem with independent paddling

[@PrzemyslawSliwinski]

7:07 - I would consider the Di2s instead. Let a stocker have some fun!

[@sama8670]

Does this tandem have through axle or qr skewers?

[@RichardMigneron]

If you look carefully at 4:08 when he shows the rear derailleur, it looks like thru-axles !

[@sama8670]

@@RichardMigneron ok I’m looking for a new tandem. Most affordable models use qr skewers. Actually I’m in the market for an e-tandem. Most are not designed as part of the tandem yet. Happy New Year 🎊

[@thatguy9051]

Beautiful Bike, but what I don't understand is why the main drive isn't a belt drive rather than a heavy chain?? Thank you.

[@patrickgibbons5961]

If you have a derailer, you can’t do a gates belt.

[@patrickgibbons5961]

They’re called stroker hoods in the rear, not dummy levers.

[@easternbrown]

Just a thought, but wouldn't it be more aero to have the smaller rider on the front?

[@jamieab13]

Think about an aerofoil, the widest part is towards the front and it tapers towards the rear, having the taller rider at the front and the shorter rider in their wake is likely more aero

[@HweolRidda]

Also, steering on a tandem requires more strength than on a single because of more weight and longer wheel base. On a road tandem this is especially true in sudden unexpected maneuvers, where the stoker won't shift their weight to help direction changes. So generally larger stronger person on the front even without considering aerodynamics.

[@HweolRidda]

That may be another reason for the wider bars on the front.

[@rogueblader]

Is it better to get a tandem

[@krehme]

Fastest racing tandem? What about that Aero beast used on the track by Ollie and Johnathan Schubert for a two against 1 challenge?

[@TovEazy]

2 pros on a tandem vs Sai on a TT bike

[@Jari1973]

Thank you for the video! Technically great machine. In real life .. A thing a man should not try .. even once .. :)

[@joseflutz2143]

TT rider vs tandem!

[@jeremymaclean3535]

That’s a long bike check. For a long bike I suppose

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

The Stoker on a tandem rides on the drops 100% of the time. No need for dummy brake handles. Get rid of them, lose that weight.

[@HweolRidda]

Not for a ride the length of Britain.

[@HweolRidda]

And on a tandem the win would be with aerodynamic drag not weight.

[@jimcappa6815]

This weighs less than my HT MTB 😅😅

[@tomcruz3774]

It's still lighter than my bike wtf

[@EnduroPo30]

Shouldn't the small rider be up front? Wouldn't that be more aero ? 🙃😉

[@paulmckeown3425]

You need the strength to hold the steering, not saying it can't or hasn't been done but it's not a job for the weak.

[@patrickgibbons5961]

It’s not about having the strongest rider in the front. It’s about having the heaviest rider in the front, for weight distribution. Putting the heavier rider in front means most of the weight is between the wheels.

[@PeXis]

Human centipede.

[@billkallas4046]

Do they still have tandem track racing?

[@RichardMigneron]

Nope, that doesn't happen anymore in the Olympics, so no more anywhere else either. A big shame if you ask me.

[@steveballs901]

I've only seen tandems in the paralympics to enable blind people to ride.

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

Specialized made a tandem Shiv. It was so ugly.

[@davidsantos5516]

Again...let the Groom...go on his honey moon

[@davidsantos5516]

😄

[@alexpatonGCN]

Hahaha

[@iangreenstreet1407]

My Tandem is quicker

[@102.7-w7f]

GCN......just filler no killer these days too much rubbish - as long as you're selling merchandise .......good luck to you. Was a fan now a sceptical viewer....