Santana Tandems
World Tandem maverick, Bill McCready has been racing, riding, touring and crafting tandems for 41 years. He met his wife, Jan, at a 1970 club ride where he showed up with his tandem and no partner. Since then Tandems have been a massive part of their lives together and they have explored the world on Tandem plus the McCreadies have shown thousands of people what great healthy fun Tandeming is.
In the mid-’70s, as Associate Editor for Bicycling magazine, Bill oversaw tandem road tests and articles while captaining and stoking thousands of miles with more than 100 riding partners on tandems from over 40 builders.Armed with the desire and knowledge to create better tandems for enthusiasts, in 1976 Bill left Bicycling to found Santana, and the rest is history. Santana are the number one High End Tandem Manufacturer in the World and their high tech dedicated facility produces Tandems exclusively. This maintains their undivided focus on Sizing, Geometry, Material Application and Quality Control of their full range of Tandems. Backing this, all Santana Tandems have a lifetime frame warranty against structural defects for the original purchaser. Thousands of cyclists have attended one of Bill’s “Intro to Tandeming” demo events and tandem test rides. Now the industry standard, Bill’s test ride procedure has been published in bike trade and consumer magazines worldwide.
TANDEM LOGIC
What one change could you make to revitalize your health, relationships and sense of well being? Believe it or not, the answer could be a tandem bicycle.By transcending their obvious roles as fun products, tandems can provide a regular dose of health, travel and companionship. Invariably, people who ride tandems spend uninterrupted time together, converse comfortably, maintain fitness (while working out at their own level), experience new worlds and gain a shared feeling of accomplishment. What tandem owners tell us over and over is that while a $6,000-$10,000 Tandem bicycle seemed expensive at first, what they really bought was an inexpensive freedom machine opening up a lifetime of fun, closeness and shared experiences and memories.
Together Again
We say we humans are social animals, yet how hard do we work at strengthening our relationships? With TV replacing discussion, fast food replacing meals around the table, and computers replacing game boards, our need to socialize is often left unfulfilled. Enter the tandem bicycle.Cleverly packaged as fun, tandeming doubles as a rewarding team-building exercise promoting closeness, shared effort and the attainment of common goals. In family settings, a tandem sets a positive model of companionship and cooperation for children, and deftly bridges generations. By affording easy conversation and cultivating mutual trust and respect, tandem riding can strengthen and improve any relationship.
Shared Workouts
Experts agree, two types of people live longer and happier-those who are married and those who stay fit. So, married people who stay fit should live the best lives of all. However, maintaining a relationship and staying fit both require many dedicated hours every week. With time at a premium, the best solution might be shared workouts. While this sounds easy, for most couples it’s nearly impossible. For workouts to be effective, you must exercise at your own pace. Inevitably, even the smallest difference in fitness, motivation or ability will cause you to either drift apart (no longer exercising together) or work above or below your desired pace (reducing the effectiveness of the workout Tandeming is the answer-it’s the one activity allowing optimal workouts for both of you. Instead of working out alone, holding back or competing head-to-head, you’re a team with a common goal. And because tandeming is fun (some would even say romantic), this is quality time worth repeating.
The World in a Better Light
Every couple on a tandem soon makes the same discovery -people actually smile when they see you. Whether riding across town or around the globe, the universal acceptance of couples on tandems means everyone, including strangers, becomes uncommonly friendly. And while it’s been said “getting there is half the fun,” on a tandem, getting there is the fun! The benefits of Tandem cycling is your immediacy of the elements and a landscape absorbed by all five senses, plus the subtle rewards of teamwork-easy conversation, shared discovery and mutual accomplishment.
The Cycling Evolution
There is a natural evolution to cycling. As a child, we learn to ride. Later as adults we learn to ride well and often become enthusiastic. Then, as our lives become complex, we too often leave our bikes behind. Tandeming is a more logical answer for most people – A tandem allows you to reclaim the exhilaration of youth and then share it with those who matter the most!Why wait? Anytime is the perfect time to discover the joys of tandeming.
A Sport for Both Sexes
Let’s face it. To its detriment, cycling, a male-rich sport, too often becomes a heated contest fueled by ego and testosterone. Tandeming is different. It’s the one aerobic sport that bridges the different abilities of active couples-where men and women not only play as equals, they both are paid back by their tandem ten fold in the fitness gains they both receive.
The Ultimate Lifestyle
Tens of millions of Western people maintain their health through cycling-a low impact, non-weightbearing and fun aerobic sport. Because cycling never becomes boring or repetitive, many do it for life. As a fitness activity, cycling’s only downside is that one must either ride alone or find someone of similar ability. Imagine how much more fulfilling cycling would be if we could share a workout with faster or slower partners-it might become the best fitness activity ever. And for families, the choice is even tougher. Do you spend your time working out or do you spend time with loved ones? Using only single bikes, it’s frustrating (if not impossible) to ride with kids and spouses. Tandems, however, combine the efforts of any two people-allowing either person to pedal with as much or little force as they desire-and blend them into a seamless performance. By transcending skill, experience and ability, tandems are the ultimate family bikes.
Aren’t Tandems Hard to Ride?
A few years ago, the best bicycles-built-for-two were clunky, unwieldy and totally unsatisfactory. Today’s best tandems, by comparison, are anything but. With proper design, tubing and components, a tandem, by virtue of its weight and wheelbase, is exceptionally safe and stable. Compared to single bikes, good tandems are also faster and more comfortable. Two can ride more easily than one.
Farther & Faster with less Work!
Most cyclists first learn about a tandem’s speed when riding behind one on an organized ride. Then, we notice that even while single bikers are struggling to keep up, the tandem’s riders are sharing a normal conversation. When confronted with this contradictory image of speed and leisure, most people assume the tandem’s owners must be incredibly fit.After all, cycling can’t be this efficient, there must be a catch. But that’s what it’s like on a tandem, you can ride faster and farther with less work.
Always in Sync!
How many activities can couples share where both look equally stylish, graceful and capable? While most activities reveal our differences in strength, style and grace, every couple looks great on a tandem.
Two Motors are Better than One!
Where does a tandem’s speed come from? Because tandems cut per-rider wind and rolling resistance virtually in half-even a fat-tired mountain tandem is more efficient than the sleekest disc-wheeled single bike. Further, when two cyclists ride together on singles, they are limited by the speed and range of the slower rider. Tandem partners, however, automatically attain or exceed the speed and range of the faster rider. This near-doubling of horsepower allows tandem partners to enjoy longer tours and faster training rides. Many tandem couples are delighted to find themselves routinely pulling long pacelines of young riders.
Who gets the Window Seat?
Because tandems are more aerodynamic when the taller rider captains, with most mixed couples this means the man rides in front. Regardless of gender, stokers need never feel “stuck” in back. To the contrary, cyclists with equal time on both ends of a tandem unanimously prefer stoking-it’s more fun! Unlike their captain (and single bike riders), stokers won’t spend two-thirds of their time staring at that small piece of road directly in front of their front wheel (vigilantly watching for rocks, potholes, glass, rear wheels of other riders and about-to-open car doors). Because stokers don’t watch the road in front, steer, shift or use the brakes, they discover a new sense of freedom. Stokers can ride no-hands, chat with other riders, read maps, study the scenery ,check the wildlife and have the option of ‘tuning out’ and daydreaming for a while!