Tandems East Customer Experiences

Customer Experiences

On this page happy, satisfied customers talk about how Tandems East has made buying and owning their tandem bicycle easier and more enjoyable.

Mel:
Thanks for the great job on my co-motion Americano. I can’t say enough about how much fun it is. I recall you were interested in my trip details so I am sending you some background and pictures. If you need additional details let me know. I flew to Great Falls, Montana and started riding the adventure cycling Lewis and Clark Trail east with a friend who was riding the whole 3000 miles. The bike went in the suit case fine, no extra baggage fee. We went via Ft Benton, Lewiston, Jordan, wolf point to Williston ND. This is high plains desert riding, very remote, limited cell service, friendly people and small bars and restaurants to eat in. We rode thru wheat fields ,cattle ranches and dry plains. A reasonable size family ranch is 8,000 acres. We did a combination of motel and camp. The bike handled full loads great, even on dirt roads. I sent my bike suitcase ahead to a UPS Store and they held it for the 10 days of riding . After finishing 600 miles of eastern Montana and North Dakota I packed the bike and carried it on a train to Glacier National Park. I stayed outside the park in Whitefish, MT for about 5 days and rode in the park each day. Including riding the Going To The Sun Road up to the Continental Divide, without panniers. I then packed the bike and flew to San Francisco to meet Christine. I rode a cross the Golden Gate Bridge and back. After the visit we flew home. Thanks for help with a great bike

Bill

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Greetings Mel,

Thought you would like to see a photo of us on the Oregon coast with the Periscope. The bike functioned superbly---and we managed the packing and unpacking process with reasonable lack of frustration! We toured with John and Janet Weber and 21 others from Bicycle Adventure Club.

Jerry Shank

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Periscope on the Oregon coast

Mel--

Thanks for the great rides you sold us. We've been out riding including a jaunt to the Midwest Tandem Rally in Ann Arbor this year (since I'm a Michigan alumnus) where Grace made it 35 miles. I've attached a picture.

Next up is a ride in the Berkshires on Sunday. Hope you had a good ride on GAP/C&O this summer.

John Qudeen

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Hello Mel! Hope you are doing great.

Attached is one of many fine pictures we took while recently on a fabulous tandem trip with friends, who included Jan & Jim Proctor. The attached pic was taken as we rode through Ticonderoga, NY, on our way to Waterbury, Vermont on our last day. We had a blast - 3 couples, 3 tandems, 330 miles in 4 days!

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Jim & Jan Proctor (Enfield, NH) and Charlie & Paula Bedard (Goffstown, NH) traveling on their Co-motion Speedsters through Ticonderoga, NY - July 2011

For more pics, feel free to check out Jan or my facebook pages! For Charlie & I, it was our first "extended" (multi-day) trip ever on a bike, carrying all that we needed with us (water, sunblock, credit card, change of clothes!) Fun!

Thanks to all of you for building us these awesome bikes!

Paula Bedard

Mel,

Mary and I climbed Whiteface mt with the tandem, and spent a week in Lake Placid. The climb is 8 miles and 8% gradient.

Thanks for the great service and a great bike.

Pete & Mary

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Pete and Mary next to their 2011 Co-Motion Speedster.

Hi Mel.
Just wanted to let you know how much we are enjoying the new tandem! Here we are riding up Gonzo Pass near Lincoln, New Hampshire. We like our new bike! It was the perfect anniversary gift to each other.

Charlie & Paula Bedard!

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Paula and Charlie enjoying their custom Co-Motion Speedster on Gonzo Pass.

Mel,

I wanted to thank you for the top-notch parts and advice regarding my Jack Taylor tandem. Attached are some photos of the finished product. I think you’ll agree that the wheels look absolutely right on this bike, and they perform beautifully.

Thanks again,

Eric Nichols

Newfields NH

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Vintage Jack Taylor with hand built wheels. Materials provided by Tandems East.

A new friendship developed in your basement last January when a Maroon Comotion and a newly painted Green Bushnell left with their owners.

We met up with Bonnie and Bob Adams had a really nice day riding from Washington's Crossing State Park (Titusville) to Bull's Island State Park

Thanks

Tricia and Ed Troike

East Brunswick, NJ

PS we plan to see you at tandam expo on sunday

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Dear Mel and Barbara,

Here are a couple of images of us all on the day we picked up our tandem. We sure look happy.

But after spending a little time on the bike, Mary and I are even happier. I am just tickled pink over how Mary is enjoying it. We are both simply astonished at the how this bike really rides. We are re-discovering the joy of tandem riding. Not that our old bike was so bad… it’s just that the CoMotion is so much better. Mel, you mentioned how the bike does not beat you up, well, we’ve noticed. It seems every ride we do is full of good energy. The bike seems magical. We work at finding ways to steal time on it. We’ve managed to put two hundred miles on it over the first three weeks, and I suppose this is pretty good for a tandem and the fact that this is Nutcracker season. With Zoe’s commitment to the ballet and with Mary helping out backstage, the riding must be squeezed in. But I suppose that’s always the case. I’m not worried. I’m sure we will put plenty of happy miles on this bike… a foregone conclusion.

You two did a wonderful thing by starting your tandem business, and even more so by doing such a good job at it. It does not go unnoticed.

I will be forever grateful,

Ron Lessard

Princeton, NJ

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Happy tandem owners Ron & Mary with their new Co-Motion Tandem

Hello Mel,
This is the pic of my wife Karen and I riding your Hokitika on the MS Ride this year. Great bike.....great ride !!!

Thanks again for renting to us !

Joe & Karen Silverio

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Joe & Karen Silverio on a Hokitika 2-BE-ONE

Hello Mel,
Thank you for the follow up call.
My daughter Marianne took the attached photo with her phone and forwarded it
to my email. This was our initial test ride. Edward & I took the tandem to
our local bike trail. We strapped on our helmets and took the five mile ride
I mentioned on the phone.

Thank you for the quality stoker kit. I know we will get a lot of good use
from it.

I hope you enjoy the photo too.

Robert and De Anne Cox

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Bob Cox-captain (58 years old) & Grandson Edward-stoker (4 years old)

Hi Mel,

"Today was a beautiful day. We enlisted our neighbor to snap some photos of us on the Calfee. That’s Jolie, a Bichon Frise, in the backpack. After the photo shoot we rode 8 miles to a new dog park in the next town. Jolie ran around, made lots of friends, then climbed back into the backpack for the ride home.

We’re wearing shirts from The Great Chiweenie (www.thegreatchiweenie.com).

Steve and Barbara Hall

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Stephen and Barbara Hall with Jolie on their Calfee

(see more photos like these in our Photo Gallery)

Mel,

Just to let you know that we made our trip from LA to Boston. We arrived in Boston on Friday (6/25) and did our ceremonial dip in the Atlantic. We rode about 3450 miles total.

Our Co-Motion held out great! We did break the shifting cable in Sedona and were about 1.5 miles from a mountain bike shop. They did not have a cable, so our SAG went back to the truck and got the one we had taken along. We lost about 2.5 hours, but were able to continue without losing a mile. We had 12 flats. With riding on the Interstate, we got a lot of those little wires and thorns in our tires, even though we tried to check them periodically.

So, we are so grateful for a safe trip! There were 14 of us that did the whole trip with about another 10 doing segments of the trip. Several of the riders had crashes and broke helmets and cracked ribs, but we made it with no mishap. Thanks for taking the time to inspect our bike and helping us choose the bike “right for us.” We rode with CrossRoads which we could recommend.

Hope you are enjoying your summer and that you can take a few days off to relax! We’ll be in touch re tuning up our bike sometime late summer or fall.

I’ve attached a picture of us in Boston.

Janie and LaVern Yutzy

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Janie and LaVern Yutzy and their Co-Motion in Boston

"We did our longest ride so far at the Capital to Capital Century - 77 miles (picture attached). We ran into Michael and Natalie Hutchinson on their Calfee at one of the rest stops.

The bike is running well. I really like the Dura Ace brakes. I am still getting used to the shifting - the 10 speed more finicky than the 9 speed on our Co-Motion. I am about used to the rear shifting - it seems to take just a little bit of over-shifting to get to the larger cogs. The front is shifting well, but I am still getting used to the trim positions. A couple more months and I should be more proficient - I am unlearning 23,000 miles of shifting on the 9 speed Ultegra.

We have noticed that we can climb noticeably better on the Calfee - especially on long, gently grades. And it is definitely a more comfortable ride. We have no regrets on our purchase, and are looking forward to a wonderful summer of riding.

Again, many thanks for building us such a beautiful bike."

Reed and Karen Nester

Williamsburg VA

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Reed & Karen Nester enjoying their new Calfee

"We just wanted to let you know we've put a few hundred miles on our new Cannondale tandem since we purchased it at the Tandem Expo, and we love it!
This is our third tandem, and it feels like we've now got a "real" one. The best feature: the disk brakes! After a little break-in period, they feel sure and solid -- a great improvement over the cantilevers and v-brakes we've had in the past."

"We enjoyed the Expo. It is a nice event. I hope it has been working out well for you. For us, it took 3 visits until we made the commitment to our new ride.
We'll probably see you at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, and the SeaGull, and at future Expo events!"

Thanks,

Thurman Kremser & Phyl Geist
Leesport, PA

"We purchased a tandem from you last Thursday night. We took it to our Pocono home over the weekend….the first ride was 8 miles and Sue did just fine. The second ride was 16 miles and Sue did fine again! I really think she has a whole new outlook on cycling (good!). Thanks for your patience during our purchase and testing…….we will highly recommend your shop (and tandems) to our friends."

Thanks again,

Ray and Sue Brower

The following was sent shortly after the completing the 2009 RAGBRAI

(The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa)

In its 37th year, RAGBRAI is the longest, largest and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world. RAGBRAI is sponsored by The Des Moines Register. For more information click the following link http://ragbrai.com/

"The bike was fantastic for the week. Just about everyone who went by or we passed commented about the bike. Many asked about it and how it is made, its materials, and how it rides. All commented on the paint job and how great it looked.

However, more important was how it performed. It was extremely comfortable for the entire week. We never felt like the bike "beat us up." From very slow speed up-hill (5-7 mph) in our granny gear, to 50+ mph on a fast decent, and everything in-between, it performed superbly. Your tune-up the week prior was perfect.

After the third day, I had a little difficultly shifting up onto the big chain ring. All it needed was about an 1/8 of an inch take up in the cable slack (cable stretch) and she was good to go. This week really showed just how good this bike really is and it is worth every penny we spent.　　

Thanks for always being there and for pointing us in the right direction on the Calfee."

All the best,

Ralph Jodice

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Ralph and Judy Jodice (Team Dice) at 2009 RAGBRAI

"Following our visit last week we would like to extend our greatest thanks for the work you did in getting our bike back up and running so we can continue our charity ride from San Fran to NYC. We were both amazed at the high level service we received and at the knowledge and professionalism you all demonstrated, not to mention the free food! By sorting our problems so quickly you have doubtlessly allowed us to finish our trip on schedule, guaranteeing even more money to be raised both for injured veterans and cancer research. We thank you again and will endeavor to recommend your services to any other riders we meet,"

Neil Riley and Charlie Bruce
www.tandemUSA.net

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Charlie Bruce & Neil Riley with Mel and at the ocean

Mel & Barbara,

You, Bryant & Dave gave us a huge amount of your time this week (including what must have been many, many hours of work before we even arrived). We cannot thank you enough. As new, devoted fans of Tandems East, we will gladly 'spread the word' about your personal touch and attention to quality.

Today we took the bike out for our first ride-- a 22-mile loop in Washington DC through Rock Creek Park and the Capital Crescent Trail. Neither of the girls wanted to get in the car this morning, but I used a negotiation tactic Barbara also spoke of: ice cream. Once they were on board, both girls were all smiles. Annika pedaled 20 miles on the Co-motion (only 2 miles in the toddler seat behind the single bike) and it fit her perfectly.

So thank you, again. We enjoyed meeting you both and having the chance to get to know you. I am inspired by all that you are doing together--staying busy, working hard, exercising and creating a community.

Best regards.

Ben & Jenka Vanlandingham

Also, we also cannot imagine doing this without the new ATOC rack. Good call on that one.

Quote from Jenka today: "It takes a leap of faith to put your youngest on the very back and ride fast, through traffic -- and hope that she holds on."

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Jenka Vanlandingham & Family

Hi,

I think you'll enjoy riding a tandem. It is a real couples' sport, allowing the two of you to share the pleasure of a ride. I found that to be a great equalizer: riding solo, one of us had to always wait for the other.

Regarding purchasing a machine:

One line of your search should be contacting local dealers to inquire about a "pre-owned" machine, to use the luxury-car euphemism. However, your best bet is contacting the pre-eminent dealer in NJ, Tandems East. Mel and Barbara Kornbluh are running their shop for probably some 20 years by now and handle only tandems, triplets, etc. Even though they are quite a ride away (assuming you are in the North of the state), their inventory is worth inspecting. And, I do know that they handle used bikes. When we first started almost 20 years ago, Mel gave me a good deal on a mixte Gottfried. That was an entry-level bike that let us explore the sport. Once we figured out what a heavy bike it was, we kept purchasing new tandems - all from Mel (all Burleys, by the way). Highly recommended - give them a call.

Robert
West Milford, NJ.

Mel,

Wow! It is amazing how much we enjoy riding our new tandem! We recently returned from biking through the Shenandoah Valley and the Skyline Drive (230+ miles) in Virginia. Our new Co-Motion Speedster served us well! It is so smooth and seems to just "glide" along, with a little help from us, of course.

Our new Co-Motion have taken us to a new level in our biking! I must confess that I wasn't sure I believed you when you told us that we needed a "custom-made" bike. With our previous tandem, on long rides I would be popping Aleve and complaining of pain. With the new bike and your custom 'fit', I have not experienced knee pain and have not needed any painkillers.

In closing, we want to thank you for taking the time to fit us properly and for recommending such an excellent tandem. We are certainly enjoying the Co-Motion. We are quick to tell fellow bike-riders about Tandems East and the good service we are receiving from you.

Again, a very big thank you!

Janie and LaVern Yutzy
Pennsylvania

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Hi Mel,
Here are a few photos of the tandem for you. David loves to ride this thing! Alan just had to try the fit so he climbed on yesterday before I could get out his helmet. We always use helmets. So far just a few short rides locally under ten miles, but we are looking forward to some touring next summer.

Thanks for all your help with the fit. I am very grateful that you talked us into a large/large frame size, especially with our handlebar choice. I may still go to different bars on this bike but we will have to take it for some longer rides before we will know what to tweak. We love the cranking system on this bike! I would be happy to recommend this system to anyone on the fence about the pedaling, especially for people with kids!
Maybe we'll try to make it to your next tandem expo 2010. Would like to meet you and your wife and it would be a good excuse to get out of VT during mud season!
Sincerely,
Matt Moody

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