Tandems.co.uk

Why were early tandems so bad?

• 21/03/2006
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“Bike builders didn’t take tandems seriously ,”remembers Bill McCready,” and most people who designed and build tandems had never ridden one.”

By 1976 Bill and fellow enthusiasts had ridden and evaluated over thirty tandem designs. Not surprisingly, they had developed some strong conclusions about the suitability or various materials and geometry’s. Armed with this new design information and a growing list of his shop’s eager customers, McCready contacted large and small bicycle manufacturers world wide. Although most of these builders had zero tandem experience, all insisted on using existing materials and their own design.

In 1976, after having exhausted all other options, Bill McCready founded Santana – a company dedicated to producing quality tandems for demanding enthusiasts. Over the next two years, bill, with the help of his wife, friends and employees, designed and built fourteen ever-better prototypes, and in 1978 the first Santana was delivered. By 1980, long before the first ads or catalogues were published, Santana was already the world’s largest builder in lightweight tandems. A leadership position that, thirty thousand tandems later, Santana continues to command today.

• Posted by Johnny
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