Review of Pacific Dualie Tandem Bike (26-Inch Wheels)

Pacific Dualie Tandem Bike (26-Inch Wheels)
By: Pacific Cycle Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 12
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handlebars

On: 2008-11-12

The bike is great, nice bike as a whole. BUT...the handlebars for the person riding on the back are ridiculous. They are so low you are riding completely hunched over if you hold on to them, we will be modifying the bike some how.

fun, sturdy, a bit more than just a novelty

On: 2008-11-02

The shipping was super fast. After I got the tandem in the mail, I spent about an hour putting it together and adjusting it to fit us. If you dont have a decent knowledge of bicycle maint/repair or dont have a strong aptitude for all things mechanical, Id suggest taking it to a local bike shop. brakes and deraileurs will need adjusted and the wheels will need truing. A lot of fun to ride--nice low gears! Has braze-ons for 2 water bottle holders by the stokers seat and braze-ons for mounting a rack on the back. Heavy but a nice ride and lots of fun for what you pay.

Major issue to consider.

On: 2008-10-19

When I started assembling the bike, I noticed the front bottom bracket was a type I have never seen before. It is essentially a regular cup/bearing 3 piece crank, except that the part of the frame in which the cups usually screw into is much too big for normal installation. What makes the bottom bracket fit into this larger hole is 2 metal "adapters" (for lack of a better word), one on each side. They are not threaded (nor is the frame), which means the bottom bracket can (and will!) simply slide in-and-out. The so-called solution to this problem is 2 tiny tension screws that go through the frame from underneath and tighten against the "adapters", holding them in place. I see this as a major design failure, as it undermines the strength of the cup/bearing bottom bracket [the lockring!]
What this means is, while you are out riding your new tandem, there is a probability that these tiny screws will come loose (as bicycling tends to cause). That is what happened to me, and the whole crank just FELL OUT. Had these components been visible in the picture, I would not have purchased this tandem. Other than that, most of the parts are of low quality. It also rides fairly slow compared to tandems I have been on.

Tandem Chain Needs Tensioner

On: 2008-10-05

I am a 6, 148#, 57.5 year-old man. During a recent riding trip (when my 95# wife and I were the furthest from our house), the tandem chain had stretched to the point where it would no longer stay on the crank sprockets. We had only ridden this bike about five hours total, and I have never stood on the pedals to climb a hill (as I would normally do on my other bicycle). I complained to Amazon and Pacific and they were both very cooperative. Pacific sent a new chain, but in the meantime, I bought a tensioner sprocket and built a spring loaded tensioner out of some garage parts. I emailed pictures of my tensioner to Pacific (I would post the pictures here but cannot) and the customer service representative wrote that my recommendation would be forwarded to the product manager. No bicycle chain should be without a tensioner. Otherwise I am very satisfied with the bicycle.

my online bike purchase from amazon.com

On: 2008-10-05

The bike which I received in shipping package needs to assembly and has defect. The back seat insert tube (the open side) has dent. The dented tube is not round and narrow and took me time to hammer it, file it to fix the dent in order to enlarge the opening. I almost gave up before barely inserting the seat. Recommendation is to enforce the inspection before sending to customer.

Tandem bike

On: 2008-09-22

Fun toy. Great for my girlfriend and I to do together and be able to stick together. Im a faster cycler than her so this is a great product for us to be able to spend time together and exercise together at the same time. The bike is somewhat heavy but for tooling around the neighborhood its great. Just make sure everything is all tightened up before the first ride. I missed the two screws under the pedals and the pedal sprocket came out on our first ride. Had to adjust the brakes and gearing but that is to be expected on any new bike. Front wheel will need the spokes tuned to make the wheel spin true as it has a slight wobble. Great value for the price.

pacific tandem bike

On: 2008-09-20

Pacific Dualie Tandem Bike (26-Inch Wheels)VERY NICE BIKE.HEAVY DUTY.THE ONE THING THAT I FOUND THAT WAS NOT DONE RIGHT WAS THE WAY THAT THE PACKAGING WAS NOT ADEQUATE.THE DE-RAILER WAS STICKING THRU THE SIDE OF THE BOX.IT HAD BEEN SUBJECT TO A LOT OF WEAR DURING SHIPPING.I THINK ITS REALLY A GOOD BIKE FOR THE MONEY.WE USE IT AT THE JERSEY SHORE AND ITS REALLY EASY TO RIDEAFTER YOU LEARN HOW TO SYNCHRONIZE PEDALING.

Love this tandem

On: 2008-08-31

Great bike, got it super fast. I ride my son 6-8 miles to school every day mon-fri. We have loved it, I just cant seem to get a good rack for it. The first one I tried to get thru Niagra cycles never came, so I finally got one at Target, it will do for now.

Dual bike for two

On: 2008-08-30

The first thing we did was to take the bike on a 20 mile bike trip through the woods on the Va. Creeper Trail. The bike performed flawlessly and made the trip very enjoyable. We were the envy of everyone on the trail and believe me there were hundreds of people on the trail. We were stopped many times to ask where we got the bike from and how we liked it. They also wanted to know if it was hard to ride with two people and we responded with a resounding no it isnt hard at all. The only problem I had was on the arrival of the box from UPS. When I was putting the bike together i noticed that the front gear was warped fairly badly either from mishandling or craftmanship, but it wasnt to much of a problem. I just kept bending the warped place out until I was satisfied that it was as true as possible then off we went. Over all we have been very satisfied with the biking experience.

Some problems but only $200

On: 2008-06-22

The wheels needed truing, brakes needed adjusting and gears were only slightly off adjustment. Youll need to carry a 15mm wrench to remove a wheel to change a flat if one occurs, but who can really complain about a solidly constructed bike for 200 stinkin bucks?!?!? It would have been worth $20 to $40 more if it had come with quick release skewers on the wheels instead of bolted on wheels. It comes with a 14-34 rear cassette so climbing hills wont be a problem. The only way to get skewers is to completely replace the wheels, but good luck finding a 14-34 cassette. I use this bike to pick up my 10 year old nephew from school and he loves it. My girlfriend & I enjoy "green riding" instead of driving to fun things like a park festival, or going to the movies. The steel frame flexes, unlike alluminum, so that bad bumps dont beat the heck out of you. Tires are nobby so riding on dirt and easy single track is ok. I would not try to do seriuos mountain biking on any tandem mountain bike, certainly not this one. You cant turn as sharp and the long frame can more easily bottom out. We are planning to enjoy a ride on the nearest cinder covered "Rails to Trails". Have put a rack on the back and we plan even to do some grocery shopping together! It is well worth the $200. Also be sure to clean out the rims, there are many shards of metal from the very sharp spoke tips along the rim, they will puncture your tire. And watchout for chain tossing when you shift to the big climbing 1st speed going up a hill.

Hard not to like a functioning tandem for $200

A surprisingly decent tandem bike

On: 2008-06-13

What attracted me was the super low $200 price for a brand-new tandem bike that was much less expensive (delivered) than used tandems listed on Craigslist or eBay. Its a steel frame, but the 21-speed gearing makes the bike pretty easy to ride if you use them effectively. I was a bit concerned about fit and finish due to the low price, but when it arrived its all pretty decent and certainly a great value for the money.

P.S. - The exact same bike is currently listed on the Toys R Us website for $189.99 but they will add a $121.34 charge for ground shipping and handling ($311.33 total not including sales tax).

Fantastic Value!

On: 2008-06-10

This is a superbly constructed bike. The strong steel frame is a little heavier, but much more stable, and forgiving, for less experienced tandem bikers. First gear is a Shimano super low making it easy to peddle, and get both bikers on their seats and peddles. 21 gear, all Shimano drive train, with SRAM index handle shifters, and comfortable seats, make it easy to do hills. The Promax brakes have complete control of the weight of two riders going down a steep incline. It has the connections for all the fun accessories, two sets of screws for water bottle cages, connection points for adding a three strut mountain bike rack. You can carry plenty of stuff, and then add fold down, rectangular panniers, to the rack, to carry two grocery store bags perfectly. This bike is a summer work horse, for fun, exercise, and a utility vehicle for two. With gas over $4.00 a gal, this bike makes even greater sense. Assembly is easy, only placing handle bars, seats, and peddles, the drive train is completely intact. Cool spacers on the cables running along the front horizontal frame bar, protect the paint. Be sure to tighten all bolts before your maiden ride, shipping can loosen them a little. Tires need 65 psi for a very smooth ride, on city tires, for two. This is a unique value at $199.99, delivered. I have recommended it to several friends.