Schwinn Twinn

Pros: Weight, components, setup and design. Let me start off by saying that for this price, I am hugely impressed by what comes on this bike. For a mere 440 dollars you get basically everything on an entry level hybrid bike, but with a tandem frame and some extra finishing kit. Out of the box everything worked pretty well but needed a slight adjustment, especially the chain tension from the captain to the stoker. The quality of the Shimano shifters is great for being their entry level stuff. I have Shimano XT on my mountain bike and this is just as reliable. The shifting quality isn't perfect but it's good enough for most users. Let's face it, you aren't buying a tandem to win a Gran Prix. But, with the weight of this bike, you might be competitive! I estimated it to weigh around 40 to 45 lb which is quite good for a commuter. The disc brakes work phenomenally and really allow you to upgrade the bike in the future if need be. Overall really impressed with what you get for the price. Both of us love riding it and it was a fairly cheap way to try out the tandem lifestyle without committing to a 2 grand bike. Cons: finishing kit and fork Alright so this bike does have some flaws, mainly the finishing kit and the fork. Let's start with the finishing kit, aka the parts that no one really checks before purchasing. Both saddles are atrocious if you intend on riding anything but the beach, too squishy and wide. We changed these out immediately for our own preferred saddles. The pedals are decent, plastic platforms, pretty standard. The cranks are cast, and have riveted chainrings, not good for changing chainrings in the future and very heavy. The bars and seatposts are heavier than what they need to be but will probably last forever. The tires are Kenda, which is usually standard for bikes built on a budget. Not bad, but some faster rolling tires would bring this bike to life. Wheels are actually impressive. They're boat anchors but are 36h and true from the factory. I haven't had to true them yet and we've put maybe 100 miles on it. The fork is probably the heaviest single part of the bike and has the wrong weight spring in it. I weigh 170 ish lb and when I pedal alone in the front, the fork has used 50% of the travel. Normally you want to use about 20-30% of the travel with BOTH riders on the bike. I personally would have preferred a rigid fork but it is really comfortable. Having a heavier weight spring would make it steer better under braking among other reasons. Long story short, there's a lot of bike that you get for the money. Most serious riders will want to change the saddles and pedals immediately and potentially the tires. But, if you and your partner are more casual, this bike is perfect as is. Only thing I recommend is to have it assembled by a proper bicycle mechanic at your neighborhood bike shop. Thank you Schwinn for making a fun and affordable entry level tandem bike!!

I've only had the bike for two days but have taken it out both days for about a total of 20 miles. For the price, I think it is hard to beat the value. So far I love this bike but, I am going to make a few tweaks to the bike. I have already ordered a pair of cromoly rigid forks (450mm axle to crown) because as a lot of reviews have said on here, the shocks are not right for this bike. The shocks compress too much which causes the pedals to hit the ground on turns and small bumps which takes the paint off the cranks if you are on a down stroke (been there done that more than once already). Other than that, the ride is comfortable and even though they are not the most efficient rollers, the tires do a great job of soaking up the bumps. Again as other self-assemblers have stated, assembly is fairly easy but, the derailleurs and brakes needed a bit of adjusting but nothing major. I have ordered some 5" rise handlebars for the stoker as this captain has short legs so, I need the seat to be almost to the bottom which lowers the handlebars to a weird height for the stoker. The other complaint about this bike by others is the seat comfort - I will give them a bit more time as they seem pretty comfortable for tooling around short distances but, they are probably not the best for touring but then again, this bike isn't set up for that. Delivery: Delivery was prompt and the packaging was well done however, the box had been punched through during deliver and I have a bent spoke and the sticker on the rim is ripped up in the same location. This is not the fault of the packing but more of a problem of rough handling during delivery. I've written Pacific Bike to see if they can send a new rim but, no word back yet. It still rides ok but, the rim is out of true and the spoke is bent too much to be straightened. Hopefully they can send a rim but, I'm guessing they don't have them just laying around since the bike probably comes as a whole package from China. 4/30/2018 Update: I received an email this morning that Pacific Customer Service has sent out a new front wheel to me. Jennifer at Pacific has been great and I feel even better about my purchase knowing that Pacific made things right with my damage front wheel!

We have put about 100 miles on this bike over the past 8 weeks. As many other reviews have said, the price is excellent compared to other tandem bikes. Also, as said by others, there are some shortcomings. The 4-star rating is based solely on an entry-level bike at a reasonable price. If we thought this was a higher quality machine, would give it fewer stars. So you need to decide a few things before buying: 1. Where will you ride? We stick to a few local paved "rail trails" and the bike is well suited to this service and we have a huge variety in our area. There is no way we would take it off road though - it isn't made for that at all! 2. Can you live with a somewhat awkward seating arrangement for both front and back rider? There is absolutely no useful handlebar adjustment, so the forward rider is sort of hunched over, and the back rider has the handlebars in his/her knees until they get used to it. 3. Are you totally committed to tandem biking? If you are, consider a more $$$ bike - we are already discussing that option for ourselves now that we are doing longer rides, but the increase is substantial. Realize this is a $500-600 bike in a world where other MFRs are in the thousands. 4. Do you want to go fast? We don't and that is a good thing. Our typical pace is around 8-10 MPH so not much faster than a hard run. We do creep up into the teens downhill. The brakes are way too small to go faster than this. Some other posters have commented on this. 5. Are you the right size? The frame is very strong, but the components as mentioned by others are kind of low quality. We are about 180# front and 150# back and that is about the limit in our opinion. Maybe it could go as high as a combined 350# but that would be about it. One thing that nobody has mentioned (I don't think) is that there is really no need for the top 7 gears - if you rode that fast, you would burn the brakes off unless you are both around 100# As some other reviewers have said, fenders are a must for that day that it decides to rain. Hope this helps shed some light on this bike.

Excellent, EXCELLENT Tandem bike for the $$$ -- as echoed by many other Amazon purchasers. I have been riding and building bikes for over 40 years, so I know what I am talking about. I purchased this one because in our advancing years my wife no longer felt comfortable straddling our trusty ole Burley 'Rock & Roll' tandem of 20+ years. Yes, yes, the components on the Schwinn Twinn are low-end economy (e.g. steel cogs vs exotic forged and machined alloys chain rings etc) -- but they WORK! ...and work WELL -- as long as you are not riding it in the Tour de Peking or other grand toure. Which reminds me -- Whatever Chinese company built this in the name of Schwinn (?) did a very credible job IMHO. (Odd you cant find it in the Schwinn product line up?!?) What most impressed me MOST was the quality of the aluminum frame, which alone is worth the cost of the entire bike -- based on other brand name bikes I have purchased over the years. The frame is light weight, stiff, and strong., Sure the welds aren't ground down to an airplane finish, but again this isnt a racing maacheeen. Assembly and adjustment was 'normal' for a new bike -- which means, one needs to pay attention to the details to tune things, or find a competent bike mechanic who can do this level of work in his/her sleep. I was able to tune the bike and eliminate any unwanted noises, squeaks, scrapes and it runs like a top -- flawless. But what REALLY impressed me was the quality, detail and easy read of the included owners manual. READ it FIRST. Great detail and easy to understand, including how to adjust and includes tricks of the trade that many bike riders dont know. If you or your favorite bike repair guy read the book it will answer all your set up questions. As with any bike of mine, I will eventually upgrade some of the components, like pedals, seats, handle bars, maybe others. But NOT because they dont work, but because I like to personalize the 'ride'. But I could not/would not do that if the frame was flawed. Speaking of ride, we live in relatively flat terrain so the 21 gears work just fine for us -- dont need 30+ gears for mountain climbing. And the wider tires with an inflation limit of 40 lbs give it a 'cruiser' kinda ride, vs a commuter bike, or racing bike feel. You can always get narrower, higher pressure tires/tubes but this is a 'pleasure' ride for us so the lower pressure takes the shock out of the road for the stoker without any fancy seat-stay shock aborbers. The assembled tandem weighs 47 pounds out of the box and my wife and i easily maintain 15 MPH on the flats (Could go much faster if my stoker would 'kick-in' and pedal for heavens sake. LoL Cause the bike is well balanced and stiff. CAUTION: Cant power through a tight turn (e.g. pedal through the turn) as many here have commented. I proved thqt myself LoL. But, BUT, that very point is addressed in the owners manual., as well as other good tips (e.g. like to avoid cross-gearing which especially applies to any 3-chainring bike but is often missed by casual riders. Finally, I rarely write product reviews but this was an exception. I took the risk to purchase this bike only because of the very helpful responses from other Amazon customers to questions I had -- for which I am very grateful to each of you who provided an answer to my questions. My wife LOVES this tandem which makes me extremely happy. I recommend it highly for 'reliable' casual recreational riding (Which at our age constitutes 'exercise') LoL.

I am an aircraft mechanic and have been comparing the quality and materials of bicycles for a while. This is a great bicycle and an excellent value for the price! Improved design over Schwinn's classic tandem bike. Aluminum alloy frame and disc brakes being two major features. Easy assembly. I chose the large frame because I am 6'2" but my wife is 5'4". The bike size works well for both of us. It has a comfortable ride and we are looking forward to many miles riding.

This tandem with Aluminum frame, modern mountain bike specs shipped for $400 is a STEAL. Period. Even if the price is just the frame I'd say it's still the most competitive, if not the only, mtb tandem out there. If you buy a bike online, you should be prepared to adjust brakes, shifters etc. yourself. Some knowledge on bike assembly and adjustment is required. That's how you save money compared to buying from a store. Frame: Has oversized tubes and welds are fine. This bike is from a well managed modern production line instead of some garage. Much lighter than any steel frame out there.Headset is old school EC34 (34mm diameter) that takes 1 1/8 straight fork. Be aware, this bike has low bottom brackets. Your pedals or crank arm will easily scratch the ground on uneven terrain or turning with inner foot down. Crankset: OK for the price. I use this to convert this bike to independent pedaling system (IPS). Search for Crankarm Set Ips Road Ftorrr Blk 170Mm Fork: Cheap fork that is OK for the price. One quirk is that if you open the cap on top, you can actually use it as storage space, since the fork has no damper whatsoever at all. The headtube only accept 1 1/8 threadless straight forks with more than about 8 inch steerer, minimum. I managed to find a Fox TALAS 36 straight fork (100-160 travel adjustable) and beefed up the front end. Swapped out wheels as well to install front thru axle and rear 10spd cassette. If you are not trying to do mtb on it like me, just leave the fork and wheels alone. The fork is a bit heavy, but he wheels are surprisingly lightweight. Just use them until you break them. I used a 30.0 seatpost for the front rider, sand papered down all parts a little bit for it to fit. The stock 29.8 mm seatpost seems a bit too loose in the seat tube. Of course you can add some shims to make it tighter. Tires are lightweight and good enough for cruising around. Kenda 2.0 with some tread for feather light offroad. Saddles are surprisingly well made compared to the price. They are wide, heavy, comfy for ordinary person. They even speced a wider saddle for the lady at back and a narrower saddle for the man at front. Very considerate. Would recommend to anyone who wants to try tandem. It is a great way to get your loved one or your friend out to do some exercise, or talk to a real person in 2018. Especially for the price, shipping such a thing alone is well over $100.

We've had this bike for about six months now. I bought this bike with the hope that my wife would ride with me without spending thousands to discover she wouldn't. She didn't like it at first, but finally she figured out that she needs to stay inline with the bike as we turn and not attempt to lean opposite the turn. Now she's feeling much more comfortable. From this perspective, the bike has been a great success. The bicycle was well packaged and arrived undamaged except for the front chain guard, which was cracked but isn't needed. Assembly was easy though several times I found that I had mounted parts upside down or backwards. I had to adjust the derailleurs and the brakes, which is to be expected. My only complaint as with several other reviewers is that the pedals are too close to the ground because of the compression of the shock. The tips of the front crank lost their paint on the first ride from scraping the ground in slight turns or over bumps. My son, who went on the first ride with me, and I are a both about 150 lbs, so it had nothing to do with having a heavy captain on the front. Clearly the shocks are not intended to be used on the frame of this bike. I fixed the problem by locking the shocks out; I bought some one inch inner diameter, nylon reinforced tubing, split it down the middle then wrapped it around the shock tubes then used three clamps on each side to hold it in place so the shock won't compress. It works great - no more pedal scraping. The shock is now rigid and works great, perfect for a bicycle that never needed a shock in the first place. Because of this I would normally have given the bike a one star rating, but other than the shock the bike is a great value. The frame and most of the other components are aluminum instead of steel. It shifts great and rides smooth. Some people complained about their feet hitting the front wheel when pedaling and turning. This might have occurred if they didn't reverse the fork when they pulled it out of the box. I initially assembled it backwards too, but figured it out and fixed it. I don't have any problems with my feet hitting the tires, at least not any worse than I do with my other bikes. As of now, I haven't noticed my feet hitting the tire at all. If it weren't for the shock I'd give this bike 5 stars.

Well, lets start with the negatives. That kick stand reduces the ground clearance always loosing the rubber tips on offroad trails. Yep, we took it on dirt trails, but you sometimes have to walk it over some bumps. Thats because of the long wheel base length. When turning and leaning you have to watch your pedals position not to hit the ground, this could cause a crash. Again the long wheel base length. Now that my health is affecting my leg strength, I converted it to a 35 mph beast. 1200 watt rear hub motor with a 48v 20 amp battery. Also changed to hydraulic brake upgrade. Still kept that stupid kickstand. But my wife and I are used to it now. We've had this bike since 2019 and it is still a nice bike. For the price, I guess you can't beat the value. I do recommend it, but with any bike you need to understand the limitations to ride safely. Good luck in your decision. We hope this helped.

Excelente tándem bike!!!

I bought this and had it delivered to my temporary address while on a business assignment in Saskatoon, Canada. Item was delivered to me on time and despite the fact that I wasn't happy that I had to pay close to 10% of the cost of the item in addition for delivery I was happy that I got it on time. Trouble started as soon as I opened the box and started the assembly. The front tube was punctured and I had to go to Walmart and buy a spare tube. Didn't care about the $12 cost and wasted time, but wasn't happy with the quality control at this time. Since I was away had to also purchase a pump of course so another $25 here. Put air and went for the first rider, 30 minutes in the rider front tire went flat and had to walk to my hotel where I realized the issue is with the tire as it was very clumsy and low quality. So headed again to Walmart to buy another tube and a new tier which cost me another $40. So at this point I've paid around $80 (another 10% of the cost of the bike) on top of the $70 shipping cost. For the 3rd time I got the bike out for a spin and that's when the real issues showed up. 1) The pedals are too low and a real safety concern. When you're making a turn, not even a sharp turn if you're not careful the pedals (front ones) would touch the ground and you could lose control of the bike, really bad design. 2) The gears work and don't work. It definitely needs adjustment and tunning. Also they make noise that tells you the gears are having a hard time being adjusted to the chain. The front gears are useless for that reason, keep them to the highest and only use the rear one and hopefully you manage. 3) The chain constantly fall off and need to be fixed. Almost every time you use the front gear, a sometimes when you use the rear one. So I decided to return the item and remember, I'm in a hotel and it's almost a week after I opened the box and of course not having any intention to return the bike getting rid of the packaging. Now I'm asked to return the bike by first of all paying from my pocket to their location in Ontario, I looked and the cost is around $140. To be fare they reimbursed me for one of the tubes and the tire after days of going back and forth and asking for receipts and dates and being totally rude and unprofessional. But all and all I decided to keep the bike, sell it locally and cut my loses vs returning to seller as I've already paid 20% higher and paying another 15% and then not be sure if I get my full purchase price cause I didn't have the original packaging was a risk I didn't want to take. Stay away from this product and this seller and shame on Amazon for letting them be on this platform, go read other comments and you'll see lots of people have similar problem and issues. Hopefully this helps a few to avoid the headache,