Tandem bicycle
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The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be powered by more than one person. Originally the tandem was composed of welding two bicycle frames together to form a two-person bicycle. Modern technology has improved component and frame designs, and many tandems are as well-built as modern high-end road and off-road bikes. Because of the additional stresses caused by multiple riders, tandems typically have stronger components than ordinary bicycles.
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Tandems are also available as tricycles; the conventional tandem trike has a small but devoted following in the United Kingdom, and is available in one-wheel and two-wheel drive designs. Recumbent tandem tricycles are also gaining popularity throughout the world.
Beyond tandems is the world of multi-bikes. Bicycles for three, four, or five riders are "triples" or "triplets", "quads" or "quadruplets", and "quints" or "quintuplets" respectively. A famous ten-person bicycle or "decemtuplet", the "Oriten", was built in 1896 by the Orient Cycle Company. Perhaps the largest bicycle ever built was the forty-seater built in 1984 in Queanbeyan, Australia.
Tandem bicycles are often used in competitions for blind and visually impaired cyclists, who ride as stokers with a fully-sighted pilot.
See also
- Daisy Bell (cultural reference)
External links
- The Tandem Club (http://www.tandem-club.org.uk) — a U.K.-based club
- The Tandem Club of America (http://www.tandemclub.org) — an originally U.S.-based, international club