Queen City Tandem

This Queen City Tandem represents the transfer of the Tandem concept from the Tricycle to the diamond frame bicycle.

It was made from two frames stuck together. It had a drop frame at the front for the woman to step through, and a regular men’s frame at the back.

Once mounted, both you and your partner pedalled the cranks, turning the chains that drove the back wheel. Together, you could maintain a respectable speed, despite the weight of the bike, while the pneumatic tires took care of most of the vibration.

There were no handbrakes. So the only way to slow down was to backpedal, trying to slow the rise of the pedals from the bottom of their stroke with your feet. This could become a challenge when going too fast, because the gears were fixed. So as long as the bike was moving, the pedals were turning. At high speeds it could be difficult to keep your feet on the pedals, which left you without any ability to brake at all.

This Tandem also reflected attitudes about the roles of men and women at the time. It was, for example, still regarded as inappropriate for the woman to be at the back of the bike looking forwards at the man. And it was still regarded as inappropriate for the woman to control the steering. For this reason, the two handlebar tubes were connected by a rod that allowed the bike to be steered from the back.