Jim, We're un-racers as well (even have the patch, which my wife/stoker initially read as UN (United Nations) Racer, which caused some confusion), and to date we do not have lots of HHH miles yet, but based upon initial impressions, the Bilenky (650b x 42, S&S couplers, drop bar touring setup) is quicker on paved surfaces. I think that much of that is likely due to the riding position. The HHH does, by its nature, seem to encourage dawdling a bit more, which is not a bad thing.
We bought it as an around town bike and for use on unpaved rail/trails like the KATY trail. I think on unpaved trails the HHH might be faster, if for no other reason than wider tires and less need to pick a line -- of course, unpaved riding conditions vary greatly, so.... Steve is right about a well-matched strong team being very fast. We're not super well matched (I'm 6'7, stoker is 5'3", with associated strength differences). One of the things we really love about tandems is that we can ride together with neither of us feeling mismatched. Even though I'd not characterize us as a strong, well-matched team we've been on group rides in which we pass folks going uphill, and we often pass folks going down. We've also pulled a line of 10 to 15 cyclists drafting us into a headwind for 20 miles, but that's not our normal m.o. I have a Clem, an Atlantis, and a Ram in addition to the HHH. I'd say it's a bit faster than the Clem, a bit slower than the Atlantis, and slower than the Ram. Not sure if any of that really answers the "race" questions, as we usually are not going full out -- except when climbing a long hill/mountain fully loaded with gear and pulling a trailer, which is a different kettle of fish altogether... Julian Westerhout Bloomington, IL On Monday, May 22, 2017 at 10:26:59 AM UTC-5, Jim S. wrote: > > Good morning Owners Bunch (and Julian in particular if you happen to be > reading this), > > I understand that the HHH is intended to be comfortable and fun. And I am, > in fact, a dedicated unracer. With that said, how fast is the HHH compared > to other tandems? I know these things are imprecise, but assuming the same > riders, would the HHH lose a race to Julian's Bilenky, for example? > > Also, how does HHH cruising speed compare to say, a Sam or a Homer? Will > two riders of the same ability on an HHH beat a rider of the same ability > (as the HHH riders) on a Sam? If so, by a lot? > > (I'm just curious about these things. I have no particular agenda.) > > Jim Simeri > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
