1. Tandem Maintenance: Assess your mechanical skills as it relates to working on your own tandem. (check all that apply) I have the necessary tools, knowledge, and skills needed toä
1. Pump up my own tires; does that count?	290		100%
2. Install and remove front & rear wheels and change flat tires.	291		100%
3. Loosen & adjust the eccentric	268		92%
4. Break & join chains	272		93%
5. Replace control cable, adjust derailleurs	254		87%
6. Remove and install forks	208		71%
7. Remove and install cranks / bottom brackets	222		76%
8. True and tension my wheels	180		62%
9. Build up wheels from scratch	101		35%
10. Frame repair, welding, brazing and machine work	14		5%
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2. Field Repair: Assess your ability to handle on-road mechanical break-downs. (check all that apply) I carry the necessary tools, parts and have the skills needed toä
1. Repair a single flat tire by replacing the tube	275		95%
2. Repair multiple flat tires by replacing or patching tubes	281		97%
3. Adjust derailleurs to fix chain skip while riding	269		92%
4. Re-install a dropped drive chain or sync / timing chain	276		95%
5. Fix and replace damaged links in a drive or sync / timing chain	200		69%
6. Pull the rear drive-side crank to remove a jammed / wrapped chain	115		40%
7. Fix or replace a broken wheel spoke	111		38%
8. Remove rear cassette and drum/disc brake rotors to replace broken spokes	48		16%
9. Complete ride with broken derailleur or derailleur cable	177		61%
10. Disassemble rear hub/cassette to fix broken ratchet mechanism	38		13%
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3. Who Does Your Bike Maintenance: For a variety of reasons, even folks who can work on their own bikes donπt always do so. At the same time, there are folks who need help in maintaining their tandem. Please check the statement that best describes your situationä (check all that apply)
1. I am totally dependent on bike shops	19		7%
2. I do most of my own basic maintenance	162		56%
3. I can and do all of my own bicycle maintenance	138		47%
4. I build bikes for a living and/or own a bike business	10		3%
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4. How Frequent Is Your Maintenance: Regardless of who does the maintenance on your tandem, and aside from putting air in the tires, how often do you check your tandem and itπs componentsä (check all that apply)
1. I spend every free moment working on my bikes	7		2%
2. I check tires & brakes before every ride	201		69%
3. It gets a once-over before or after each ride	98		34%
4. It gets a once-over before or after major event, ride, or tour	154		53%
5. It gets a once-over about once a month	67		23%
6. It gets a once-over about every 500 miles	49		17%
7. It gets a once-over about every 1,000 miles	24		8%
8. It gets a once-over about one every year	37		13%
9. It gets looked at when something breaks	58		20%
10. I didnπt realize these things needed any maintenance	1		0%
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5. The Logistics of Buying Tandems: How would you describe your situation with regard to the last tandem your purchasedä (check only one)
1. Our tandem dealer is reasonably close	94		32%
2. Traveled 100-500 mi to buy last NEW tandem	42		14%
3. Traveled 500-1,000 mi to buy last NEW tandem	9		3%
4. Bought last NEW tandem long distance	68		23%
5. Bought last NEW tandem from big box store	1		0%
6. Bought last USED tandem from local seller	30		10%
7. Traveled 100-500 mi to buy last USED tandem	15		5%
8. Traveled 500-1,000 mi to buy last USED tandem	1		0%
9. Bought last USED tandem from across country	24		8%
10. We rent a tandem as the need arises	0		0%
11. Did Not Respond / None of the Above	7		2%
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6. When You Need Help: How would you describe your situation with regard to getting professional mechanical help for your tandemä (check only one)
1. tandem dealer close by / does good job	57		20%
2. tandem dealer close by / of little or no help	4		1%
3. local bike shop / does good job on tandem	96		33%
4. local bike shop / of little help with tandem	17		6%
5. good tandem dealer within days drive for us	22		8%
6. good bike shop within days drive for us	10		3%
7. local dealer or shop, but I don't use them	45		15%
8. guy I know who takes care of our tandem	9		3%
9. rental place that takes care of our needs	0		0%
10. None of the Above; Struggling To Get Help	17		6%
11. Did Not Respond / None of the Above	14		5%
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7. I Can Break Anything Part I: Stuff breaks, for all kinds of reasons and tandems are no exception. Which of the following minor failures have you experiencedä (check all that apply)
1. Frequent spoke breakage	32		11%
2. Frequent rim damage from pot holes, railroad tracks, or other hazards	14		5%
3. Seemingly excessive numbers of flat tires for no obvious reason	28		10%
4. Drive chain breakage	60		21%
5. Rear cassette failure / folded sprockets	20		7%
6. Rear hub failure / stripped pawls, etc..	32		11%
7. Sync / timing chain breakage	24		8%
8. Sync / timing chain deraillment	48		16%
9. Broken crank arm	4		1%
10. Broken derailleur / derailleur cable	44		15%
11. Did Not Respond / No Failures	144		49%
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8. I Can Break Anything Part II: Stuff breaks, for all kinds of reasons and tandems are no exception. Which of the following serious failures have you experiencedä (check all that apply)
1. A tire blow-off on a step descent due to excessive rim brake heating	17		6%
2. Total brake fade / loss of stopping power	19		7%
3. Disc brake failure (any type)	12		4%
4. Disc brake failure (Avid BB7 Road)	6		2%
5. Collapsed / folded wheel failure	13		4%
6. Broken seat post or handle bar	36		12%
7. Fork failure (non- composite / carbon or Suspension)	6		2%
8. Fork-failure (composite / carbon)	1		0%
9. Frame failure (Big box store grade)	0		0%
10. Frame-failure (Premium grade tandem)	7		2%
11. Did Not Respond / No Serious Failures	212		73%
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9. I Can Break Anything; SNAP!! Was it serious? With regard to the serious types of failures identified in Question #8 (Part II), when they occurred did they cause a crash and/or serious injury that required medical attention (EMS) (check all that apply)
1. Discovered during maintenance, after a ride, etcä No harm done	19		21%
2. Discovered / experience during a ride but no harm done; finished ride	41		45%
3. Discovered / experience during a ride and abandoned but no harm done	14		15%
4. Failed during a ride causing minor incident but no physical harm: finished ride	22		24%
5. Failed during a ride causing minor incident and minor injury: finished ride	5		5%
6. Failed during a ride causing minor incident but no physical harm: abandoned	6		6%
7. Failed during a ride causing minor incident and minor injury: abandoned	2		2%
8. Catastrophic failure injured one or both riders, but no EMS required	3		3%
9. Catastrophic failure injured one or both riders, EMS required	2		2%
10. Catastrophic failure injured one or both riders, hospitalization required	0		0%
11. Did Not Respond / No Failures	201		69%
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