Tandem cycling makes cyclists (even) better people: they have to act as a team and establish clear communication. The helmsman has to communicate what is coming up on the terrain - à la "Step now!" or "Change gear now!" - and not carry out any unexpected maneuvers. The rear passenger has to put up with it all - and do most of the accelerating. If couples go on tour with the tandem, this can quickly turn into a test of endurance - but also really "weld together".

The part about the acceleration mentioned above, or rather the strenuous pedaling, will soon change for tandem cycling. The e-bike artists from Moustache are launching a tandem mountain bike for the 2017 season that is equipped with a Performance CX motor from Bosch.

Four pedals, two chains, one motor

For the tandem challenge, the Moustache engineers had to prove their innovative spirit and Moustache says about the placement of the motor: "Building the motor to the front is easy, but the cranks can't possibly be synchronized due to the motor idling. So you can forget it if you want to keep it comfortable to use. So we put the motor at the back. We developed a specific interface and cranks that connect the front and rear bottom brackets despite the presence of the motor."

Well equipped

A new development from Bosch plays into the hands of the innovative tandem: with the Dual Battery-Y cable, two 500 Wh batteries can be combined, which logically gives the red bullet 1000 Wh and should guarantee an appealing range.

The tandem with the somewhat cryptic name "Samedi 27/9 X2" doesn't skimp on the components either: The wheel consists of Moustache's own asymmetrical rims measuring 27.5 inches and 35 millimetres wide, with Maxxis Recon tires in a plus width of 2.8 inches. The gears are shifted with Sram's NX 11-speed combo and the brakes are Magura's MT5 with 200 mm discs. So that the passenger in the second position in the saddle is not shaken too much, there is a Suntour suspension dropper post. And the weight? Moustache specifies 29.9 kg for the "Samedi 27/9 X2".

www.moustachebikes.com