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I saw a bike for hire in France, and I'd like to track down more details on it or something similar. Unfortunately the hire logos covered the manufacturer logos and the bike was locked up to others (all with the same colour frames) meaning I couldn't get a picture to show anything clearly. And the shop was closed.

It was a rear-steer tandem, with quite small wheels (maybe 24"). In front of the rear rider's saddle¹ was a low saddle with fixed handlebars and foot pegs. This was positioned rather like the top-tube child seats common in Europe, but from the design of the child's handlebars it was clearly integrated into the frame at manufacture. It looked suitable for a tall adult at the back and up to a short adult at the front. All three sets of handlebars where slightly swept-back flat bars.

This seems more sociable than putting a rear toddler seat on a tandem (where they can't be heard). It would also have a higher weight limit and allowing panniers.

The only current manufacturer of rear-steer tandems I can find is Nijland, and they are all step-through (so no top-tube to put the child seat on).

¹ I guess I should call it the captain's as this is where the steering handlebars are.

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  • So, a three-seater tandem but with two cranks, and steering from the rearmost seat only? Was the front seat a recumbent-style seat or a normal bike seat ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Jul 18, 2016 at 20:21
  • The front seat was a normal saddle, low but not ridiculously so. The geometry may have been a bit unusual but wasn't anywhere near recumbent. And the middle seat was clearly meant for someone quite small - they would have been between the rear rider's knees. (@Criggie)
    – Chris H
    Jul 18, 2016 at 21:01
  • Do you remember where the shop was? Does it show up on Google Streetview at all? Can we find them on the web and locate a contact email address or telephone number ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Jul 18, 2016 at 22:42
  • @Criggie it's not on street view, but turns out to be part of a chain with branches that are. The red bike in the pic is similar ...
    – Chris H
    Jul 19, 2016 at 12:34
  • ...but not the same - here's a better photo of the one on street view which shows it's just a rear-steer with a chiild at the front - probably the same make but I can't make out the logo. I might email them.
    – Chris H
    Jul 19, 2016 at 12:35

2 Answers 2

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While I never identified the exact bike, some similar bikes (rear-steer tandems and triplets in a variety of adult/child configurations) are made by a company called Amsterdamair. They're based in France, only a couple of hundred km from where I saw the bike. I suspect it was one of theirs though not quite a standard model.

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I assume it wasn’t this:

threesem

Or this:

tabsem

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  • Some of those are very close. In particular if the middle pedals were replaced with foot pegs in the first picture that could be or, though I recall that the front saddle looked high enough for a small adult
    – Chris H
    Apr 27, 2018 at 5:53
  • The front rider can not be too big or the captain in the back can not ride safely. But families with these bikes have growing children and as long as they fit they will use the bike.
    – Willeke
    Apr 27, 2018 at 12:13

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