Ann Arbor man takes tandem bikes to the national level

You never really think about a tandem bike until you see one. And then you laugh, think it’s funny, and maybe wish you had one. Well, at least some of us do. Anyway, some people think about them a lot more than others. And some people even take hand-made tandem bikes to bicycle shows. Excerpt: Like a tailor who makes fine suits, Joel Hakken hand builds custom bikes. From the lightweight frames with exotic paint jobs to wheels whose weight is measured in ounces, they are functional showpieces. Hakken calls them art on wheels. The owner of Midwest Bike & Tandem, located in a small shop at the rear of the Courtyard Shops in northeast Ann Arbor, Hakken will be taking four of his custom creations to the 2010 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Richmond, Va., which starts Friday. Joel Hakken, owner of Midwest Bike & Tandem of Ann Arbor, shows one of the custom, hand-made bikes he will take with him next week to the Hand Made Bike Show in Virginia. It’s an aluminum-framed ultra lightweight bike that can be broken down to fit into a suitcase-size carrying bag and is valued at $4,000 to $5,000. Read the entire article here.