Need advice for custom tandem

Since my crash/broken ankle surgery, DH is now interested in riding tandem again! We have extensive tandem experience, but our 1988 Santana never was comfortable for either of us. DH got tired of the captain job so we sold it to a cute couple years later. DH is 5'8 & rides a 52 to 54 frame & I'm 5'1 & ride a 47. I have really short legs (28 inch inseam) & hope to avoid a cramped stoker cockpit. We are looking for not carbon, & possibly the type of frame with couplers for travel. Any recommendations? Thanks! tokie

You might check out a Rodriguez 8-Ball. Sorry I can't figure out how to link to the specific page, but if you go to www.rodcycle.com the link is at the bottom of their tandem page.

I don't really know anything about tandems, but we met a guy recently who builds bikes that are designed to come apart for travel. He is based in Tucson and his company is called Ravello Bikes. He does have tandems listed on his web site: http://www.ravellobikes.com/

Hope that is is helpful.

Ooh, what about a Co-Motion model with the "periscope" rear seat post? We have one in a size Large that fits my 6'2" hubby on the front and anyone from like 3'6" - 6'2" on the back. It's primarily our 10 year old's bike--this way we can all get out for rides together. :) You guys would probably want the smaller size (medium?).

This is the one we have. It can be made with couplers, too.

Dave Kirk made this tandem for the the wife & I. Great guy to work with, rides great and it truly is a beautiful bike. Downside - 14 month lead time and frame & fork hit 5 figures.

NbyNY-the 8 ball was one we had missed - good concept for a trip when the stoker wants a day off or was injured. I've never met anyone w/ a Rodriguez

AZfiddle- Nice to recommend a local craftsman, his bikes look beautiful. I think we prefer to go w/ a builder that specializes in tandems though.

Zoom-Zoom - I have met people who love their Co-Motion tandems. The models to choose from are confusing. We like to climb alot, & wonder if weight should be something we take into consideration more.

Serrota Jim, I can't thank you enough - who knew how expensive a tandem could be! Makes other bikes seem quite inexpensive! Yours is really georgeous though - wow! I bet it is fast and fun!

I'll keep you all posted - still trying to figure if DH can retire this spring, so $ is part of the equation! Tokie

I would look at Co-motion. For a few more dollars you can get them to custom fit a frame to you.

In regards to climbing and tandems- the thing that makes the most difference is the riders. Tandems will always climb slower than single bikes. Put two fit guys on a tandem and yes they will go. Improving fitness and losing weight off the riders would be the biggest improvement to climbing.

You are going to need a triple crank for climbing. Even a compact it's not going to do it unless you are elite riders.

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Originally Posted by Kiwi Stoker

I would look at Co-motion. For a few more dollars you can get them to custom fit a frame to you.

In regards to climbing and tandems- the thing that makes the most difference is the riders. Tandems will always climb slower than single bikes. Put two fit guys on a tandem and yes they will go. Improving fitness and losing weight off the riders would be the biggest improvement to climbing.

You are going to need a triple crank for climbing. Even a compact it's not going to do it unless you are elite riders.

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But you will HAUL @SS down the hills!!! I can pass my hubby and kid on uphills, but on the downhills they blow by me like I'm standing still (and my son likes to make this face: :p ).

Yeah, we hit 103km per hour going down a certain hill. Lots and lots of fun!

My husband and I sold our Santana a few years ago after we acquired a used Co-Motion Primera Co-pilot with the S&S couplers. We love the Co-motion. We feel it fits us better, has better handling, and take it apart often for travel. However, it is quite heavy. We use it for general riding, brevets (we completed the SR series of 200-600km rides on it the past two years), and both credit card and fully loaded touring.

Last year we added a Calfee carbon tandem to our fleet of bikes for fast club rides and hills.

Since you do not want carbon, I'd recommend the Co-Motion Speedster or Supremo for the lighter weight since you want to climb hills. We have friends who both of these and they are very happy with them. The Co-Pilot option is expensive but will allow you to travel easily - even by plane - with your bike. We took ours to France this year as well as many trips in the US without paying any additional charges.

I am 5-1/2 inches tall and both our small/small Co-motion and our medium/small Calfee fit me fine. Both have more room in the cockpit (by at least an inch) than our Santana Sovereign. As others mentioned, Co-motion will custom size your tandem for a small up charge.

If you are not in a hurry, I recommend checking eBay and the Tandem Magazine online classifieds weekly. If you are patient, you will find a used tandem with couplers for 1/2 to the 1/3 the price of a new one.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

If money were not an issue, I would love a Calfee. Not sure they make anything but carbon, though. I know two couples with Calfees, stunning doesn't cover it.

http://www.calfeedesign.com/products/tandem/

They also make bamboo tandems.

My coach has borrowed a carbon Calfee tandem & won multiple Master's National Championship races with it! & I bet it's a great feeling ride too! Loving all the info - we toured in Alaska with our (I'll-fitting) Santana. And we saw it getting loaded onto our plane - in one box (no couplers) by one guy. He just heaved it. When we got to Alaska we had to buy a new big chain ring :-(. Still not sure if we would really use it to fly places or not. Tokie

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Originally Posted by Tokie

...who knew how expensive a tandem could be! Makes other bikes seem quite inexpensive!

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When people ask, our stock answer is "We don't own a boat."

Another way to think of the expense is to compare it to other recreational vehicles. :)

When we toured with our (ill-fitting)tandem in Alaska people in towns would pull up alongside in their cars & remark how fun our bike looked & how much did it cost? This was 1989. When we replied $1500.0, the response was inevitably quite disappointed. So I changed my response to $500.00. This answer made people very happy(they were in trucks/cars, & I doubt they were looking at the brand of the bike). We got really soaked riding into Talkeetna & passed by fishtailing oil tankers,busses & RVs gave us a few grey hairs! Tokie