Mimi has given you some great advice, and I know that V will chime in as well.

For us, having a tandem is GREAT. My DH is a much stronger rider than I am and always will be. The tandem is the perfect equalizer, and lets us ride together. We started out tandeming on trails (yes, singletrack trails), so trust was a MAJOR issue there, and translated easily to the road when we made our switch.

It did take some getting used to re: pedaling styles. After a number of years, however, I think we finally have figured out a style that works for both of us on the road. There was a company that was making independent linkages (meaning that the captain and stoker could each pedal at their own cadence or coast independently), but I never heard much about them, and it looked like it was complicated and proprietary to me.

We ride aluminum Cannondales (we have one for the road, and one specifically for Time Trials). We really like the ride, but I don't think that this will work for you if you are looking for some customization and/or S&S couplers. One of the couples with whom we ride has an S&S coupled tandem and they have traveled from New England to CA and Europe with it. They love the ride on theirs as well.

As for speed - it's all relative . I'm a bit of a speed junkie, so going fast doesn't worry me, as long as it is safe. We've hit a top speed of 59 mph on ours on a local descent, and I wasn't concerned. At the TT, we can average 28 mph over a 9.75 mile course. Naturally, not everyone is comfortable doing that, but you will definitely be faster on flats and downhills than on a single bike - climbing is another story .

Good luck with your decision! As I said, we love our tandem, and have lots of great adventures together.

SheFly