We've only had tandems for a couple of years now. The first is a trek doubletrack we got on ebay that is too small for me in the back. I don't care what they say, fit matters back there too! It's steel and I can feel it flex as we ride. The hubby says the flex doesn't bother him at all. He's currently using it to tandem with his daughter who loves it....and does not like biking on a single at all. It's not a bad bike, especially for the price.

My tandem is a 2006 aluminum cannondale mtb found on sale, bought for my son and myself, or sometimes the hubby and I with the kiddo in the trailer. I fit both front and back (yay!) and we do singletrack and road riding with it. I like its stiffness and feel, the hubby says "too stiff!". My son LOVES it. The handlebars are hugely wide, but that can be fixed if I ever get around to it.

Being a typical first born I was surprised to find I don't mind my husband as captain at all. Our cadence is a compromise between his fast and my slow one, as long as we communicate it works well. Ha ha, talk about communication....he's STUCK there, listening to me blah blah blah (drink) blah blah blah. No matter how fast he goes he can't get away...

My son as stoker is great too. I love to be able to hear his stories, songs, questions, comments.

Neither of our bikes are as fast as some of the nicer road tandems, but they work pretty good for us (and I can mountain bike again!).

Da Vinci is the tandem maker with independent drive (one can coast while the other pedals). You still have the same cadence when pedaling, though. They also, like others, offer coupled bikes.

There's used tandems all over. It's finding the one you want with the features you need that's the tricky part. A lot of research helps.