An old friend of mine bought a trek duotrack tandem. This was the hybred 700c they had a few years ago, gripshift alloy frame. He bought it with the hope he and his wife would ride together. Well, she hated it and it spent a year in the garage gathering dust.
I was at my friends house one day and saw the tandem in his garage. I saw it was dusty and could tell it had not been used in at least one season. So, with that in mind I didnt mind asking if I might borrow the bike for a few rides. Well, not only did my friend let me borrow it, he told me "if you'll get that bike out of my garage you can have it! It makes me mad just looking at it". So, Brad's first tandem was a freebie!
After a few years of just putzing around on the tandem with what ever stoker I could find I learned a few things. #1, was I dig tandeming. #2, was I knew if/when I ever got married I'd want a "real" tandem. #3, dont ever buy a hybrid tandem as you cant off road with it and you cant hang on the road either.
The upgrade of Gripshift to Ultegra STI was worth it by itself. There are too many things to list that made it worth it. I'd say in your case going from a 6sp up to a 9sp STI alone will be worth it. After a month of riding it you'll say, there are too many things to list.
The biggest thing though is the funds have to be there. If you go out and spend a lot that you cant really afford it'll not be worth it. If money is an issue stick with what you have now till you can afford it as you'll not want any ill feelings toward the purchase.
I say UPGRADE BABY!! If you have the funds do it, you'll be glad you did. You'll both be glad you did as you start embracing the sport more and more.
The Trek tandem I had was considered perfectly fine by many people (I still see them on the road today) and it had the huge bonus of I DIDNT HAVE TO PAY A THING FOR IT. So, I took the freebie and gave it away so I could go spend a lot of hard earned money on a new tandem. Not only do I not regret it, I still dream of upgrading to a travel rig if the funds are ever there to do so.
Last edited by brad; 07-15-03 at 02:35 PM.