The BF Traveller Q can be broken down, but it's not a swing design like the Two'sday. We'll try it first in the back of the station wagon, but if the disassembly/re-assembly takes too much time for weekend ride starts we'll look for a roof-rack option.
I'll see if I can find the Phil Wood crank shorteners. They had a nice machined aluminum set from Tandems East, but they were just too narrow for the crank arms. I also see that Ride2 had shorteners in two different widths ($100), and I might ask them about those before having the custom ones made.
A question: do you find that you need to reduce your candence when riding with younger kids? I've always noticed that my son is something of a masher, while I'm normally spinning at 80-120 rpms. I wonder if his style would change on the tandem, of if I'm going to have to slow down on the spinning (like I did yesterday on the test ride).
You'll likely be right about the cost of replacing SPD shoes all the time (but I'm seen some for $20 a pair before). If we go for clips, I think I'd buy Power Grips (
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...ype=&estoreid=). Long ago (1991?) I used thems and found them to be lower profile than clips, and easier to enter and disengage from.
Btw, there's a pic and specs about the Q we're considering at
http://www.bikefriday.com/usedbike99view.cfm?id=464
Thanks!