Originally Posted by livngood
Similar to the Walmart tandem that has recently been discussed on this forum, the Atlantic Coast appears to be based on another RaleighUSA frame / bicycle. This frame has actually been on the market for several years under both the Raleigh and a while back the Univega name. You can see it in full Raleigh trim here:
http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?...temid=188&va=0 and also here.
http://villagecyclesport.com/site/it...=39&sort=Price
At $599 from Village Sport Cyclery, the Companion is a better value than the Atlantic Coast as equipped at hi-wheel. Not sure how much the one you saw in Bicycling was being sold for, but IMHO, as equipped that tandem should be priced more like the Walmart "Kent" tandem, i.e., $300 or so. In fact, the equipment on the Atlantic looks to be about the same as the Walmart offering noting they both use the very unusual idler wheel to take up slack on the timing chain vs. an eccentric.
Thank you for the info. The Raleigh at $599 sounds good if I can find it out here in Seattle for that price. I just want something sturdy tp start, and then if my wife enjoys it, we'll move up to a better tandem. We will be doing almost exclusively trail riding or backroads. I've ridden a lot a now have a recumbent that I've out 1500 mi on since last July. I love to ride and would like to get my wife out there too, but she's very tentative on a bike.