Tandem Cycling - How on earth does one buy a tandem?

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charbergs
09-26-06, 07:17 PM
Hello all,
I am 5'5" and an avid cyclist. My stoker is a 5'2" new cyclist. We are looking to spend between $1500-$2500 on a tandem.
The problem is, we can't seem to find any place (and we live in the San Francisco area) to actually try tandems in our size we are considering buying. So, we would have to lay down in most cases the entire cost of the bike (!) in order to even try the bike as a special order.

Any recommedations on how to get around this problem?
Thanks!

Charlie

lopsided
09-26-06, 07:20 PM
When we were in Frisco over the Memorial Day weekend, we rented from a shop by the name of Blazing Saddles. Just so happens they have used tandems for sale at one of their shops. Give them a call and see if they can't set you up.
DBC Steve
09-26-06, 07:24 PM
Charlie -- I forgot the name of the bike shop, but the Specialized dealer in Santa Rosa has a couple of tandems in stock. If you are willing to travel a bit, talk with Rick Steele at Gold Country Cyclery near Shingle Springs, about 35 miles up Highway 50 from Sacramento. Rick has a good 20-30 tandems in stock, used and new. I recall they have at least one small used tandem listed on their web page. Finally, you might want to rent a Co-Motion Periscope to decide if you like tandeming. Beth at B&L Bike Shop in Davis has a Periscope for rent -- somthing like $65 per day. Davis is fairly flat and there are lots of riding opportunities in the area. Of course, if you really want to stick to SF and Lombard Street....

Rick Steele's web site is here: http://www.tandems-recumbents.com

zonatandem
09-30-06, 07:19 PM
Gold Country (Rick Steele) is a great place to checkout tandems. And yes, the 26" wheeled PerisCope by Co-Motion will fit folks in your dimunitive size. Good things come in small packages!
Tahoetandem
09-30-06, 10:43 PM
We had a really great experience shopping at the Bicycle Outfitter in Los Altos. When we were shopping, they had everything from Santanas and CoMotions (don't buy a tandem without trying one of these!) to $10,000 Calfees. They are very knowledgeable and we were able to ride 5 or 6 bikes to help us decide. Good luck....tandemming is an awesome way to ride together! Would highly recommend 700C wheels if you can make it work.