Tandem Cycling - New or Used Tandem

i am about to enter the world of tandems as i have rented a burley for the upcoming weekend prior to making the purchase. I am looking at a brand new, 2008, Cannodale Road 2 for about 3K , and also a used Burley Rivazza, 2006 for about the same price. I have no experience with either one of these bikes, only the little bit of information from the web. They seemed to be very close as far as components selection, execpt for the nicer Rolf wheels on the Rivazza. Any advise as far as ride characteristics, quality of the bikes, etc., would be appreciated.

Either tandem would serve you very well. Which one is the proper fit/handling for you?

Thanks for the reply. My wife and I just finished our first 22 miles in the Burley rental. The owner of the shop spent about two hours fitting the bike to both of us, and it fitted both of us well (i am 6'0"). The only complaint on the burley it's that the stoker size on the rental (Medium frame) was almost too big for her. The stoker seat had to be down all the way in order to acomodate my wife size (5'5"). The Cannondale road 2 should be a better fit, as we are looking at a L/S frame. I won't be able to try a Cannondale, as I can't rent one, and I know aluminum can be a little harsher ride, I just hope its not too harsh for my wife.

As a matter of fact, if you rode the Rivazza, that is also an aluminum frame.

...I know aluminum can be a little harsher ride, I just hope its not too harsh for my wife.

Get a Thudbuster for the stoker and she'll be very happy. :D

Get a Thudbuster for the stoker and she'll be very happy. :D

But make sure there is enough room to fit the small stoker on the frame. The TB takes extra room above the frame.

But enough about seatposts! Giro De Vino was outstanding today -- lots of tandems, perfect weather, every stop was a winery.

Back on topic: The Thudbuster worked well on today's ride, and is a perfect match for modern pavement challenges.

I noticed that the seatpost for the stoker position on the rental Burley was all the way in, but the Cannondale geometry should allow for more room to put the Thudbuster seatpost. Wine and Tandem sounds like the perfect weekend. I may have to try it, but Texas it's not up to par with Ca. when it comes to wine.

Thank y'all for your advice, it has been very helpful. I will certainly tap into your knowledge in the future.

Texas does have some great wine! There is a little winery near the Louisiana border in the small town of Orange. It's just that California has more of them!

Good tip. We'll just have to make a little biking trip to the border and try it out (wine that is) once we get the C'dale.

Barb and I have had a Burley Samba upgraded to a Duet since 1995. No complaints yet.