Tandem for 5'1" stoker?

[gosmsgo]

Hi everyone,

Is there a regular road bike tandem with a low enough stand over height for a 5'9" captain and a 5'1" stoker?

I have been looking for used tandems for months and im beginning to think that either a bike friday or trek t900 with the sloping top tubes.

Thank you,

[dvs cycles]

Santana Medium should fit. I'm 6'0" and my wife is 5'4" and we ride a large.

[bikeriderdave]

A Trek T1000 or T2000 should fit fine. The stoker seat tube is only 45 cm on the medium frame and 46 cm on the large.

[TandemGeek]

You may find some of the information in this archived thread of benefit, noting that my pertinent comments are at Post #12 and #18.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=116031&highlight=stoker+standover+height

[zonatandem]

Also, in a bit higher price/quality range, a selection of Co-Motion Periscope models . . ranging in price from $2570 to $5275.
Also Co-Mo small to medium road models, and their smaller yet Mocha (26" wheel) models.

[gosmsgo]

Good deal or bad deal if it fits.

I know its really fancy but it seems like a great bike at a good price.

What say you guys? Feel free to snatch it up if you like....you will not hurt my feelings!

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/449893231.html

[zonatandem]

IF they throw in the hardcase with the deal . . . otherwise a bit over priced in our estimation.

[gosmsgo]

Thank you for your feedback.

Does anyone on here have any experience with bike friday tandems? How much efficiency is lost over a 100 mile ride on a friday versus say a cannondale road tandem?

[ftsoft]

Well... I'm 5' 10" and my stoker is 5' 2" and we ride a CoMotion m/s. The stoker doesn't really need stand over height anyway.

Frank

[gosmsgo]

good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.com/SANTANA-TANDEM-TOURING-BICYCLE-W-EXTRAS-RECENTLY-TUNED_W0QQitemZ220166791839QQihZ012QQcategoryZ56192QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[sch]

The ebay Santana has to be over 25yrs old. Cranks look like TA (not bad
but definitely vintage and hard to get chainrings for ($$). Rear triangle likely
to be at least 10mm narrower, may be 15mm narrower than current standards
so you will have to use standard single bike rear wheels instead of tandem
rear wheels. Rear will have a screw on freewheel, not a cassette.
Almost qualifies as a vintage frame. Unless you plan short flat rides (under
40miles or so) it would have to be well under $1000 to be worth it, probably
under $500 realistically.

[rmac]

My stoker and I are exactly your heights. We have a medium/small road Cannondale and it fits fine. Stoker has enough room on her seatpost for a Thudbuster seatpost which takes up a bit of room. She likes a long reach so we have the stoker stem all the way up.

[Goldrush]

I'm 5'9", my wife is 5'0". We ride a CoMotion Supremo size small. As said before, stoker doesn't need stand over.

[zonatandem]

That is indeed a 'vintage' Santana; if it fits, about $500 or less. Probably weights just under 50 lbs as shown.

[zonatandem]

Have ridden several Bike Friday tandems. The Family Tandem is what it implies and not really meant for hammering 100 milers. However their top of the line, with twin beams, is definitely more suited for that. But the price is 4x as much.

[zonatandem]

'The stoker doesn't really need any standover height anyway.'

WHOA! My stoker will give you an argument on that one for sure. And yes, she's got beaucoup miles experience on many tandems, including 57,000 on a custom Co-Motion.

[Carbonfiberboy]

I'm 5'7" and my stoker is 5'2". Our Co-Motion Speedster, size small, just barely has standover for me, as I am short legged, but my stoker has enough room for a Thudbuster seatpost. Lengthwise, our fit is similar to the fit on our singles. I ride a 52cm single.

[cat0020]

I'm 5'10", my GF is 4'11", here is out tandem, we could swap between captn and stoker. Stoker sits in front of tandem, could be as short as 4'5":

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v502/cat0002/Hase%20Pino/SUC50229.jpg

The overall length of the semi-recumbent tandem is shortter than a regular tandem, since the stoker's boomtube bottom bracket is adjustable, so is the overall length of the tandem itself.

[Xanti Andia]

A Co-Motion periscope or a Co-Mo Mocha Medium will work. I am 6' my wife 5'2" and we ride a Large Mocha, stoker fits well even in a large because of the particular geometry of the Mocha.

[PlanetU]

My husband is 6' and I'm 5'. Our first tandem was a Trek2000, size large. It fit fine. I could ride it; and HE could stoke with his male friends. It's a very versatile, and inexpensive bike. We really enjoyed it...
Until we upgraded to a custom Co-Motion Supremo Co-Pilot!
:-)

[gosmsgo]

Thanks everyone,

What I have learned here is that the stoker does not need standover clearance. For months I have been watching ebay looking for a bike with enough standover clearance for her. Time Wasted!!

[Dr.Deltron]

Thanks everyone,

What I have learned here is that the stoker does not need standover clearance. For months I have been watching ebay looking for a bike with enough standover clearance for her. Time Wasted!!

Here's our tandem. Stoker cranks can be fitted to fit almost any size rider. "Standover height" irrelevant. :rolleyes:

[Xanti Andia]

Thanks everyone,

What I have learned here is that the stoker does not need standover clearance. For months I have been watching ebay looking for a bike with enough standover clearance for her. Time Wasted!!

Right, standover clearance is not an issue, the limitation I have found for the small stoker is to have enough clearance on the stoker seat post to accomodate a suspension seatpost, you need an additional 2.5". If you have enough space for this, generally you will have standover height. If you choose not to have a suspension seat post then you can drop the seat down just about to the clamp, forget about standover height and as long as you have a long enough stem, most Large models will take a stoker down to 5' 1"

[bikeriderdave]

Hmmmm... Perhaps the stoker doesn't need standover clearance, but it's certainly nice to have. It's one thing if your stoker is a growing child; another, I think, if he or she is an adult. IMO, the ability to straddle the bike and hold it up without assistance is one of those little things that helps the stoker feel like a participant instead of a passenger. There are many bikes out there that both of you can stand over. I think you are more likely to be satisfied with your first tandem and the tandem experience if you can locate one of those, rather than settling for a bike that adds unneeded complication and dependency to the stoker's role.

Could you be holding out for a bike that is really bigger than you need? Almost all tandems have sloping top tubes and therefore fit the captain "bigger" than the seat tube length suggests.

Just some thoughts... good luck in your search,

Dave

[kenshinvt]

Our trek t900 fits a 5'1" stoker just fine. Standover isn't required, but why not have it if you can buy any of a variety of bikes?

[swc7916]

There are a lot of references to stand-over height here, but nothing about crankarm length. I am 5' 7" and my wife is 5' 2" but our torsos are the same length, which means that my legs are almost 5" longer than hers and a crankset that fits me will be too long for her. Most road tandem cranksets come 170mm front and 170mm rear. Our old Gary Fisher Gemini mountain bike tandem has a small frame and fits my wife fine, but the crankset is 175mm front and 175mm rear - I can tolerate the longer crankarms but it hurts my wife's knees. We paid extra (a LOT extra) to get a tandem crankset that is 170mm front and 165mm rear for our new tandem.

[swc7916]

Here's our tandem. Stoker cranks can be fitted to fit almost any size rider. "Standover height" irrelevant. :rolleyes:

Is this your bike on Craigslist?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/bik/468404614.html

[Dr.Deltron]

Is this your bike on Craigslist?

http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/bik/468404614.html

Nope! Ours is not going anywhere anytime soon. At least not without me & the kids! :D

But if anyone is thinking of getting such a rig, that one would be worth looking into.
I couldn't get to the sellers blog, but it looks like it has the Schlumph drive for the stoker crankset.
That & the fairing certainly make it a great deal.

Also you can be riding it soon! (It took about 6 months from time of order until it arrived)

Transporting it is a breeze, but finding a place to put it when not riding it was a challenge.
Finally rigged a motorized hoist to park it in the rafters. :p

Thanks for the link scw, I'll post it in the recumbent forums. :)

[zonatandem]

Well, the debate on stoker standover height continues . . .
My stoker at 4' 11 1/2" has always asked for, and gotten, proper standover height for her size.
On the rare occasion of panic stops/crashes it works out to stoker's benefit. She does not want to bang her bottom on a top tube while attempting to get feet down.
Have had sudden/instant stops due to sand that was much deeper than anticipated. Wether it was in a flooded wash in Arizona or a sandy dirt road in Florida. Even in a crash it's nice for her to clear that top tube. Each time, proper standover height saved her from getting bashed and ruining our weekend. Hey. Kay is worth it!!!
While sloping top tubes are now predominant, that was not always the case.
Compare the drastic sloping top tube on our tandem to a more traditional sloping top tube.
Just our experience/observation.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

[n7net]

Google Bike Friday and look at the Tandem Two'sDay. They measure your inseam, arm length, etc. And when you take delivery you know you did the right thing. Barb and I rode one several thousand miles.

Scott