Tandem Cycling - Can a santana owner answer my private question?

I am looking at a used tandem but I do not want to show everyone the listing. :rolleyes:


Would an experienced santana owner with a few minutes of time pm me so I can send them a link and ask them for some advice?

Thanks!!

So you want to keep the listing to yourself, but you want others to help you evaluate it? Or in other words you want people to share their knowledge with you, but keep your knowledge to yourself. Seems a bit one sided.

So you want to keep the listing to yourself, but you want others to help you evaluate it? Or in other words you want people to share their knowledge with you, but keep your knowledge to yourself. Seems a bit one sided.

I am sorry that my question offended you. Several people have responded by PM though and I thank them.

I guess I am just "take, take, take."

You and everyone else can use this for comparison:
http://www.thetandemlink.com/usedhome.html

WOW, that seems pretty harsh,...he's posted over 500 times,..that seems like a reasonable contribrution.

I am looking at a used tandem but I do not want to show everyone the listing. :rolleyes:


Absolutely fair on my book, Gosmsgo can let us know how it went once the deal is finished one way or another.

My wife and I have 5000 miles on a 2000 vintage Arriva S+S. I'm all ears

WOW, that seems pretty harsh,...he's posted over 500 times,..that seems like a reasonable contribrution.


Would you walk up to a friend and say "I know of this auction that sounds like a good deal, and I want your help in evaluating it, but I don't want to tell you about it because you might want to bid?" I wouldn't, and I wouldn't answer the question. If others want to that's their choice.

Would you walk up to a friend and say "I know of this auction that sounds like a good deal, and I want your help in evaluating it, but I don't want to tell you about it because you might want to bid?" I wouldn't, and I wouldn't answer the question. If others want to that's their choice.

No, but I would walk up to a friend who already owned exactly what I'm looking for -- and who most likely isn't in the market for another one -- and would ask them if they'd be willing to help me evaluate a similar example of what they own.... which is pretty much what our friend did.

Good to hear our Santana owners have felt the same way and weighed in to help.

Hey, just because it's a dog-eat-dog world doesn't mean you can't skip a meal every once and a while.

Absolutely fair on my book, Gosmsgo can let us know how it went once the deal is finished one way or another.

+1

A very nice Santana just sold on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200168472056&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

Who ever bought it got a very nice deal!!

Hope it was our friend...

That is the bike I was bidding on.

It got a little high for my blood but that was a great deal. The owner told me the bike was $7,000 new.

That is the bike I was bidding on.

It got a little high for my blood but that was a great deal. The owner told me the bike was $7,000 new.The reason for the high original price was the couplers. If you don't need or want them you can get a new one for a little more than that bike went for used and get exactly what you want color and all.
I'm fortunate to live just an hour away from Santana HQ and went directly to them and picked just what I wanted.
Ended up with Team Scandium with components of the Sovereign, just to save a little money. Went with Reynolds Carbon fork and D/A brakes front and rear, Chris King headset and clearcoat prismatic paint as the one on E-bay had. took 2 weeks since they didn't have any painted my size. Was cool to see it in the factory and got there to see the finishing touches the day it was ready.
Nothing like a brand new toy that no one else has personalized yet.:D

The reason for the high original price was the couplers. If you don't need or want them you can get a new one for a little more than that bike went for used and get exactly what you want color and all.
I'm fortunate to live just an hour away from Santana HQ and went directly to them and picked just what I wanted.
Ended up with Team Scandium with components of the Sovereign, just to save a little money. Went with Reynolds Carbon fork and D/A brakes front and rear, Chris King headset and clearcoat prismatic paint as the one on E-bay had. took 2 weeks since they didn't have any painted my size. Was cool to see it in the factory and got there to see the finishing touches the day it was ready.
Nothing like a brand new toy that no one else has personalized yet.:D

I definetely want the couplers or a bike friday one.

I definetely want the couplers or a bike friday one.Then you should have fought for that one. Couplers are a $2000 option.

Couplers are a $2000 option.

....or more, particularly if you stumble into a frame material that favors Titanium. And that $2k (or more) doesn't include the cases... another big chunk of change that will run you $.5k unless you're willing to use cardboard boxes and lots of dunnage.

Seriously though, couplers 'were' an expensive option before the manufacturer adjusted their decade-old pricing to account for changes in material, labor, and other costs. They have not reached a point where the premium up charge on a tandem (~30% for a premium steel model) warrants a business case if you're working against a budget.

That Santana was a great value for the successful buyer... seriously.

santana claims they are a $1000.00-$1500 upgrade

santana claims they are a $1000.00-$1500 upgrade

For at least that past few years the catalog pricing has been pretty constant:

Steel frames - $1,200
Aluminum frames - $2,000
Carbon / Ti frames - $2,600

Frankly, I was very surprised to see that they didn't change the S&S option pricing in their '07 Catalog given the coupler price increases that hit the market last Spring. Then again, Santana may have a hedge against the coupler pricing as they use their own couplers for the boom tube -- noting that those tend to be the most expensive ones when sourcing from S&S machine.

If they're quoting you something less, get it in writing and work that deal.