Tandem Cycling - Bke Friday vs Co-Motion Periscope??

I have almost narrowed down my tandem search!

I have decided that I want a bike on which the rear seat stem will telescope so that my 7 year old son will not have to use a kiddy crank as the stoker.

Also, I am am 6'4" so it is a bit tricky finding something that will fit us both.

So I am trying to decide between a Family Tandem Traveler by Bike Friday for ~1700 USD versus a Co-Motion Scout for approx $1000 more.

I Although I would much rather have the price difference in my back pocket, price is not the main issue.

Do any tall folks have experience of the Bike Friday? How about the Co-Mo? Any comments/thoughts would be much appreciated.

Also, is the Bike Friday REALLY that adjustable? Could my 5'2" wife ride it as captain? Is the Co-mo adjustable at the front?

So many questions!!

Ride on!

I have a periscope that I have ridden with our 5 year old. Its a nice bike, no issues.
But bear in mind that seat height is only part of the reason for crank shorteners. With big cranks a child will have a dramatic bend at the knee at the top of the pedal stroke. Hyperextension of the knee is not meant to be a great idea (not a medical doc.). A lower seat wont cure this - you will still need to shorten the cranks in some way.

I spend most of my mileage on a 92 Santana Noventa small frame with 9 year old daughter. Its a small frame and she fits fine on the back, but we still ride with crank shorteners, though I may spring for some sexy DaVinci multi hole cranks at some point.

mike

Have ridden BF and Periscope.
Yes the Periscope is adjustable to fit a shorter and a taller captain.
Here is a solution we came up with with adults 6'3" and 5'2" + 2 sub-teen kids.
Both adults wanted to captain at times and kids or one of the adults would be stoker.
The 26" wheeled Periscope gives more standover room for the short pilot. Make sure the steerer tube is full length (uncut). Order the optional adjustable PILOT stem.
By utilizing lots of spacers on steerer tube the bars will be low/high enough for both sized pilots. The adjustable pilot stem will make reach for both tall/short pilots workable.
Crank shorteners (not a kidback) would solve the knee extension issue if it arises.
Standover room on a BF would not be an issue but stem adjustability could be.
Hope this helps.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Have ridden BF and Periscope.
Yes the Periscope is adjustable to fit a shorter and a taller captain.
Here is a solution we came up with with adults 6'3" and 5'2" + 2 sub-teen kids.
Both adults wanted to captain at times and kids or one of the adults would be stoker.
The 26" wheeled Periscope gives more standover room for the short pilot. Make sure the steerer tube is full length (uncut). Order the optional adjustable PILOT stem.
By utilizing lots of spacers on steerer tube the bars will be low/high enough for both sized pilots. The adjustable pilot stem will make reach for both tall/short pilots workable.
Crank shorteners (not a kidback) would solve the knee extension issue if it arises.
Standover room on a BF would not be an issue but stem adjustability could be.
Hope this helps.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Great advice! Eyeballing of Bike Friday literature made me suspicious that stem adjustability might be a problem.

My only remaining hangup is the portability of the Co-Mo (frame doesn't come apart). Does yours fit on a rear mounted bike rack or do you roof mount it?

The ultimate tandem accessory - a minivan...

take two of the rear seats out (one behind the other) and the tandem goes straight in.

We toss ours in the back of our Honda station wagon . . .
Periscope is available with $&$ fittings . . . bit pricier than a rack but cheaper than a mini van!
Check out the latest issue (fall/winter 2008) of Recumbent and Tandem Rider Magazine for a new tandem rack out by Long Bike Tote; info@longbiketote.com
Suprisingly a tandem with one, or both, wheels removed can fit in many hatchbacks/SUVs. Pickup trucks are fine too. Rack mounted on rear of sedan works fine, be aware it will stick out a bit even with just front wheel removed.
Hope this helps!
Pedal on TWOgether!
RUdy and Kay/zonatandem

Thanks for the input guys.......fortunately.....I own a minivan.:thumb:

Have owned both Bike Friday and PeriScope tandems (triples, in fact, but captain and child-stoker fit issues are the same as with a two-fer). I think that fitting captains with a 14"/36 cm height difference would be a real challenge with either. Perhaps best done with two different stem/h'bar/lever assemblies that can be swapped by means of cable splitters. Not particularly cheap or quick, but do-able. I believe that captain's h'bar height adjustment would be easier with the BF. Potentially safer, too, because you wouldn't have to have a long steerer extension poking out at the shorter captain. Be sure you explain your plans to fit two captains when you first approach the manufacturer or dealer.

For fitting a child stoker, BF gave us the option of short, two-pedal-hole cranks for our daughter. Because of that, she fit fine for six years, starting when she was 3 1/2. Don't know if BF still offers those cranks. Co-Motion has promised for a long time to offer multi-hole stoker cranks, but still doesn't seem to have completed development. IMO, crank shorteners are a kludge; daVinci triple-hole cranks are a better (though costly) option.

For transportation, either will fit easily inside most minivans. Don't plan on taking the BF apart for short trips. It is less than convenient.

Regards and Good Luck,
Dave

The Bike Friday really is very adjustable and worked well for us in multiple configurations (Me 6'1" wife 5, 8" Daughter, 42" at the start and 60" when we sold the bike.)

If you're going to travel by airplane with the bike, the Bike Friday's packability is an advantage. (However as Bikerider dave points out, don't plan on taking it apart for short trips. Its' not worth it.)

Bike Friday's also hold their value very well.

My knock on our Bike Friday Tandem Traveler XL was it was rather flexible with an adult stocker under hard use. But it can be used by two adults riding hard, and it is very pleasent to ride with a child stocker.

I'd be inclined to buy a Co-Motion Persicope, unless you were doing a lot of traveling by plane.

Thanks for all the input.

To my complete surprise...my LBS has just taken delivery of a Cannondale Road 2 in an X/S. While more expensive than the BF it is cheaper than the Co-Mo and my son is about 2 cm from being comfortable on it. Therefore it needs crank shorteners. Given the comments about having to use crank shorteners regardless of which bike I get (so as to reduce the chance of hyperextension) I think this might be the way to go. In terms of its weight and component spec it seem (to me) to be an awesome bike for the money.

Very tempted!