Tandem Cycling - tandem fork question

Hello,

I might be pulling the trigger on an older used burley road tandem. If I do get it I will likely upgrade the threaded fork/quill stem to threadless/clamp on stem. It is 1 1/8 diameter.

I would be replacing it with another steel fork. Do I need a special tandem specific fork or would a normal steel fork be fine (i.e. surly or the like)? If a special tandem fork is needed, is there any reletively inexpensive steel forks out there?

Thanks for your help.

If your bike is 26", then the Cannondale Fatty R Tandem. It is 1 1/8 and has disk tabs.

-Old Army

Curious why you'd want to change the quill stem to threadless?

One major advantage of threadless is that can save a lot of weight, but the major reason it does so is that it allows you to run an all CF fork with a CF steerer.

If you go with a steel fork with a steel steerer, the weight savings will be negligible.

If the reason is stiffness, the more cost effective answer would be to get a beefier quill stem, even a steel track stem if front end stiffness is really a concern.

Otherwise you're going to replace fork, headset, stem, and likely handlebars at considerable cost, with neglible return in performance.

Agree with Merlin X-tralite; unless you have $$ burning a hole in your pocket, upgrading to threadless can be a pricey proposition and you'll still have an 'older' Burley.
No, do not use a single bike fork.

Thanks for all the input. I was only thinking of the threadless setup for increased stiffness (stem) and ease of replacing stems, bars, tape, etc.

I guess if they make a decent, stiff quill stem there would be no need to go through the trouble.

Anyway, recent info suggests the burley may be the wrong size for me. If so, the search continues......:mad: