Tandem Cycling - Feedback on Prospective Tandem

My wife and I are considering buying a (used) tandem. The local LBS is selling his personal tandem which in terms of equipment quality appears well set up in something like a hybrid configuration: Rodriguez aluminum frame, what I would call "mountain bike" bars, front suspension, hydraulic discs front and rear, auxilliary cantilever brake (front), 40 spoke 26" wheels with slicks, front triple, rear 8-spd cassette. I'd be interested in what you knowledgable folk think something like this might be worth. If wife and I got seriously into riding a tandem then the configuration wouldn't be ideal, but for learning how to ride a tandem and 30-40 mile rides or so I don't see the bars as being a big problem. Any/all feedback greatly appreciated.

(BTW, I would rent the bike for a month on a trial basis in any event. Would validate our interest in a tandem and the suitability of this particular bike)

If you can deduce the age, then go to the "Tandem Link" (google it), and use the Used Tandem Price estimator tool to get an idea of the appropriate value. Based on the R+E website, this would have been built in the late 80s, since they've been making steel ever since. You do have to figure out what it would be worth with the same configuration new. That part may be tough, but I'd guess you could start with something by a reputable builder in aluminum and work from there.

But also consider how much reconfiguring it will cost you. When I was looking I found some that came close and were quite reasonably priced for what they were, but when I started adding in the cost of swapping out parts they tended to look less reasonable.

Rick..sounds like a good opportunity .....although it is a bit tough to answer your question without a bit more info and hopefully some photo's. Component level and the age/condition of them and the frame certainly have an impact.
The best news on your post is the ability to rent it for a month or so before buying. That is a really great opportunity and certainly a huge value to take advantage of.
Also suggest you look at the 'used tandem price estimating tool.on TG's site http://www.thetandemlink.com/tandems.html for some thoughts on self estimating.

Good luck.

Bill J

I'll find out the year manufactured although the Rodriguez website indicated that they switched exclusively to steel in 1997. Might have switched tandems over to steel earlier than that. Looking at the tandem pricing tool and instructions I would rate this tandem more toward high end than medium. Certainly has been very well maintained. All things being equal I would definitely pay more buying from an LBS for a number of reasons: prior maintainence, time-of-sale fitting, LBS good will. I've still got residual guilt from buying my road bike out of town. When you've only got one LBS in a small town (and what seems to be a good one at that) you've got to keep them in business.

I've still got residual guilt from buying my road bike out of town. When you've only got one LBS in a small town (and what seems to be a good one at that) you've got to keep them in business.

Amen, maintaing goodwill with local bike shop and supporting them could be a seperate forum in it's self. A friend called today inquiring about what brand of bike he should buy in the $1500-$2000 range. My response to these questions is that most bikes in a given price range are going to be competativley spec'd most important part is to find a shop you are happy to deal with, in the end they go along way in keeping you on the road.

Rodriguez aluminum frame

The folks who owned the 26" Aluminum Rodriguez tandems were always quite passionate about them, on par with an Ibis owner's affinity for their Cousin It & Uncle Fester off-road tandems.

The extended test ride is a dream-come-true for would-be tandem riders and you'll probably develop your own sense of what the tandem is worth to you after spending some time on it while price shopping comparable tandems. I'm not sure it's anything you can truly 'value' even using my little tool given its pedigree, i.e., cool & funky is hard to put a price tag on.

Nice to have a good bike shop in town!
A one month test ride will let you know how well it fits/handles/rides.
Ask if the rental fee will apply toward the purchase price . . .
Opportunity knocks!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

We just bought our first tandem. I say rent it and in a month you'll be able to answer your own question.

For us the learning curve was short, we had another tandem team take us for a ride and got the basics down in about an hour, we're still working on the finer points. If you can get a number of rides of varing lengths and difficulty during the month you will get to know the feel of the team, after that I think you will be better equipped to evaluate different tandems. We rode a number of tandems while we were shopping, but honestly most of them felt the same because we were still feeling the effect of two novice riders on one bike rather than feeling each bike as a coordinated team.

Test drove the bike today and we'll be borrowing same for a week or so. Didn't really have any problems, but I'll have to change the front pedals to SPD even for our week. Way too hard to get my feet in the cages. I'm sure experienced teams can start on steep hills, but I'd sure like to see it!

I'm not sure I could get used to the mountain bike bars and the inability to change position so this may not be the tandem for us, but we'll learn at lot in the week. My wife and I are looking at 100K and centuries in the near future so I may have to shop for something used in a road configuration. Will do more browsing on this forum and hit a couple of shops in the bay area that handle tandems.

Appreciate the comments and suggestions from all.

Kinda figured you would come to that conclusion. This is a mountain tandem, pure and simple. The shop may have slapped some road-ish tires on it, but she's an MTB. And you, apparently, are a road rider. And if the "bay area" you refer to is the SF bay area, you have to deal with a couple of those "H" words ... you know ... Hills! Who wants to haul the extra weight of a suspension front end and hydraulic brakes uphill for no good reason?

Secondly, you'll find yourself shifting on the order of twice as much on a tandem as a single, PARTICULARLY in a hilly environment. So, unless there is a VERY good reason to do without them, (like touring in a country where there are virtually NO bike shops), brifters for a tandem are the greatest enhancement to ridability since clipless pedals, (toe clips and straps were a pain on a tandem.) And there are NO brifters available for hydraulic brakes.

Long and short of it is that to buy this bike with any ideas of changing it over at a later date is not really the way to go.

As for the week rental, go for that, absolutely. Just be up front with the shop owner and let him know it's probably not the bike for you so he doesn't pass up another opportunity to pitch the bike to another potential customer.

My advice? You're a roadie, get a road bike. Look at purpose first, fit second, and price last, (to the extent that you can). If you can't find anything local, watch CraigsList and eBay.

""My advice? You're a roadie, get a road bike. Look at purpose first, fit second, and price last, (to the extent that you can). If you can't find anything local, watch CraigsList and eBay. ""

Onegun has got it right IMHO, his post is right on the money.

Bill J.

Couldn't agree more with the last two posts. Looked at trek and co-motion today, but the only trek in the right size lacked cantilever brakes. Might be ok for Florida, but I'm assuming cantilever is a minimum and a disc brake in the rear would seem to be the way to go.

Without getting into brake wars (and they are frequent), I suggest you check out Sheldon Brown's page on brakes for tandems.