Tandem Cycling - Good Lord, Expensive Long Stoker Stems

Just picked up a Cannondale MTB Tandem to tool around with with my little guy and i'm piecing together a kid stoker kit. He needs to stretch to reach the handlebars, so I looked for extension stems. The long reach ones go from 100+$$. Are there any lower cost alternatives? i found the problem solvers one that takes a quill stem, but thats still over 90 if you factor in the quill stem.

$63.95 http://www.eatonbikes.com/bikeparts/products/tandem-stoker-handlebar-stem-stoker/

$57.95 http://www.bikeparts360.com/products/control-tech-tandem-stoker-stem/

$75.00 - $135.00 http://www.tandemseast.com/parts/stems.html

These are new, check for used on craigslist or ebay, etc.

Thanks for the links but i'm looking for the super long ones for kiddie stokers. $100+. Too bad there is no low cost alternatives.

Ihave a 2006 Cannondale MTB tandem......
I couldn't find a long enough stem so I use a Thompson seatpost (I had one laying around). It fits snugly into the stoker stem holder thingy (scientific term). That with a handlebar clamp did the trick. I had to shim the handlebar to make it work but work it has for over 3000 miles, both road and mountain, without a hitch.

You can get one for $7.00 on eBay. here is the link. I purchased one. Merlin and several others have also purchased one from the same vendor.
http://cgi.ebay.com/55-EASTON-EA50-ROAD-BIKE-STEM-140mm-140-26-0-26mm-NEW_W0QQitemZ310137615674QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item310137615674&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1240|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50.

Or maybe just swap out to a riser handlebar so he can reach it?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21Vxk9adcpL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Wald 8069 Hi-Rise Chopper Bike Handlebar (24.5-Inches Wide, Chrome, 13-Inch Rise)

Price: $8.48
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Niagara Cycle Works.

http://www.amazon.com/Wald-8069-Hi-Rise-Handlebar-24-5-Inches/dp/B000WY5SL0/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1240851738&sr=1-15

Just picked up a Cannondale MTB Tandem to tool around with with my little guy and i'm piecing together a kid stoker kit. He needs to stretch to reach the handlebars, so I looked for extension stems. The long reach ones go from 100+$$. Are there any lower cost alternatives? i found the problem solvers one that takes a quill stem, but thats still over 90 if you factor in the quill stem.
On Precision Tandem's site, just below the kits that include handlebars, there's the extension stem itself, which runs $85. Not cheap, but not $100 either.

http://www.precisiontandems.com/catalogpartsweb.htm#childstoker

Then search for LONG EXTENSION

Or maybe just swap out to a riser handlebar so he can reach it?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21Vxk9adcpL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Wald 8069 Hi-Rise Chopper Bike Handlebar (24.5-Inches Wide, Chrome, 13-Inch Rise)

Price: $8.48
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Niagara Cycle Works.

http://www.amazon.com/Wald-8069-Hi-Rise-Handlebar-24-5-Inches/dp/B000WY5SL0/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1240851738&sr=1-15

Ah, and that was the other thing I did....instead of the flat bars I used a set of roadie bars I had laying around, put on upside down, so he wouldn't have to lean forward, has a couple of hand position choices and to extend the bars another few inches towards him. As he's gotten bigger I've rotated the bars forward to give him more room.

I used a set of kids' bike handlebars, an old MTB stem, and an old MTB seatpost stuck into the receptable for the adjustable stoker stem that came on the bike. Looks iffy, but it works fine. Nice upright position for the kid, too.

Ah, and that was the other thing I did....instead of the flat bars I used a set of roadie bars I had laying around, put on upside down, so he wouldn't have to lean forward, has a couple of hand position choices and to extend the bars another few inches towards him. As he's gotten bigger I've rotated the bars forward to give him more room.


Imho using a riser handlebar for kid stokers is a good and inexpensive alternative to stoker stems because 1. they're not going to be doing any steering anyway and 2. as you mentioned, the reach can be easily adjusted for comfort simply by tilting.

As for aesthetics, the riser handlebar doesn't really detract from the tandem lines because typically everyone is probably going to be looking at the kid stoker anyway.


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Great idea on the riser bar. I'm gonna give that a shot first.

Speaking of riser bars, why not use a set of handlebars off of a kids' bike...? A bit heavy, sure...

I tried some tall bmx bars. They were too short so I added a pair of the bolt-on end-bars on. Still not as good as the $8 hi-rise cruiser bars for a kid stoker. Thats the way to go. Its a 14" rise IIRC, narrower and lighter than a bmx bar. I actually do have one of those kidstoke looong stems.. and its in a box in the garage.

Whoa! Didn't notice those were only $8...!

Whoa! Didn't notice those were only $8...!


$8.48 + $6.49 shipping = $14.98. Still a great deal.

I went around to the LBSs and they wanted $25-$60 for similar riser handlebars off the wall. When I told them it was for kid stokers to reach on a tandem they dutifully steered me to the extended stoker stems but of course, the pricing for those was also out of my range of feasibility...:D


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Yes, this is a REALLY old thread, but it's still a relevant one.

I recently ran into this problem trying to fit my 42" tall, 4.5 year old, on the back of a Bike Friday Family Traveler. Luckily I found a secondhand Nitto Promenade bar for $20 at a local shop (A Better Cycle) and it worked like a charm with the stock stoker stem. Even new they're under $50. Not as cheap as the Wald solution, but still works great.

Hey! Good to see that this riser bar idea can help someone. The price of the extended stems isn't as reasonable for my purposes since the kid stokers will eventually get bigger.

I just checked and the price on the Wald bar is

$9.89 + $5.04 shipping = $14.93.

I've set up our tandem and triplet for my 6 year old son with a long-reach stoker extension made with a 25.4mm seatpost (if I recall correctly) with the head cut off, inserted into the "standard" stoker stem receptacle using a shim, and then with a 1" threadless stem on the seatpost. All components were pretty cheap via Ebay and my LBS, probably a total of $30, and you get a REALLY long and easily adjustable reach. A set of small road bars flipped backwards completes the setup. See it here: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/briwasson

Also makes it easy to swap out the kiddie setup with and adult setup.

I believe this is basically the same setup that Precision Tandems sells. You can pay them for the hassle of sourcing the parts, or do it yourself, depending on your time vs. cost justification.

(http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/briwasson)