Tandem Cycling - Test Rides!

My wife and I rode a DaVinci Joint Venture, Santana Sovereign and a Co-Motion (speedster) yesterday. We're absolute novices at riding together with a grand total of 35 miles, but the comparisons were still interesting. I think the Co-Motion was the only model with a steel fork and the ride (for the pilot) I would consider somewhat harsh. I noticed after just a new miles that my hands were getting a bit numb even though the riding position seemed quite reasonable. Handling of the co-motion was quite good, quicker than either the DaVinci or Santana, Santana being the slowest handling of the three. DaVinci probably was the most comfortable, but, again, saddles were different. Almost no vibration from the road with the wound carbon fiber fork. The DaVinci drive train is a real wild card: probably not preferred by experienced teams, but for a beginning team or a pilot who wants to be able to ride with a number of different stokers I can really see the advantages. More proprietary parts and somewhat more complexity to consider, however.

This exercise emphasized the importance of having test rides comparably equipped if at all possible. Alternatively, buy a used tandem (if you can find one) and ride for a year while all the variables get sorted out.

The one thing my wife and I have figured out is that we will really enjoy riding a tandem. I can work as hard as I want without feeling as though I'm waiting up for my wife on a longer ride. We can each take the right amount of time to warm up whether 10 min. or 30 min. Also figured out that starting on slopes (to say nothing of hills) will take practice, practice, practice.

Test rides when buying a tandem are a challenge. There are dealers with selection but they are long distances for most of us. We have bought two tandems without a test ride depending on lists such as this for advice.

Comparable tandems are also difficult to find as we have a steel Co-Motion with a Wound Up carbon fork and a aluminum Santana Sovereign SE with a steel fork. We find the Co-Mo smoother riding and less harsh than the Santana.

Wheels also make a big difference. The low spoke count high tension wheels also effect ride quality as ours have a harsher ride.

I agree completely on the challenge of test rides. Better than not testing, but even if the fit is identical equipment such as seat, fork, wheels and gearing could change one's perception. And there is no way to measure the loss of drive train efficiency (on a test ride) in the case ofthe Davinci. The extra chain may only be a few percent, but the small chainrings will definitely account for something based on the scientific paper abstracts I've looked at. For us fit and comfort would be number 1 on the list since we'll be spending 6+ hours in the saddle. Touring will be unlikely.