Tandem Cycling - Cannondale RT2 - Cross bike capable?

My wife and I are considering a c'dale rt2 and were wondering if anyone has tried putting cross tires on and riding off road? We have some nice fireroad climbs in my area that I would definitely want to give a go on a tandem. Since the bike has v'brakes and/or disc brakes I'm guessing that a wider cross tire should be no problem. We are a pretty light couple - 310 lbs total so i'm guessing the frame should be able to handle a little offroad use.

Thanks!

We put 38 tires on ours and use it on fire trails and unpaved bike paths. No problems so far. It probably can take even wider tires since there is a lot of clearance.

Should work . . .

Should be ok on hard packed surfaces, but if you want to ride on soft surfaces (eg loose gravel roads) you will need something with mountain bike wheels and tyres.

The cross tires will go through a lot, but they can cut, puncture, and pinch-flat on the rocks and gravel. The faster we go, the more tire problems we get. So, I would say it depends on your riding style and the terrain. If it works well on a single bike with cross tires, it won't be that much different on a tandem.

Would 29" MTB tires fit on the Cannondale? Just a thought.

The frame will take a lot of beating. But road bike gearing is too high for our off-road riding.

We recently bought a tandem with 26" wheels so we can switch between road wheels and MTB wheels.

Some friends were using their Cannondale 700c road tandem for cross racing, but decided they needed bigger tires. if you do a search, you may find a Youtube link on this forum.

Since they were using disc brakes front and rear, on my suggestion they converted to 26" mtb wheels/tires. They were able to fit a 1.8 in the rear, and slightly bigger in the front.

The BB's were a little lower, but they said it was not a problem.