What would you pay for a new tandem/ triplet, if it had a moutain frame, with a suspenshion fork. It will have 4 water bottle cages, and 2 headlights, with 2 back blinkkies, and 3 sets of barends. ( 2 for a tandem)

just curious
:)

If the accessories being offered are produced by recognizable brands they are not of any consequence in the evaluation as their value, new or used, can easily be deduced from known wholesale and/or retail pricing.

However, with respect to the frame, its value is determined based on a number of factors. Just off the top of my head:

1. How much past business experience does the individual or company making the offering have in the design, fabrication, or marketing of tandems.
2. Who is actually doing the design and fabrication and how much experience do they have?
3. What types, brands, and grades of tubing were used?
4. What types of bottom brackets, eccentrics, and drop-outs were used?
5. What type of bonding or welding process was used and does the builder have the training, experience, proper equipment, and facilities to successfully use those methods?
6. What type of post fabrication processing and alignment is performed on the frame?
7. How is the frame finished?
8. How many different stock sizes do they offer the frame in and/or are they custom made-to-order?
9. Has the builder had any product testing performed on representative prototypes?
10. What, if any, weight limitations apply to the frame?
11. What type of warranty is offered with the frame and is it limited or transferable?
12. Does the builder carry the necessary amount of liability insurance to cover a future claim?
13. How many tandems of a similar design, using similar materials, and similar construction methods have they sold and how happy are the buyers with the quality, performance, and durability of those machines?

As for the fork, does the fork’s manufacturer approve and warranty the fork for use on a tandem and/or a triplet? At present, there are only a handful of suspension forks on the market that are actually designed for use on a tandem and they aren’t inexpensive. The only triplet that I’ve seen fitted with a suspension fork used a highly modified Stratos S-7 ($1k).

Now, back to your subject line, too good to be true? Maybe or maybe not. Chuck’s Bikes (www.chucksbikes.com) offers several different tandem frames for under $500, including off-road frames. I believe they also offer a triplet frame for around $600. I haven’t checked in a while. Is it possible that they also offer a full-suspension fork for under $300 that they will sell for use on a tandem or triplet? Probably, but I’d definitely want to check with the designer to find out what their max design load is and get his opinion regarding how well they would handle the loads generated by a tandem or triplet. How is Chuck able to offer tandem frames at a fraction of what domestically produced products cost? Chuck’s is a marketing company, not a builder. The frames are designed and fabricated off-shore for a fraction of the cost of domestic production.

So, what would I expect to pay for a "new" tandem or triplet. I guess the answer is: it depends.

Buyer beware!
The average single bike being sold to Wallmart costs the Chinese company about $23 (that is not a typo!) Cheap labor, cheap materials/components/ construction and cutting corners can lower the price of anything.
Bikes/tandems coming out of China are not all bad . . . but lots are!
One tandem brand coming out of China had absolutely NO grease on any of the bearings as discovered by a local bike mechanic. That nice looking mountain bike tandem wholesales at . . . $180! Cutting corners?
Want to go with the lowest bidder?
Is this triple new or used? Builder/brand? Tubing? Fork brand? Warranty?
Water bottle cages, lights, blinkies, barendz are add-on items. But the frame/fork are critical followed by wheels/drivetrain.
As stated: Buyer beware!

wow, thats alot of things to consider. I'll look around

If it's the triplet seen on ebay for some ridiculous price ($229?), I'd buy one. At Christmas I could put a Santa dummy and 2 reindeer on it, and bolt it to the roof of my house. Would I ride it? Never.

[edit] I think the one on ebay had a starting bid of $229. If I lived in the states, I'd get one of those beach cruiser tandems in a heartbeat.

wow, thats alot of things to consider. I'll look around

It is, and by the way, there's no wrong answer to any of those questions. It's the old story, "it is what it is". If your budget for a bike or a tandem is a couple hundred bucks, there are people out there willing to meet that need. The trick is, making sure your expectations are consistent with your budget because, short of scoring a great deal on a second hand premium quality bike, the bargain bikes give you what you pay for.

Now, that's not to say that an inexpensive bike or tandem wouldn't be more than adequate for it's intended use. Like our good friend Expat, if we lived near the beach or had property in the right kind of community with a lake or other scenic byways with bike-friendly facilities, there would be a huge temptation to snag up a couple of $250 two seat beach cruisers. They'd be great to have around to ride with visitors or on our own late afternoon cruises along the bike paths: no spandex, no bike shoes, just weejuns, bermuda shorts, a loose fitting button down, and Ray Ban Wayfarers with my love on the back.

Again, a lot of things drive the price of a given product and the more you understand about things mentioned in my earlier post the easier it is to understand why certain bikes and tandems cost as little or as much as they do. As Rudy (zonatandem) notes, the cost to produce bikes in Asia is a fraction of what it would cost to produce those products in the US or the European Union. In fact, someone recently noted that their brand-name "value-point" tandem's bottom bracket cracked and they were offered a completely new tandem as a replacement: not a bad deal for the buyer or the company since both end up not much worse for wear. In fact, it will most likely cost the company less to give away a completely new tandem (including the shipping & dealer assembly cost) than it would to attempt a repair or to even just replace the frame. After all, to replace just the frame they would have to pay an employee in the US to pull one out of inventory and disassemble it, pay to ship it to the local dealer, and then pay the local dealer to disassemble the original bike and move the old components onto the new frame. That's a lot of expensive labor which, in aggregate, would exceed what the company paid its off-shore supplier to deliver the original bike to their warehouse.

Anyway, you get the idea. If you're looking for an inexpensive bike or tandem that won't be ridden a lot or pressed into heavy-duty service, it really doesn't matter what you buy: bike paths are very accomodating and local bike shops around trails can take care of fixing the things that usually need fixing. However, if you're looking to get yourself or someone else involved in cycling, a better quality bike purchased through a reputable local bike shop -- one that sells recognizable product name Trek, Cannondale, or Raleigh as their anchor brand -- is your best bet, even if it's a value-priced model from a brand-name company. After all, they have mechanics on staff, they normally offer a free-tune up at 100 miles, and if you have a problem they should be able to facilitate any warranty claims, to include dealing with any shipping arrangements which can be a major hassle on something as big as a tandem...

If you're looking to do some serious road or off-road riding, a used premium brand of tandem or some of the frames sold by Chuck's are worth looking at if you're trying to work within a budget. The key seems to be being able to find one that fits, being able to build it yourself, and having access to the necessary tools to face bottom brackets, headtubes, and chase the threads. Just be sure you understand how his warranty / replacement policy works in the event you do have a problem because, as with these Ebay sellers, they are your only safe harbor for a remedy to any major problems. After all, with these small company's or Ebay cottage businesses you're usually dealing with the boss when making your transaction and that boss could easily be anyone who decided to shell out a few hundred bucks for a container load of boxed bikes that just came off the boat in San Pedro, California. Got a few grand to blow? Then yes, you too can be a bike dealer. And, if you need proof that these Ebay dealers sometimes don't have a clue what they're selling, check out the bar-end installation on the "Mega-bike" tandems (Hint: they're on backwards - right on left, left on right). Chances are, these are the same guys who do the assembly at the local department store....

Well, I've rambled on too long. Just bear in mind, there are good values out there at all of the various price points, but there's usually a good explanation behind why one tandem may cost $500, another costs $1,000, and another costs $2,000, and so on. Yes, I can even tell you why the one that Jay Leno planned to give to the Clintons had an MSRP of $13,500. Leno now owns that particular tandem, although I suspect it's too big for him to ride.

Later....