So i pulled the trigger and have a new 2011 Cannondale rt2 in route from a dealer in Ct. This will be our first tandem. Any must have accessories/upgrades i should plan on?
We both have half bikes so shoes/helmets/etc are already accounted for. I picked up some a520's for the stoker from performance this weekend and am ordering some 105 pedals for me(she prefers mountain shoes)
With the cannondale is the thudbuster a necessity? Anything else?
Thank you

1. Suggest you switch to mountain shoes as well. Starting and stopping you will have to support the weight of the bike and the seated stoker. Road shoes will slip on the pavement easier than mountain shoes. (Not everyone agrees.)
2. If you frame is on the large size you may need wider bars on front. Width should be the same as your shoulder joints. For some reason Cannondale puts the same size bar on all sizes.
3. If a large frame the stoker stem is probably too short. Call Mell at Tandems East for a perfect replacement stem that is longer and more adjustable.
4. We added Specialized Bar Fat under the handlebar tape and really like the cushioning it gives. Other companies make similar product.
5. We really like the Specialized bike computer we added as it has numbers large enough to see by my aging eyes.
6. We added a rack and use it a lot. Small seat pack has the tools and patch kit.
7. We added a Minoura bottle mount to the stoker stem so that we can carry 4 water bottles.
8. We switched the stock Gatorskins for Conti 4 Seasons. Frankly the Gatorskins were fine. 4 seasons a bit faster.

The 'Dale is a great bike. You will really enjoy it.

I agree. My stoker never unclips at stops. At stops, I use a wide stance so she can set the pedals at a start position for the green light.

Sounds funny to new tandemers but when I use a wide stance, I can support the weight of the bike and the stoker even without holding on the handlebars by lowering myself down onto the toptube. I tried road shoes on the tandem, not for me. I like the extra stability of the mtb sole while supporting the tandem at stops. I've had my feel slide with road cleats (Look)

Good tires and a nice frame pump. Being a heavier team, we tend to flat more than on the singles.

We use beachcruiser foam type covering on the stokers cow bar shaped handlebars. She enjoys the extra cush of the foam rather than the tape. Easier for her if she decides not to wear gloves on the tandem (even out the tan lines on her hands )

And I will gently disagree -- we use the Shimano SPD-SL cleats and don't have any problem with shoe traction. We also have a kid stoker to help on and off, and sometimes a trailer to put a kid in and out of, so there's more walking than on single bikes. The SPD-SL's are fine for this. Tried the Speedplays for a little while, and they were excellent pedals but too slippy for helping kids.

We like a Thudbuster on our Cannondale.

A cheap nashbar triangular frame bag (https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...63_-1___202379) fits behind the captain's seat tube along the lateral tube for tools, spare tubes and stuff.

If you can, I'd suggest computers with cadence for both captain and stoker. This helps you both agree on what the cadence should be, which is the greatest point of conflict in new tandem teams. We use Cateye Astrale 8s, they are fairly cheap and are easy to splice the wires and run both computers off of the same sensors.

If you're new to tandeming (you didn't say, you might be experienced even though this is your first purchase), you should read about "The Proper Method" for starting and stopping: https://www.precisiontandems.com/artpropermethod.htm. Read it together with your stoker. Not that this is the only way, but it really helps to have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what, and thi sway works for lots of folks. I'd only add two small additions -- Bill talks about putting your left hip on the top tube when it comes time to clip-in with your left foot. I actually *start* the process with my hip on the top tube, and keep it there until we actually start. This holds the bike very steady while the stoker climbs on. Secondly, you probably know that you need to call "bump", call "coast", perhaps call "shift" for front shifts so your stoker knows what is going on. What I don't see discussed as much is for the captain to call "stopping" as you are coming to a halt. This tells the stoker to not only cease pedaling ("coast") but also allow the captain to freely spin the pedals to his desired un-clipping position. We dumped once because I couldn't get my foot out from where the pedals were and I couldn't move the pedals to a better position.

Hope this helps, enjoy your new ride!

No "must have" upgrades required. It is a nice bike. Just use it for a while to figure out if there are any changes required to make it more suited to your needs.

Cannondales are nice tandems but not known for smooth ride on the rear.
I would ride it for a while and get the Thudbuster if needed. We had one our Santana which was an aluminum frame.
A saddle with more padding might also help, my wife uses a Terry butterfly gel.
Storage is nice to have on a tandem for tools, food, clothes. We have a large JAAND bag on the rear and a bag on the stokers stem.
The JAAND bags are really nice.
We use and like Conti GP4000 tires, not sure what come stock on a Cannondale.

For the pedals, we run A520s on the rear and dual-sided SPD pedals on the front to make clipping in after re-starts a cinch for the captain, and easy walking for us both when off the bike.

We have a steel Co-Motion Speedster, and my stoker is not happy without her ThudBuster - she's fine riding a fully-rigid cyclocross bike on light trails and dirt roads, but on the back of the tandem she wants a bit of cushioning from the bumps that she doesn't see and that I don't call out in time. We're planning to try Specialized's new Cobl Gobl'R seatpost when it is available (carbon post with a funky shape and an elastomer in the middle) to lose a couple hundred grams compared to the Thudbuster, but apparently production is a bit slow and they aren't going to be available for several more months (according to the local Specialized rep').

We added the longer Control Tech stoker stem and the Blackbird 48cm flat-top drop bars with dummy levers all from Tandems East. My stoker likes the drop bars better as it gives her lots of hand positions. She is fine on our Selle Anatomica saddles without a thudbuster. We also added a Topeak rear rack and rack bag. The rack bag has fold out "panniers" that come in handy to store extra clothing or a few groceries if we stop by the store on our way home from a ride. We love our RT2 and I hope you will love yours as well.

MTB shoes are a personal preference item. My wife uses double-sided SPDs so she doesn't have to think about clipping in. I use A520s since with the daVinci I've got a bit of latitude in getting clipped in. On a conventional tandem I'd definitely use the double-sided pedals.

We have a ClickStand which we use on large organized rides; often there is no place to "park" a tandem at the rest stops - your basic novelty item.

And the usual stuff: Old Man Mountain rack, Arkel trunk, Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HP pump, Garmin 800, Thudbuster. I call out "bump" on my single, but it's impossible to catch every bump on the tandem and the stoker pays the penalty. Depends on seatpost, stoker weight/age, etc. If your tandem has a disc rear brake I can really recommend the Shimano Ice XT rotors; Avid also has a rotor with an Aluminum spider, but not the sandwich rotor of the Shimano rotor.

[Cough]... stoker... [cough]

Married couple, no problem. Two "man" team ? .......

Once you have the 'fit' for you and your stoker dialed, I would highly recommend replacing or modifying your bottom bracket eccentric (bbe) if it is the style that has a tiny 'c' clip as the stop base for the self-extracting bolt required to loosen your bbe. That tiny 'c' clip has a history of failure after using it a few times to adjust your timing chain tension. There are several posts on this subject elsewhere on this forum.
There is a picture of a properly modified one on the link below..it is item #6

https://www.tandemseast.com/parts/brackets.html