Fasteryoufool

My love life has undergone some drastic changes of late, and I'm now-re-involved with a wonderful woman that I've been heart-brokenly pining for, for at least 15 years. She is so wonderful that she's willing to get into bicycling with me, and loves that I tinker with bikes and that I want to build a bike for her, when I find the right one.

Anyhow, I suggested that we might want to get a tandem, and she loves the idea. We're planning on outfitting it with rear rack, panniers and front basket, so we can use it for picnics, shopping and maybe pull a trailer for camping trips. Neither one of us is tiny, combined weight of around 370-380 lbs., so it'll have to handle weight. We're not worried about speed or anything, just comfort and durability. I know next to nothing about tandems, and was hoping I could get a few suggestions on older tandems to look for.

CV-6 

I have also been looking for a C&V tandem and in my search I have come to this conclusion: You might be better served to get something not C&V. The older tandems tended to be a bit flexible and short on braking power. Ride quality of the newer tandems for the most part beats the vintage bikes hands down. Throw in the better shifting, braking and overall handling and you have a much more enjoyable bike to share. If I had the chance, I would snag one of each just to have C&V. But if I am going to ride and enjoy, it's going to be newer. JMO, YMMV.

rhm

If someone offers you a Counterpoint Opus II, buy it!

brockd15 

Not sure if it's vintage enough, but there are lots of early to mid 90's Burleys, Santanas, Treks, Cannondales, etc. out there. My wife and I got a '94 (I think) Burley that ended up not being ideal (it has a softride beam for the stoker...she doesn't like it), so we then got a later 90's Cannondale. The Cannondale is a little odd because it's a mtb "technically" but it came with road tires stock. We upgraded it to 105 9 speed, put on 28mm Gatorskins, and added drop bars with brifters. Now it's a 26" wheeled road tandem.

Fasteryoufool

That sounds pretty ideal. Do you have a pic you could post up?

T-Mar

Seriously I 'd avoid an older tandem. I had a 1986 Santana Elan which was a pretty nice tandem in it's day but if I was buying another one I'd go modern. When you're captaining a tandem you've got your hand fulls, literally. All the extra weight, co-ordination and slower handling can cause big problems for newbies.

Anything that makes shifting and braking easier are a big plus, allowing you to concentrate on steering. Indexed shifting means you don't have to worry about adjusting the derailleur after a shift. Brifters (combined brake and shift levers) mean you don't have to change hand positions to execute either function. Modern freewheels with ramps and profiled teeth shift much better, especially under loads, like experienced on a tandem. Modern brakes perform so much better, with many modern models featuring disc brakes on the rear. Modern tubing is generally more oversize, leading to stiffer, better handling frames. If you're concerned about load capicity look for high spoke counts in the wheels. It's not unusual to see at least 40 spoke wheels, when your typical road bicycle sports 32. or 36.

The big names in tandems were/are Burley, Ibis and Santana. KHS was also known for its tandem line. Most other big brands offer at least one tandem, so you could find a Giant, Trek or Cannondale tandem.

-holiday76

i have this



more pics here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/2314280...7624099217243/

shipping to California would suck.

int19

I'm currently beautifying my old 70's Peugeot Grand Touring tandem. Up here in Sacramento decent older tandems come up from time to time. I'd look for an older rigid (and steel) mountain bike or touring tandem, I see them from $400-$800. The Peugeot ones are nice, but some of the parts are hard to find.

brockd15 

Here's the Burley before we got it. Other than saddles it stayed pretty much the same until...



we replaced it with the Cannondale. This is a really bad picture, but it's all I've got. This is before the tires, brakes, saddles, stoker stem/bars, and cranks were all upgraded.

Chris_in_Miami

Here's my Santana, it's a blast and we ride it pretty frequently:



One note about tandems that might be of interest - Santana and some others use a few non-standard parts such as 160mm rear hubs, oversize headsets, etc.

embankmentlb

Everyone has given some great advice. C&V tandems should be hung on a wall as art. If you are serious about actually riding you would be better served with a relatively newer bike! Also, 26" wheels are THE standard for the road by some manufactures. The wheels are much stronger than 700c. Do some research in the tandem forums before you buy. I bet you local community has a tandem club. My wife and I belong to our local club & they are simply a great group of folks. In fact I basically only ride my single bike to stay in shape for tandem riding. Most fun you can have on a bike!

prettyshady

I love tandems for so many reasons. I find it safer, we can chat and its not as hard work for her either

I have two 1979 tandems (one in france, one in england), and would advise to go modern if you could afford it.



I had to change the brake pads and rims, since the orignals overheated on a mountain decent. We could decend for 2 or 3 minutes, then had to stop an pour water on the rims and wait for them to cool down. Also friction shifting when you can't see the derailleur can be tricky.

bobbycorno

Of the older older tandems, a Peugeot would be a good find. They were actually built with tandem-size tubing, headsets, etc. Stay away from most other euro mass-produced tandems (Gitane in particular), since they used single-bike tubing and components. Jack Taylor tandems were pretty much state of the art functionally speaking, but can command premium prices. Same with Schwinn Paramount tandems. As has already been said, an older Santana would be choice. Some of the Japanese mfrs made some good tandems - Miyata and Kuwahara, and there may be others. Look for oversize tubing and fork blades, 1 1/8" steerers, a rear drum brake along with cantilevers on both wheels, lots of spokes (up to 48 per wheel), etc. Heavy duty is the key phrase here.

Enjoy the hunt, and congrats on the good turn in your life.

SP
Bend, OR

Fasteryoufool

So basically the consensus is to get a newer one. Damn. I don't LIKE new bikes.

-holiday76

meh, i'd say ride and older one first if you can. make up your own mind. Check out the tandem forum and there may be a member nearby who can lend some first hand advice and maybe even let you try one out.

conspiratemus1

Don't forget one extremely important factor that it's easy for tandem captains to overlook because they can't empathize: stoker comfort in the rear compartment and on the rear seat. If her top tube is too short, (as on many older tandems especially) she'll be crammed up against your back and buttocks, which is great aerodynamically but sucks for long pleasure rides. Also, since the stoker can't see the bumps but is still sitting right over the rear wheel just like on a single, the tandem will beat her up more unless you are really conscientious about calling the bumps so she can lighten herself in time. All else being equal, and it never is, a frame with a short stoker seat tube and a long aluminum or c.f. seatmast will be more comfortable for her. Shock-absorbing posts get mixed reviews.

Her willingness to ride a tandem may stand or fall on these two factors, so be sure she's satisfied before committing to any particular bike. (Oh, and you have to be worthy of her absolute trust in your riding skills, too... A scared stoker is a mutinous shipmate.)

aixaix 

My wife & got a C&V tandem this fall & love it. It is a 1980 Bob Jackson with friction shifters & canti brakes plus Phil Wood disks. (Yeah, I know all about them: that's another discussion. They work fine, by the way.) We haven't toured on it yet so I cannot comment on its long-distance suitability, but for morning rides it is great. We are not big, however: 170 & 100 lbs, and used to steel racing bikes, so the ride and handling are familiar & pleasant to us. What sold me on the bike and what has been of great value in keeping us comfortable was its pair of Brooks Pro saddles. Plus, it is really, really beautiful.

Here are some photos I took just before I bought it & set it up: https://www.flickr.com/photos/2816407...7624802062741/

brandenjs

This is not really one I would suggest for long hilly rides, but it's a great neighborhood cruiser. I think it is a 6o's Huffy model.

Noah Scape

Here's a 1977 Jack Taylor. I set it up for some friends of mine.

Fasteryoufool

Thank you, that's excellent input. I am actually very conscientious about that sort of thing with my six-year-old son. He rides his own bike for anything up to 5 miles, but over that I make him ride on the Adam's Trail-a-Bike. He's done nearly 50 miles in two consecutive days of outings. I know it's not the same as a tandem, but I am used to dealing with a long machine with the rear rider not being able to see what's coming, even if it is hinged in the middle.

Fasteryoufool

Yeah, that's an important point. I'm 5'10" and 200 lbs., she's 5'7 and 175-ish. We'd both like to to lose some more weight (I've lost about 25-30 lbs. so far, She's lost some too, don't know how much, don't care) and I've convinced her that my weight loss has been mostly due to giving up driving.

zonatandem

zonatandem

Suggest you get to ride a tandem, any tandem, and see what it's like.
WHOA!!!! Quite a bit different from single bikes?!!!
If you still want a tandem, buy a cheap used one. Don't do any upgrades. Ride it for about a 1,000 miles and that will let you know what you like/dislike about that bike. This will make you more knowledgeable/experienced when shopping for the next bike.
We'vew been riding tandem for over 35 years and are still happily married!
GO for it!
Pedal on TWOgeyther!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

(see photo above)

Fasteryoufool

I've been thinking about doing that very thing. Target sells tandems online for really cheap. Dunno how crappy it'll be, though.

sdold

Faster, being in the SF Bay Area you are close to an excellent tandem resource, Rick Jorgensen (Tango Tandems and designer of many Ibis tandems) lives in Davis. Rick is currently an Ibis dealer and frame builder, but his favorite tandems are old Ibis's and he might be able to help you find something, and may even have a bike you both could try. You should know what a good tandem feels like before you try a bad one that could sour you on tandems. Rick's website is https://www.bicycle-engineering.com/.