merlinextraligh

In the process of specing out our new tandem, we took our current Burley Duet into be measured. Out of curiousity the shop weighed it.

With a computer, seatbag, bottle cages, it weighs exactly 50lbs. Take all the extraneous stuf off, and it would still be over 48lbs.

It's the old frame style (circa 1992), it has 40/48 spoke wheels ( albeit with 25c Gatorskin tires). A drum brake, and relatively heavy saddles

I was still shocked that it weighs that much. And explains a large part of why it feels like a truck compared to our single bikes.

So what does your tandem weigh?

WheresWaldo

05 CDale road tandem L/S 34 lbs.
Wouldn't be easier if this was a poll?

oldacura

1998 Co-Motion Co-Pilot. Steel frame w/o drum, waterbottles, tools or pump - about 42 lbs.

Retro Grouch 

Only if there's a "don't know and don't care" option.

TandemGeek

Good one...

2372ighost

Burly Rumba, Brooks sprung saddles, trunk bag, handlebar bag and more.
My vote is with Retro Grouch!!

WheresWaldo

Might be good for you but not very helpful to merlinextraligh.
I usually don't care too much either but I do know what it weighs because I went through upgraditis this past winter. I now have a tandem that is more enjoyable to ride than the OEM version I bought. It also happens to be lighter too.

dvs cycles

'06 Santana Team Scandium with Sovereign component package right at 33lbs. with cages and computer.

TandemGeek

Interesting and responsive to the question asked? Yes. However, I'm not sure how helpful it is for anyone, to be completely honest.

With few exceptions, the fastest and strongest teams whom we know don't ride the latest, greatest, or most lightweight equipment. In fact, perhaps the strongest teams ride older Santanas... one that was picked up on Ebay. Yes, one of the stronger couples rides a Calfee (older, traditional design), but they're just as fast on their Co-Motion Speedster Co-Pilot. Another A-team team rides a Taliani and they kick butt even when they're pulling their daughter in a trailer, and well, you get the picture. There are Burley Rivazzas and coupled Meridians in the A-Team fleet along with other older Santanas and of couse the ubiquitous Co-Motion Speedsters, Co-Pilots and a Robusta or two.

Building-up and riding lightweight tandems and bikes has it's merits: it's intersting to see what can be achieved and they do feel more lively. However, when it comes to the King of the Hill, county line sprints, time trials, and being the rabbits, it's the motors that make the real difference. So long as the wheels stay on, fast teams are just fast on whatever they ride.

alwaysbikn

Co-Motion Macchiato with Record 10.....weight is 27.5 with pedals and cages. I just came off an old Santana that weighed 48 pounds.
The new bike flies up the hills!!!
And you are right about fast teams just beeing fast. One of my stokers is a 145 pound powerhouse....we were just as fast on the Santana on flat ground and the TT course but the lighter bike gets up to speed much faster and handles much better as well.

merlinextraligh

I'd agree with that. More of a curiousity than anything.

However, I am pretty sure we're going to climb a bit faster on a 20lb lighter bike.

merlinextraligh

Actually ran some numbers on Kreuzotter. And it's surprising the relatively small difference it makes even climbing.

Assuming a team weight of 350lbs, team power of 500 watts, 8% grade, and a 5 mile climb;

50lb bike climbs at 7mph in 42:51; 30 lb bike climbs at 7.3mph in 41:05, or a 1:46 faster.

Significant in a race , but not an order of magnitude difference.

guess we'll still need to work on the motors.

zonatandem

Officially 26 1/2 lbs for our Zona c/f tandem. With our 'stuff' on it very low 30s (depending on how much stuff!).
Are we any faster? Naaaaah. . . just older and happy!

Retro Grouch 

You're the one who suggested a poll. Absent that I wouldn't have posted anything. Uh - if you'll notice, I've got company too.

robmitchell

We have a Calfee also. Dura Ace, FSA cranks, Shimano MTB pedals and Rold wheels about 32 lbs.
I think the Santana we owned prior was around 33-34.

Rob

KRhea

In about 6 weeks my wife and I should be riding a sub 30lb new tandem and yes, weight was a hugeconsideration in the build.
My priorities in order were:
1. Fit
2. Performance
3. Weight

And truthfully saving some weight was what got me started on building a new bike. This will be our 3rd tandem. We started with a 45lb Santana 4 years ago, built a 35lb Tsunami a year ago and will take possession of a new custom Taylor in a few weeks with a target weight of sub-30lbs. We noticed a massive difference between the Santana and Tsunami. That 10lbs really made a huge difference in our Columbia Gorge climbs and it really was a "mental" boost for both of us just knowing we were 10lbs lighter.

In our club both the single and tandem riders talk weight at about every ride. It's part of the cycling culture, always has been. I rode my first century in 1972 and remember folks commenting on the weight of my "department store" C.Itoh, actually not so much "commenting" as laughing.

Anyway, I like light weight bikes, be they singles or tandems. Even if it's just a "mental" boost I get from a lightweight bike that's good enough for me and my wife. Plus, you can never have to many bikes, even tandems!

Gram counters unite!!!!!!!

Build it light Merlin, you'll never regret it as long as it's strong enough for your team, fits right and does what you want it to do you'll be a happier lighter than heavier.

KRhea

zonatandem

KRhea: A C. Itoh? Yup owned one of those once upon a time too!
Agree, you'll not regret having a lighter tandem!
We started off in 1975 with a then 'lightweight' real 10-speed Follis tandem. Now 30-some years later our Zona tandem weighs less than that C. Itoh!

TandemGeek

Cost is conspicuously absent... a good thing if you're going for #2 and #3 because, with few exceptions, combining those two things gets expensive unless you can get pro-type pricing or don't mind scouring the Internet for deals.

My apologies for going off tangent here... not unusual for me, but:

1. Having a long-time affliction as an equipment freak and bicycle accumulator -- still sitting with more bikes than I can ride or justify at the moment even though it's more than 1/2 of what I've previously had on hand -- I've come to realize that, given I lack the resources of Robin Williams who purportedly has over 100 bikes in his personal livery, it's an incredibly expensive habit that has no real benefit beyond self-satisfaction. At times I feel like Jerry Seinfeld's TV persona and his inability to find the right woman: never able to commit and stick with one because I know there's something better or more interesting out there. I guess my point is, like most addictions it's best to realize that it's not rationale behavior and, accepting that, it's not a good idea to every tally up the costs unless you have really, really deep pockets and your kids college is covered along with your retirement account.

2. Like bicycle accumulation, gram counting can also become a bit of an addiction. I didn't realize how bad it can get until I commissioned our most recent tandem: the C bike. In fact, while I always had a pretty good idea of what things weighed, I never actually took weight into consideration when making too many decisions because, in the back of my mind, I knew that shaving grams does not deliver a lot of bang for the buck, except for the aforementioned euphoria and placebo effect that can be derived from hopping on a lightweight steed... that is, unless you're a professional rider making a comfortable living wage, if not six, seven or even eight figures, where every second and gram counts. Remembering that I bought the C bike for it's ride qualities, more-so than the weight, once I had that thing built and looked at it hanging on the scale... instead of being amazed at how light it WAS, all I could think about was "what could I do to make it lighter?" remembering that lighter isn't always better... it's just lighter. Thankfully, I came to grips with it and have curtailed my thoughts about "what if I changed out the....(fill in the blank)". Mind you, as a rule I always try to find a way to avoid paying MSRP, never mind prevailing retail, for anything. So, rest assured, if you see a titanium widget listed as a component on our 'C' bike my cost was a lot less than what you'd find at Lickton's or anywhere else. It's still pretty insane... after all, my Honda CBR1100 was at one time the fastest production motorcycle in the world and was only $10k when it was new.

Anyway, just a few thoughts to give you my current perspective on things. Hey, if I win the lottery you can bet your boots that I'll have a few more bikes sitting around. But, short of that...

R900

Wow, you guys are worse then the roadies

I don't know what our tandem weighs, but it seems light enough; has a nice ride, fairly fast (as fast as we can motor it), and serves us well.

P.S. My road bike is a hair under 17.5 including a PowerTap...

zonatandem

Now retired,we limit ourselves to one nice tandem and Rudy has a nice single bike. Kay gave up on owning a single as she puts thousands of miles on tandems each year.
Easy to justify the cost: it's an investment in our continued good health (that statement from 2 cancer survivors)!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

justcrankn

[QUOTE=TandemGeek;6216309]
In fact, while I always had a pretty good idea of what things weighed, I never actually took weight into consideration when making too many decisions because, in the back of my mind, I knew that shaving grams does not deliver a lot of bang for the buck, except for the aforementioned euphoria and placebo effect that can be derived from hopping on a lightweight steed...

I find that the practical application for weight saving comes when I have to lift the bike to the top of the car or worse, the trucks load bars at 7'. That's when every gram counts.

TandemGeek

True, but there are more cost effective solutions to make loading easier than the price tag for shaving a few lbs off of a tandem. Just off the top of my head and going from least to most expensive.

1. Take what can be a 1.5# to 2.5# seat pack with tubes, tools, and other stuff off the bike.
2. Don't load it with your trunk bag still attached... as those things tend to add lots of weight.
3. Get someone to help you
4. Load the truck from the back with the rear tire forward, bars back so that you can basically roll the tandem on and off the roof.
5. Get a step ladder for loading the truck ($20)
6. Get a set of dumbbells and do overhead presses and arm raises ($50)
7. Switch to a rear of the vehicle, single-bike receiver hitch bike carrier. ($200)
8. Get an ATOC TandemTopper to eliminate free-lifting the tandem. ($375)
9. Change out the heavy components on your bike for lighter ones. ($1,500)
10. Sell your heavy tandem and buy a new, lighter one. ($3000)
11. Sell your heavy tandem and by a new exotic, super-lightweight one. ($6,000 - $10,000)
12. Buy a vehicle that allows you to put your tandem inside where it's better protected and more secure. ($10k - $40k)**Mind you, I offer these up as someone who's nearly 50, is 5'8" of average build who hasn't set foot in a gym in 30 years that routinely hefted our 45# off-road tandem and 35# - 45# road tandems onto the roof of a Suburban and other high profile vehicles for a number of years... almost always by myself. The use of a step ladder and technique -- one foot on the ladder and the other on the rear seat of the open passenger door with the tandem held low with the handlebars immobilized to keep the fork straight -- made hefting the big bike relatively easy. Yes, it was a grunt that took focus, but it was doable. For cars, it can actually be harder if the racks are placed too far inboard... which is where the arm raising / lat exercises can benefit.

Again, lightweight tandems are desirable... and that's why most of us end up buying the darn things.

Neill

When reporting the weight of our bike should we include the dog's weight or just the bike itself?

dvs cycles

Only if your dog is your stoker. Where do you get pedals and shoes for a dog anyways.

Neill

Funny, I was sure that I shouldn't add MY weight, nor my stoker's weight, but I thought that an option that's added to the bike, like a bottle cage, or rear rack, or small terrier, would be considered a part of the bike. So, the dog doesn't pedal but we call her StokerJack. Thus, no need to search the web for doggie shoes with cleats.