reburns

We recently had the opportunity to test ride 3 tandems in quick succession: Santana Beyond, Calfee Dragonfly and Comotion Equator. Our base of comparison is our 2005 Trek T2000 that we really like but are wanting a coupled bike. Key frame test criteria for us are ride comfort and handling. Here are our personal impressions based on these few short (~30 minute) rides FWIW:

Beyond: it really does cut down on the high frequency road vibration and noise from chip seal and other rough surfaces. Felt almost like there was a layer of air between us and the road. I can definitely imagine this greatly reducing fatigue after riding more than a couple of hours. Larger bumps like expansion joints, etc. felt similar to our T2000, although the bike had 25 mm Conti 4 seasons vs the 28 mm 4KS2 we use. It was also fitted with Spinergy wheels. Could these have made a difference? Seated handling felt fine but a bit more of a handful out of the saddle vs our bike.

Dragonfly: wow, it really does absorb the bigger bumps. Stoker felt like this is the first bike we ever rode where she could imagine doing without a suspension seatpost. But higher frequency road noise came through as strong, if not louder, than our T2000. Almost "buzzy" through the feet and hands. Some speculation that this was a result of the "harsh" Zipp CF wheels on the bike. They were fitted with 25 mm 4KS2s. Seated handling was fine but became squirrelly when we stood up.

Equator: great handling. Sporty yet so easy to control even out of the saddle. The huge 35 mm tires absorbed big bumps well but did nothing to isolate chip seal buzz. We didn't like the Rohloff hub despite the appeal of a chainless drivetrain because it made too much noise, but understood that the frame characteristics are the same as the Speedster so that is still on our short list.

We are also seriously considering a custom build but will probably need to commit to that without benefit of a test ride. Tough to substitute for direct experience. I guess a lot of the beauty is in the eye (or other body parts) of the beholder since our impressions seemed somewhat different than what I've heard from others.

mtseymour

Did the Spinergy rear wheel use disk brake? What kind of Zipp wheels were on the Calfee?

I think the Santana and Calfee would ride better with 28mm tires, especially with a coupled frame that will encounter variable road conditions.

Carbonfiberboy 

Still loving our Speedster after 9 years. We know there are lighter bikes but it handles perfectly under all conditions and is comfy. It is fitted with a WoundUp carbon fork. We are running 28mm 4KS2 tires at 105 lbs. on conventional 36H wheels, wide and deep alu rims. These tires really smooth out the chipseal. Stoker has a Specialized CoblGobr seatpost which she likes.

reburns

The spinergy rear wheel on the Beyond was fitted with the huge disc brake used by Santana. I don't remember the model of Zipp wheels on the Calfee but they had very deep carbon fiber rims.

I agree that both the Calfee and Santana would ride better with wider tires, but I was impressed with the bump absorption of the Calfee and the vibration absorption of the Santana even with 25mm tires on both. On the Comotion the 35 mm tires absorbed bumps well as you would expect, but didn't seem to have much effect on the higher frequency vibrations.

zonatandem

Carbon fiber is an incredible material for a tandem frame.
Our c/f Zona custom tandem is now 13+ years old with 45,000+ miles on the odometer.
Stoker has never wanted/needed a shock absorbing seatpost on any of our tandems (5 of them) since 1975.
She is a real tough little cookie!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

engineerbob

I'm guessing that you tested bikes at the Northwest Tandem Rally. If so, we rode the Dragonfly just after you did, and spoke to you during our test ride. I, too, really liked how the Equator handled. I asked the guy at the Co-Motion booth about the Rohloff's noise. He attributed it to the hub having approximately no miles on it, and said that it would get quieter as it broke in.

An Equator is on our short list.

Bob

reburns

Yes, that was us, but we didn't ride the equator until two days later at the Comotion factory. Great handling bike. We were told that the hub would get quieter with more miles, but would never get completely silent.

Coincidence, I'm also an engineer Bob.

merlinextraligh

The dragonfly is going to be the quickest handling of those 3 bikes, handling closest to a single race bike.

I think this explains what you perceived as "squirrelly" out of the saddle. With some miles, I think you'd likely find the bike to be great handling in or out of the sadldle.

We love the way our Dragonfly handles. But one person's squirrelly is another's responsive.

If your a big powerful team, the extra stiff option might also help

jnbrown

We have been riding a Calfee Tetra since 2011 and love it.
We don't feel the high frequency noise you describe, in fact its the smoothest, quietest bike I have ever ridden.
As Merlin said you will get used to the handling after riding it for a while and wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
IME it is not squirrely at all.
I am not sure but the Dragonfly being constructed differently than the Tetra might also explain a difference in vibration.