too tall jahmal

I'm 6'8 she's 5'9..... after MONTHS of combing craigslist and various other spots.... I'm appealing to the community at large..... roadbike tandem desperately wanted. anyone seen any? I'm on a budget so custom santana is out of range but I can spend 2k for a used one if it exists at all...

jgg3

It is very difficult to find a used tandem in the right size. There are fewer tandems (than singles) and having to fit two people means more combinations of sizes, so it is a double whammy. When I was looking last fall/winter, I found the middle range ones in our sizes harder to find than the odd ball ones. Don't know why. Don't give up, broaden your Craigslist searches to a bigger area, stay on top of ebay, check the various tandem places you can find on the net.

smiller

I have a cannondale in Jumbo/Large. I'm 6'6, fits me with room to spare. stoker has to be 5'5 Min without susp. seatpost 5'8" min with. I think you'll find with a bit of a rise to the stem, it should fit you as well as any custom. It used to be the biggest stock bike size made and to my knowledge, still is. Plus the rigidity of the cannondale really helps when the bike gets that big. Since a new one is about $2600 list, you should be able to get a really good used one or a close out somewhere for 2k.

Retro Grouch 

Where are you located? If you're within striking distance of St Louis, PM me. I might be able to help you.

Rahzel

Cannondale RT3 in size Jumbo/Large retails (at my local shop) for $1799. I'd imagine that most other shops would be able to order this bike for you for between $1800 and $2000. Tiagra/Deore LX component lineup, it seems to be a pretty good deal!

Baldy88

We purchased a Cannondale RT3 this spring. So far we have been very impressed with it. We got it for $1750 out the door stock. I haven't found anything on it that I just gotta replace, well I did swap the two saddles for 3 water bottle cages, but everything else is stock. We did add a Thudbuster ST seat post for the stoker as well. They make them in Jumbo/Medium as someone stated. I would give it a look. You probably won't find one in stock in that size, but they do have all the dimensions online and I just measured our bikes to see if they were in line with the dimensions that were offered by Cannondale.

cornucopia72

An XL used Santana should fit you two OK. I am 6'3" and my wife is 5'6" and we ride one. My wife even has 1" to spare on her seat tube with a Tamer suspension post. The 2K price may be a little low for a recent model Santanam, but a 8-12 year old bike should be relatively easy to find. You may also need and uncut fork and a long/high rise stem...

dvs cycles

He is 6' 8". thats 5" taller than you. I think custom is is you can get to fit on any bike when you are that tall.

cornucopia72

I did see that and my recommenadtion stands: "An XL used Santana should fit you two OK......You may also need and uncut fork and a long/high rise stem..." the OP wanted to stay under 2K...

rfutscher

I have a Santana Sovereign Classic with 25/23 seat posts. I am 6' 4" with 40 " from the pedals to the seat. I feel that the Santana's top tube is a little short for me. We test road a Trek T100 over the weekend and I felt like I had much more room. The stoker had more room also. If your length is in the legs, a longer seat post might be just the thing. If your length is in the torso, you may need a longer top tube.

We decided to get the Trek. We are having couplers installed and repainted. It should be ready in several weeks.

smiller

TooTall, your bike is waiting on ebay! there's an 8sp campy equipped Cannondale RT1000 in 25/21 size. asking $1000. I've ridden others and i'll tell you the cannondale is nearly an inch larger in front and 2 in the rear than the biggest trek or santana. No offense to those of you 6'1 to 6'4, but the difference to me at 6'6 is huge. For a 6'8 rider he'll need all he can get and the trek and santana just wont cut it. even the cannondale will need a highly raised stem to fit him. Good luck hope you're monitoring this.

too tall jahmal

Retro Grouch I'm in Los Angeles...


that tandem on ebay actually looks tempting.... I would love to try it out first but obviously that's not possible unless I basically spend $300 in shipping and if I dont like I would have to spend another $300 to return it.... hmmmmmm should I just buy it? 25" seems right for me. I have a 35 inseam.... looks like a great bike...... arrrgh. I love cannondales. I have an 88 cannondale touring bike that is actually a bit too big for me at 69cm but I just love cruising around town on.

Btw all THANKS for all your comments and help. I really appreciate it.

smiller

OK, after MONTHS of looking and DESPARATELY needing the right road tandem.... This bike looks to be exactly what you want and in great shape. Id check it out and talk to the guy, but if it's like most, it's hardly been ridden and probably needs a tune up to ride like new. as a bonus it's CAMPY (ok that's my preference) plus, i've seen that green and it's really nice. you may need to swap stem's, maybe change out seats, get her a nice suspension seatpost (check out the thudbuster if she has enough seatpost exposed). by the time you get the bike, get it shipped, get it tuned and fitted, you'll still be way under your budget. OR you could go to the LBS and order a Cannondale tandem3 for $1600. the components won't be quite as good, but it will all be new

too tall jahmal

what is LBS?

deanack

LBS = Local Bike Shop

That Cannondale is over pirced for a 8 year old bike. Just my opinion.

Dean 6'5"

I'm am looking too...

too tall jahmal

I didnt realize new cannondales are that cheap. to be honest I would really love to get a used ventana full suspension mountain tandem and convert it to roadbike tires.

exploring

too tall, did you end up buying the big tandem off e-Bay or springing for a new Cannondale tandem? Anyone out there looking to sell a used Jumbo Cannondale to a newbie couple?

zonatandem

C'dale would be the best production tandem to properly fit you.

merlinextraligh

For reference sake when you're trying to figure fit, your inseam for cycling purposes is different from your pants inseam. At 6'8" if your cycling inseam is 35" you have very short legs for your height.

Take a ruler, hold it level, and snug to your crotch. Distance from the top of the ruler to the floor is your cycling inseam.

exploring

So a 38" inseam (35" pant inseam + 3" further to the floor) would certainly call for a custom bike but a Cannondale jumbo with a long seat post might provide a more economical entry point for the big and tall cyclist(s).

WebsterBikeMan

And inseam isn't everything. You can adjust for a long inseam with a very long seat post (to a point). You can adjust reach with the stem, but to a lesser extent. Case in point: I'm six and a quarter feet, my son is six and a half feet tall. His arms are so much longer than mine that when we stand next to each other his fingertips are significantly lower than mine. He must have got that part of his proportions from his five and a third foot tall mother.

Point being, while I am taller than the 90th percentile, my reach isn't. Typical proportioning of a bike based only on my inseam puts me at a longer reach than comfort would dictate. For my son it's probably the other way, but I haven't checked.

exploring

WebsterBikeMan, valid points, so your son's sleeve length is likely four inches longer than your's. What size and brand tandems and half-bikes do you and/or your son ride? Thanks!

WebsterBikeMan

Sleeve length: if he can find it . Sleeve length is measured from the middle of the neck, and he has broader shoulders than I, so it could be more (also his mother's side of the family). Everyone says how much he looks like me, but get into the details... He is no longer living at home so I don't have precise info here.

Half-bikes: I don't know what size his is (he bought it, it's some kind of new-fangled aluminum job). I ride a 25" Nishiki Continental with the saddle way up, and the stem at its maximum height. I rode a 27" before it was stolen, and decided it wasn't worth the hassle. Back when I got these in the eighties, there wasn't much information out there about sizing beyond stand-over, and saddle adjustment based on the heel-on-the-pedal method. I've only recently come to pay close enough attention to size to realize that I should replace the stem with one with a shorter reach, and preferably longer (i.e. higher). As it is I spend very little time on the brake hoods. It would be more aerodynamic, but breathing is nice too.

Tandem: I'm still in the market for a tandem, but so far as I can tell, there's some range available. Anything from a "medium" Santana or DaVinci up will work, with the right stem/saddle/crank combination. Since a lot of my height is in my legs, it just means a long seat post.

exploring

So has anyone heard of any previously owned, oversized/Jumbo/XXL/Custom tandems currently offered in the marketplace?

exploring

I see a 2007 Cannondale Jumbo/Large on Seattle's Craigslist in Oak Harbor, WA for anyone looking near that area. https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/771292564.html