Aletongue

Anyone know anything (pros / cons) about the 1993 Cannondale Tandem Mountain bike ?
I just saw a dark green one for sale for $1m - low mileage, all factory parts. Is that a fair price?
I'm an experienced Mt. Biker & would like to get the inexperienced girlfriend out there - offroad, that is.
- How's the aluminum from Cannondale in 1993?
- Head tube diameter? ( Do I wanna' put a suspension fork on this bike - I have so many lying around)
- What's up with drum brakes?
Any info would be greatly appreciated!
thanks,
Aletongue

markm109

I don't know anything about pricing on used tandems. I've seen a 1984 Santana and a 1991 Burley for $1,000 each around where I live. Check with a local lbs - you can get a 2004 Cannondale Mountain tandem with very good components and disc brakes for $2,250 list.

I just bought a 2004 Cannondale Road tandem for the same price. It didn't make sense to buy a 10+ year old tandem for $1k when I could have a brand new one with better equipment, a warranty and a lbs backing the product for $2k.

Make sure you think about where you will ride. I have never seen a tandem on single track mtb trails. If you going to go on rail trails or gravel roads, look at the road tandem, it is much faster and more versitile. It come with 30mm width tires but could easily accomodate wider 700 tires.

You get a road tandem and a tandem that can go on modest trails. Really think about what a tandem could be used for - it is very long - not good for going around sharp corners or over steep hills.

See my other posts regarding tandems - I gave my reasons for selecting Cannondale.

Mark

Aletongue

Mark,
Thanks for the info. I gotta' do more research!
-Aletongue

TandemGeek

IMHO, even if it was in perfect condition, I wouldn't offer more than $450. The premise is, while the frame may still be in good condition, your components are all obsolete. So, when looking at what the replacement cost would be you would use something even lower than the price of a new C'dale MT1000, e.g., perhaps a KHS Alite @ $1600: https://www.khsbicycles.com/04t33.html. If the bike needed new tires, tubes, full service to replace all of the old grease, etc... that would certainly need to be factored into the offer price.

You can play around with used tandem prices on a tool that I developed. It's not necessarily definitive, but it's a good starting point: https://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/usedhome.html

TandemGeek

You'll forgive me for sticking my nose in the tent on this, but I must disagree with your assessment on the feasibility of off-road tandems. While anyone who has never ridden a tandem designed for off-road use off-road would intuitively think it would be nearly impossible, it's just not the case.

We and many other couples around the world routinely assault single-track on off-road tandems designed specifically for that purpose. It's not necessarily easy and, yes, you do occasionally have to dismount and lift the pig over large obstacles. Also, like all off-road cycling, it carries with it some risk; however, it's really a blast and what I think is the best way for someone who likes to ride single track to enjoy it with a less-accomplished off-road riding partner. As to how popular it is, after getting into off-road tandeming back in '98 with our first off-road tandem -- a C'dale MT3000 with Moto FR fork -- we quickly discovered there were quite a few other off-road tandem enthusiasts... enough to support the start-up of a discussion forum dedicated to the sport. The discussion forum is called Double Forte and there is a companion Web site for the discussion forum at this URL: https://home.att.net/~double_forte You will find links to the YahooGroups forum on the home page.

For a little more information about off-road tandem riding you can find an article I wrote a few years back for the Tandem Club of America's quarterly publication, "Doubletalk" called "DOUBLING IT IN THE DIRT!! An Off-Road Tandem Primer & Review of the Ventana El Conquistador de Montaņas" at this link: https://home.att.net/~mark.livingood/VentanaReview.html

We've since sold-off the red Ventana discussed in that article. This is a link to information regarding our 2nd Ventana ECdM: https://home.att.net/~mark.livingood/02Ventana.html

Since Aletongue is in the market for an off-road tandem I would be remiss for not mentioning that interest in the sport was even substantial enough that we helped a friend of ours who has been a very active off-road cycling advocate, author, and event promoter to start up an off-road tandem speciality business. Alex has put a lot of couples onto hardtail and full-suspension off-road tandems over the past couple of years, here and abroad: https://www.MTBTandems.com

Finally, I would note that a 26" wheeled tandem is actually a very versitile machine By changing out your 3" wide knobbies for a set of high pressure slicks, you can easily use it on the road and run with the big dogs on all but the fastest pace lines where your somewhat reduced gear range (smaller diameter tire + smaller chainrings) will leave you spinning out a bit sooner than the 700c bikes with their 54t big rings. I would also note that road riding on your tandem will greatly benefit your off-road riding as it allows you to focus more attention on smoothing out your pedal stroke and "intuitive" team skills.

pdxcyclist

I think Mark is right that the asking price is too high. If I'm remembering correctly, wasn't there a stink in the mid-nineties when a sizeable batch of C'dale Mountain tandems bounced back from overseas and went up for sale at Costco for something like $800 each? I remember checking them out for like six months at a Costco in Maryland, deliberating a purchase. C'dale was upset because they were so below MSRP.

Anyway, makes me think an eleven year-old model at $1k seems high.

jeff williams

Do you have any 1 inch steerer suspension forks 'lying around?'
If so, pm me please.
jef.