DZOO

Just got back from the first ever tandem test drive. Brought home a brand new 02 Burley Duet to test for a couple of days. We just rode around town this evening and out to dinner at BK. Everything went way better then expected. I envisioned all kinds of problems, most of which I expected problems with the skeptic on the back, but to my surprise she enjoyed herself. We spent about an hour and a half on it and will give it another go tomorrow before we go to the Nebraska football game (you know this is football country around here). The lbs acted like they would come down a little more to move this thing off the showroom floor. They already have it marked down from 2400.00 to 1700.00, (since it's been sitting there for 2 1/2 years). Maybe if I'm lucky they will take another hundy or two off. If I'm luckier my wife will say "go for it". The one thing I am disappointed with is that I thought that the stoker does not have a suspension seat post. And those things are kind of expensive, anyone have advise for which one is the best value, I want a cheap one but I want it to work. We set my stokers position up with her sitting very upright, which is the only way she would try it, and of course that puts 100% of the wieght on her tush and none of her hands. Down the road when she gets used to putting some weight on her hands we will change her position and that will help for the rough ride. But for now I will need a suspension seat post.

shutterbiker

dzoo,
see if they'll throw in the suspension post. it might be worth it to them to move
the bike. it sounds like a pretty good deal already. good luck!

steve

TandemGeek

Very cool. Hope the rest of your weekend goes well.

On the suspension seat post, here are a couple of thoughts....

1. Confirm your wife's saddle height leaves enough room for the different types of suspension seat posts you are considering; ~2'5 - 3" inches of mast height are normally required for the telescoping styles like the Rock Shox model (w/~50mm of travel). The parallelogram models vary so be sure you know how much room you have to work with between the top of the seat tube and the bottom of her seat rails as that's what they often use for checking compatibility. For example, a long-travel (3") Thudbuster requires 6" of clearance whereas the Thudbuster ST requires about 1/2 of that: https://www.thudbuster.com/products.html

2. Consider using the model that Burley uses as it's OEM offering (Rock Shox) and see if your LBS will work it into the price of your tandem. You may not be able to get that extra $200, but you may be able to get a free shockpost. It will have a higher value to you vs what it will cost the LBS and that's all that matters.

3. Of the brands to consider, at least based on what I've observed and read over the years, Rock Shox are the more reliable of the telescoping types of shockposts when it comes to tandems. And, you need to be attentive to the tandem reviews, not the off-road user reviews, since tandem-duty puts a higher demand on the post. Tamer, despite their name brand recognition and long-term relationship with Santana, continues to have a spotty record on tandem reliability with broken bolts and pins used for the seat clamp being the ususal suspects.

zonatandem

A gonga of a price for a new 02 Burley! As others suggested, don't think there is much wiggle room left in the price, but if it means a 'sale' or 'no sale' the shock seatpost should clinch it! Unsold tandems gather dust, and with the new 05 models due out, they can't afford to add another model year to this machine. This'll give 'em some $$ so they can order an 05 as a demo for the shop. Besides, you'll brag up that tandem a bit and that is positive publicity for them!
Go for it!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/Zona tandem

TandemGeek

FWIW: Colorado Cyclist has the RockShox suspension seatpost on sale for $50. It's only a 27.2mm post, but you could use a shim to adapt it to the Burley's seat tube.

https://www.coloradocyclist.com/commo...19,27918,26352