Bill G

Have not seen anything posted on the Co Motion Touring model Bikes lately. Anyone riding and enjoying the fine quality of the Americano, NorWester Tour or the new Cascaida that replaced the NorWester Tour = same bike as the older NorWester Tour but it now has the same 10 SPD STI componets standard that I paid extra for and put on my NorWester tour when I was building it up new a few years ago. I guess this option like I did on mine of STI 10 SPD componets was pretty popular and now it's standard on the same bike but only with a name change, also has the disk brake option standard now.

Ride Safe All,
Bill G

Philly Tandem

I have three Co-Motions. A Nor'wester Co-Pilot (original version) and two "OR" Co-Pilots, which were originally mountain bikes but have been converted into touring bikes.

indyfabz

Nice.

Wonder how long it will take before someone opines that you wasted your money because you could have gotten a functionally equivalent bike for much less.

fietsbob

Made here , costs more. but there are forces wanting you to get less money too.

I like their EBB use in designing the R'off ready frame style..

Chris_in_Miami

Wow, I love that bike, very nice!

djb

yup, nice bike, although I do feel the pain the rear derailleur is in
;-)

Bill G

Well that may be true for some and has some Merritt but you said functionally equivalent bike for much less key word functionally equivalent but that is not always really the case when you get down to the real nuts and bolts of frame design.

I can tell you this when it comes to steel frames Co Motion knows what the hell there doing.. I have ridden Tandems for a long time and have ridden a few nice Tandems with similar or same components made by other companies with a lessor price tag. At the end of the day components are the same such as Shimmano XTR on X brand bike and Shimmano XTR on another brand it's still XTR at the end of the day. With Co Motion yes you pay a premium price maybe to much but you get the best steel frames money can buy and the frame is the heart and sole of a Tandem and a Touring Bike and Co Motion does that better than most when it comes to Tandems and you can tell the difference. I find the same to be true with there single bikes.

Dwan at Co Motion puts a lot of heart and sole into his designs and that sole is what you pay for..plus it's hand made in America,,

Ride Safe,
Bill G

tarwheel 

Very nice. Ride the heck out of it!

indyfabz

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I am all for people buying what they want for whatever reason they want, whether it be for aesthetics or quality. (I have racks from Rivendell because they are super strong, georgeous and do what I want them to do.) I was taking a poke at people who think otherwise. In another forum someone opined that you should buy something basic and inexpensive otherwise you will constantly be worried about messing it up. My response: Buy whatever you want.

I am hoping to at least semi-retire in about 8 years and do more touring. If that happens, I will certainly consider a Co-Mo for the reasons you state. An IF will also be near the top of the list assuming they are still around. I have one of their road bikes. While I don't go out of my way to knock it around, I don't worry about it getting dinged up.

Philly Tandem

It looks worse than it is. The chainrings are 48-36-24 and the cassette is 11-32. In this picture I had literally built the bike up the night before the tour (and the night before this photo was taken), so I kind of cobbled it together from parts I had around the house. I think the chain might have been a bit short, which was probably the issue. It's a bit more refined now.

The OR originally came with a Rock Shox suspension fork, which I switched out for a fork from a 26" Surly Long Haul Trucker. Not sure if the rake and all is exact, but it rides very nicely, even with a load.

SparkyGA

Lovely rides, I really like orange on the OP's first post, my favourite colour Some people like expensive wine, some people cars, we like expensive bicycles!

Bill G

Sorry, I did not mean to make it look like I did not get your point and directed my point at you it was directed at the types your talking about, I agree with you . My reply was more for those that may feel the way you discribed about the cost of Co Motion Touring bikes. It was my way of taking a poke at those that feel that way as well. Thanks for the feed back I understand totally what you saying..

Ride Safe,
Bill G

tom cotter

I'm a real funtion over form type of person. I also recognize the value of spending up for quality when needed. For example, my job requires that I entertain wealthy individuals. Impressions are important in gaining business. For that reason I drive a Mercedes S550. That said, I will tell you that the Merc is not 5 times the car my wife's Camry is though it cost, more or less, five times as much. In fact, it's not a better car at all. Just a more heavily optioned more expensive car. Make no mistake, I love the S550, I'm just calling it what it is. And truthfully, I like driving my old Jeep GC better.

Anything Co-Motion costs 3x what a Trek 520 costs. You will never convince me that a Co-Motion is 3x the bike. Not even double the bike. No doubt, like the Mercedes, the CM delivers a high quality experience. It is a great bike!!! But from a functionality POV, the Camry of bikes will do the exactly the same thing, just as reliably, and for just as long as the Mercedes of bikes.

I'm not sneering at you or those who buy these high end bikes. I've had a few high end bikes hanging in the garage over the years myself. I'm just not kidding myself about why i bought them. Is there value to be had in these high end machines? Maybe, but not enough to justify the extra cost from a function POV.

From a personal satisfaction POV, well, that's another story. More than enough reason to write the check!!!!

Doug64

Try getting a TREK 520 frame custom built to your exact fit. It was well worth the cost to get my wife a bike that fit her like a glove. Production bikes are only a value if they fit you.

I got my wife a custom Co-Motion frame set for her retirement present. She is short, and while she has ridden some good bikes, fitting was always an issue. She rides that bike more than her "good" road bike. Ask her if it was worth the price. She has used that bike on 2 long tours, the most recent was a 2900 mile European trip last summer.

++1

When she decided on the bike she wanted (she has a lot of touring and riding experience), we went to the Co-Motion shop which is just 45 minutes from home. They took the measurements and built the frame (47 cm) which required careful position of the water bottle bosses to allow fitting the crank/front derailleur combination she wanted to use. Small frames do not leave much room for error. They did a great job working with us to accommodate our needs. I had the bike partially built up when I asked my wife check the stand over height. She thought it was OK, but I thought it was a little close. I took the bike back to the Co-Mo shop and Dwan checked the measurements, checked my wife's fit, and thought it was about right. We were getting ready to do the Pacific Coast Route in about 3 weeks, and she was hoping to use this bike for the trip. Dwan's next statement is what convinced me that we had made a good decision. He said," finish building the bike, ride it awhile before the tour, use it on the tour; and if she does not like it, he would build her another one when we got back."

Needless to say, she is still riding that bike, and never has had a issue with anything.




My wife was involved with the selection of almost every component. Luckily, we found the right bars after visiting only 5 shops. We have about 45 bike shops (16 in Eugene area alone) within a 50 mile radius of our house!


PS. I ride a LHT, because it fits me

tom cotter

Custom tailored versus off the rack!!! The endless debate!!! With a professional fitting most production bikes can be dialed in. I'm a tough fit, short legs long torso, so paying for a pro fit was needed to get the 520 to fit me like a glove. Same with the other bikes I've owned over the years. That being the case, I understand your wife's frustration with off the rack product.

Value is in the eyes of the beholder. I doubt many S550 owners, lessees, or drivers would dare compare their their car to a lowly Camry. But I'm tellin' ya, the Toyota is just as good a car. Is it as quiet, nope, is it as fast, nope, is it as good at getting you where you need to be, yup!!!! Function over form at a fraction of the cost!!

Bill G

Nor am I snubbing or sneering anyone for buying a Trek 520 or any other good touring bike on the market. Your point is valid in a lot of repects. I chose to have and pay for the extra things that come along with a Co Motion tour bike and they may not be 3X better to some but that's a point of view to each his own.

Co Motion matchs there tubing and builds the bike to fit you and your deminsions, they will make a frame tweak just for your needs if needed. That you can not get with a Trek 520 or any other production bike. Don't get me wrong I have several Giant bikes and have had several Treks and there realy good bikes most all made over sea's (Great bike builders over there too) I have an Acura and also a Nissan Versa car and get your point my Nissan is functional at half the cost, point taken , also have a good old American made Ford truck to pull the travel trailer.

But if you want that little extra like custom paint, two tone paint fades, painted panels, flames, of your choice, custom fit, better quality tuding, matched tubing for your needs and attention to detail that is not available from mass produced bikes like Trek & Giant pay and get a custom Co Motion built.( These things I wanted) Also Co Motion has the best steel fork going on the market tor touring and tandems period and I will put money on that statement.

I am aware and understand the truth of what you said fully and yes you pay a lot more for these little diffrences (can be big diffrences) when you buy a Co Motion.. Most of us that buy Co Motions get it and have dealt with your point of view and put it to rest in our own mind before paying the big bucks for a Co Motion.

Ride Safe,
Bill G

Bill G

You are a 100% right about Dwan and Co Motion and some do not get this relationship between Co Motion and there owners that is why we pay 3 x what other bikes cost like the one guy said. Nice bike and the key thing is your wife love's her bike. Bike shops can not always fit a production bike frame size comepletly right for all folks.

I built my bike up too, had it shipped unasembled to my dealer and they gave it to me that way in an un opened box from Co Motion. I have been to there factory going on three diffrent times now and met all the guys that build these super nice bikes.

Ride Safe,
Bill G

tom cotter

Bill, well said!

Philly Tandem

Or, buy them used, as I did for all three of mine. I rarely buy my bikes new. The red S&S MTB build I pictured above cost ~$400 for the frame and fork on Ebay and I built it up with parts I sourced from all over the place. My Nor'wester S&S cost me $1800 used fully built-up. And I scored another nice Co-Motion OR S&S for my wife for $450 (total!) on Craigslist.

That being said, I would also consider them if/when I want a custom built bike. Great attention to detail and customer service, from what I've seen. My next tandem may be a Co-Motion.

If you are looking at it as a commodity, a Trek 520 or Surly LHT will definitely do the job for a lot less.

djb

glad that the fork change worked well, I use an old Rockhopper that I mention from time to time on here, still have the original suspension fork on it, but may have to change it out one day, so will keep in mind a 26" LHT fork. The Rockhopper rides well loaded (rear bags only) as well, mtn bikes can make good all around useful bikes cant they? Ive fiddled with diff bars and stems over the years, gradually getting higher, and now lately with more angled back bars, which is nice for rough roads (combined with bringing them up to nearly saddle height).

CoMotionRider

One thing that alot of CoMotion singles have is the tandem spacing rear hub so the rear spokes do not have to be dished, giving you a stronger rear wheel and less chance of breaking the drive side spokes. I would of loved to purchase a CoMotion Americano over the Salsa Vaya that I just purchased, but like others the $$ was the issue and I don't have much trouble with fitting a bike. If you need special fitting, I would of saved and gone with CoMotion. My CoMotion tandem speedster is a great bike.

Chris Pringle

Are they really using 145mm tandem rear hub spacing on their single touring bikes? Yes, THAT is interesting! I believe Surly LHTs come with 132.5mm rear spacing to give their customers flexibility on using either road or MTB equipment. I believe many builders are purely going with 135mm spacing on their touring bikes as more and more people are opting to use MTB components to take their rigs off-road, too.

Philly Tandem

I think they only do it on the full-on touring bikes, like the Americano. It looks like the Pangea and others now use 135mm.

Chris Pringle

But isn't the Pangea one their full-on "go-anywhere-in-the-world" touring bikes? Oh, I see... They do this on the Americano because that model run 700c rims, so they're more prone to spokes breaking. The Pangea runs 26" wheels and doesn't need to have this feature. Interesting solution they're doing w/ their Americano model though. These are the cool and interesting things you get when you go with a custom build bicycle manufacturer.

Bill G

Only the Americano has 145mm spacing with heavy duty Dyad wheelset shown on the spec's, it is there heavy duty touring model. The light medium duty NorWester Tour now called the Cascaida and the Pangea have 135mm spacing with the heavy duty Dyad wheelsets. They may offer the 145mm spacing on other models or even add it if requested on a custom ordered bike. You would have to talk to Co Motion about all that stuff. You can look at the bike specs on there web page and see if that may be an option on other models. I have not seen it offered other than on the Americano and the tandem models. All the information is there on there diffrent bikes and tandem models.You can always give them a call they love talking to customers about bikes and there customers needs.

Ride Safe,
Bill G