What's C&V to you? A 1972 Bertin? A 1989 Cannondale? I owned a couple of tandems in the 1970s, so let me talk about the tandems of the 60s & 70s..
Originally Posted by
scozim
My daughter is bugging me to get a tandem and, of course, it would have to be a C&V version. I don't know a lot about tandems and would ride some distances with her including some hill climbs.
Oh, and it's not just going to be a wall hanger,
you're really going to ride the thing?
Old tandems tended to have flexible frames - and if you've never ridden one, you won't understand. I'm talking about "not holding the front and rear wheels in the same plane" flexible. On a fast down hill curve, I'm talking about scary, snake-track handling. Fred DeLong referred to this as tandem frame "whip" in period writing.
Just slow down for the downhill curves? Ha! You haven't ridden one, have you? Braking was miserable.
Building a stiff frame & fork - even for custom builders - was nigh impossible unless they commissioned proprietary tubing, and very few did. One common technique to compensate was to build the twicer* frame
very short. Old tandems tend to have small cockpits for both the steersman* and the crew*, and they're uncomfortable over any distance.
Do you know the "answer verse"?
If you cannot afford a carriage,
There won't be any marriage.
For I'll be d***ed if I'll be jamed
On a bicycle built for two."
Old tandems tended to eat parts. Brake blocks, freewheels, axles, spokes, hubs, rear bottom brackets. Some old tandems have proprietary dimensions and require special parts that haven't been manufactured in years.
When I bought my
Santana in 1982 it was a revelation. It was stiff, safe, reliable and comfortable.
Keeping it on the road for 28 years has been much more challenging and required much more effort than my similar aged single bikes. After decades of robust service, I've suffered 3 mechanicals in the last 5 tandem club rides we've taken it on. Welcome to old tandem
riding.
I wouldn't suggest anything older than a classic Santana for actual
riding. A few other tandems from the 1980s era (barely C&V to
me) might be acceptable - look for proprietary, tandem specific oversize frame tubes
and forks, longish wheelbases, mountain bike derived components.
HTH,
tcs
*C&V tandem terminology