Hey Venturous, where in WV?

We've never ridden a Da Vinci, but have ridden a number of times with people that have them.

I'd say that rdtompki's post is a pretty fair summary of what I've observed, and heard from Davinci riders.

The system offers an advantage for certain teams, most notably teams with less experienced stokers.

But there are a number of drawbacks, particularly if you're looking to go fast, such as weight, complexity, expense, difficulty climbing out of the saddle, difficulty sprinting out of the saddle.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if the Stoker pedals a slower cadence than the Captain, the Stoker is essentially freewheeling, like riding a bike downhill when you're not pedaling fast enough to actually engage the freehub. Thus the system allows independent coasting, but it still really doesn't address mismatched cadence preference.

So, if you're a team of two, strong, experienced cyclists, and want to ride fast, it seems there is no great benefit, and some significant draawbacks.

If going fast, climbing out of the saddle, sprinting, etc, doesn't matter to you, and the ICS accomodates your team's particular needs then it can be a reasonable choice.