Old 08-20-12, 01:22 AM
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texasdiver
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Waco Texas
Posts: 214

Bikes: Cannondale F2000, Co-Motion Periscope Torpedo, and many more

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Chosing a tandem for touring with a child

Hi all:

I'm in the beginning stages of planning an extended tour with my daughter next summer. Probably down the Pacific coast from Portland to Southern California. I've done extensive touring on my own over the decades including that same ride, but never with my daughter. We do lots of riding together but she's just not strong enough to tackle a long tour like that on her own bike. We live in Texas but have family in Oregon. My idea is that we fly out and pick up a tandem in Oregon...maybe a co-motion from the factory. Work out the kinks, set it up with a trailer, and then start out on the adventure. I teach high school so I have plenty of time to work things out at my parent's house in Oregon before heading out.

I have decades of experience owning and working on bikes but frankly know nothing about tandems and tandem design. This trip would probably be a one-time thing and then I'd bring the tandem back to Texas to mainly us for recreational and century riding with my wife. Based on what little I've read about tandems so far it seems I have two basic choices for setting up a tandem to carry my daughter in the back. She's about 4'5" now and will probably be an inch or two more by next summer. My wife is only about 5'1" so not that much taller really. I'm 5'10"

The first option seems to be to get any adult tandem and affix a child stoker kit to raise the stoker crank to the appropriate height.
The second option seems to be to get a tandem designed for kids in the rear like the co-motion periscope models and then just use it with my wife after the tour.

It seems there could be tradeoffs either way, I just don't know what they might be and would welcome any advice. The adult tandem might put my daughter higher than she is comfortable sitting and might make mounting and dismounting more difficult. The child designed tandem like the periscope might be less than ideal for two adults in the future.

Any advice or discussion on what type of approach you would all recommend?
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