David I live to far away from Crank 2 or any other Da Vinci dealer to just drop in on them it would be quite a drive to get to them just like your sitution. I preffer factory direct myself (not apposed to dealers I do have a Co Motion Dealer local & have purchased several Co Motions from them but I did all the footwork with Co Motion myself) So I made the choice to buy from the factory & I really preffer it this way if possible. My reasoning here I do all my own building and mechanical adjustments myself (specificaly order my bikes unasembled) & do not really need a dealers support for anything other than a place to purchase & buy extra parts if neccisary. If there had been a local dealer or one reasonably close I would have supported them & ordered through them. Also it would have been nice to see the tandems up close and personal.

In my research I have heard really good things about Crank 2 but have never been there. A big plus for Crank 2 is they are a tandem specific shop. For us we did the research & having years of tandem experiance we took a chance or the plunge and ordered the Da Vinci & I think things will be just fine. I have studied the frame geometry & building materials checked out tons of close up pics & read a grip of reviews before ordering. Worst case senario we will have to lock the ICS system out. With that being said I think we will get the hang of the ICS system with no problems.

I do like the gear range offered this was a big plus for us when it came to making the decision to buy one & the ICS sytem was secondairy in that thought process knowing it could be locked out. The wife is really excited about giving it a try after so many years of rideing a standard tandem set up in sync.

I will tell you so far Todd & Brian have been awsome to deal with they show pride in what they do & the way they handle people. I requested pic's of the build & they have sent me current ones daily as things progress along..Very cool..

Ride Safe All,
Bill G