For many years, daVinci was pretty much committed to a very narrow design model where a daVinci tandem was defined by its ICS drivetrain, 26" wheels and aluminum frames. If you wanted a travel bike, then steel was an option but aluminum was the default.

Consumers want choices, and over time daVinci has bent over backwards to give it's clients LOTS of choices that now include imported "production tandems" as well as built-to-order steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon, IsoGrid, carbon/steel hybrid frames, 26" or 700c wheels, and road or off-road models including the full-suspension Symbiosis.

It's fair to say that any of these tandems, from the Grand Junction to the most exotic travel model will deliver a great ride... just figure out what kind of budget you have to work with and find a match.

Can a tandem really be worth $11k or more? Perhaps, but that's a very customer-specific value judgement that probably has more to do with just how much discretionary income folks have to drop on something like a tandem an their expectations for what an $11k tandem will provide. Frankly, I've only heard of a handful of people who've dumped high four to five-figure amounts into a tandem that admitted they'd made a poor decision out of what must now be over a 100 high-end tandem owners whom we know pretty well. But, to the best of my knowledge, none of these folks have financed their tandems... they just wrote a big check.

We wrote a pretty big check back in 2007 and have no regrets... Then again, we have a garage full of bicycles and motorcycles, so it's all relative.