Thanks everyone on the responses. I think I'm now gravitating towards the mindset of trying to not spend too much on a first tandem and buy used, and then figure out what I need. The existing Cannondale RT3 sounds pretty good, but I think I found two more options that also look very interesting. One is another Cannondale, as follows:

1) Cannondale large/medium. The front end of the Cannondale is a 58. The bike is mainly Ultegra level. the Cdale currently is set up w 9 speed Shimano and a bar end shifter for the front (for more reliable shifting). It has a replacement upgrade carbon fork as well as the old fork. The paint is scratched from shipping. It is straight and has no problems. Price would be between $1000 and 1500, depending on components. The bike has a new upgraded rear crankset (172.5) and TRP carbon brakes -- but I have the older parts as well. My older rear crank is, I think, 170.


Also there is the matter of wheels: I have a set of Rolf race wheels and a set of training wheels. The bike has 145 spacing, btw, and our next tandem will be 130, so I'll probably sell the wheels w or without the bike. The wheels retail for somewhere around $1000 -- so let me look them over and come up with a price.

2) 2000? Santana (Sovereign SE?). It’s a Santana Race Aluminum (I forget its name). about 10 years old. Carbon fork. It came with the hydraulic brake which we replaced with the avid one. I got it almost new from a guy in Colorado who had it for a few months, then broke up with his girl friend. It’s custom sized for a bigger person in the front and smaller in the rear. I’m 5’11 and it’s a tad long in the front for me. My wife is 5’8 and it’s a tad small for her back there. He downgraded the race wheels when he bought it. Original equipment had it weighing 32 pounds. Not sure now with the 48 spoke wheels. It’s very very dusty. We probably rode 100 times is my guess including Sierra to the sea (my butt still hurts thinking about that trip). Just searching around some, this is close to the specs. The model is the Santana Sovereign SE. We bought it around 2002 and it was a few months old.

http://www.gtgtandems.com/specs2000/sanroady2k.html


Curious as to people's thoughts about these two options? Also, the seller of the 2nd bike didn't know what the price should be on the Santana? Does anybody have any ideas on what would be a fair price for that bike?

Thanks again for all the replies! It's good to hear about some of the differences between the Santanas and the Cannondale bikes.