Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
It's hard for you to understand just how little wide appeal tandems have out in the world but I'm not surprised that so many of them languish on Craigslist or in co-op windows. The Univega looks 'rode hard and put away wet'. Put away for a long time at that. You've been down that road already. Is there a good reason to wanting to do it again?
At 6'5" you have to know you are on the outside of 'off the shelf' bike sizing. Back in the day any old Peugot or Schwinn could be bought at the local shop with a 27" frame but those days are long gone. So even single bikes must be hard to find in your size. Personally I would say forget trying to find, or even thinking about the prospect of (another) tandem for you and the young ones. That ship has sailed, well, lets say its under way. By your own admission. The best thing you could do for them is get them excellent singles in their size and go out as a gaggle on weekends. If you and the Mrs. want to get that Santana sorted out you would be getting one at a steal of a price. It sounds perfect for the both of you. You could always continue pulling the Mountain Trains with it for as long as that continues to be fun. That must be quite a sight. I doubt you'd be much faster on a tandem with the Mrs. pulling two kidbacks than with the two of you on a tandem and the kids on their own singles. But once every now and then (or more often than that) you two should try to get in rides with just the two of you. FWIW.
Originally Posted by
unikid
Thanks for your feedback! Perhaps I'll try to nurse the Motiv for a bit longer and see if something better comes along. I really don't want to spend the $350 for the light riding we do, that being said, I'd say we're using it at least 3-4 times per week over the summer (last summer we used it almost daily going to the park, store, etc... but circumstances have changed a bit). For the record, it is a sight...I can't tell you how many looks we get as our train 'o' bikes goes down the road, the kid's love it.
Unikid, thank you! I always appreciate it when folks take the time and effort to find a deal! Unfortunately it is 4 hours away, I don't foresee my wife approving of me driving 8 hours round trip for a bike! It does look awesome though.