Originally Posted by
cyccommute
I can’t really speak to the other tandems but the Cannondale isn’t a large/small. It’s a large/medium. I have a large/small Cannondale and the difference is far larger than the bike you are showing. Mine’s a 58cm front and a 44 rear. The one you are looking at is more like a 58/49 front/rear. My wife and I have ridden that size but it never really fit her 5’ frame all that well. The Cannondale we have now is a much closer match.
Interesting! Thank you for that catch! Her single bike is a 46cm which seems to fit her well, so perhaps the Large/Medium frame of the Cannondale would be a tad too big? And with it being so far away, it would probably be a last resort to drive all of the way out there to give it a test ride. Thank you for the feedback and insight!
Originally Posted by
cyccommute
As to ride, far too much is made of how soft steel is. It isn’t. It’s stiffer than aluminum. The tubes used are a smaller diameter so they feel a little softer but an aluminum bike using the same diameter tubes is a noodle. On the other hand, we have a very old Burley Samba which is a mountain bike type tandem without bracing between the front and rear. It is noodle. Any movement by my wife causes the bike to wander all over the road. It’s a bear to handle.
The Cannondale (which is new to us) is far more comfortable and handles much better. The frame isn’t all that punishing and, more importantly, my stoker can do some movement without me thinking the bike is going to go left instead of straight.
I will agree with you there as far as metal properties are concerned. But generally, due to the common tube sizes of steel, most steel bikes (single and tandem) tend to offer more of a compliant feel. There are definitely exceptions to that rule, but that seems to be the general consensus in my experience.
Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
...You don't want to buy too old a bike because of future spares and maintenance issues. Thus a bike you'll love for a long time is probably going to cost more than $1000.
I really appreciate the insight, thank you for sharing! However, I have read on this forum that it's recommended to purchase a tandem on a budget (within reason) in order to prove to the couple that they do enjoy riding the tandem together. That's a big reason for our $1,000 limit. It's true that my wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on her old rusty Schwinn SS tandem, so I would assume we would enjoy a legitimate road tandem even more. But we'd still like to test out the waters before diving in head first and spending $3,000+.
Regarding the comment about old bikes, it looks to me like many people on this forum have enjoyed their 80's / 90's / 2000's tandems for decades and find no reason to upgrade. Others enjoy them for a short period of time and then decide they want a carbon Calfee or a titanium Co-Motion. Different strokes for different folks. I suppose that depends on the goals + personalities + budget of the couple. If one of the bikes mentioned above fits us well and we enjoy the heck out of it, we may also be one of those couples who own their tandem for 20+ years before getting something else (I'd like to think that would be us due to our frugal nature).
And on the topic of future spare parts, it seems like we'll probably have a long supply of spares with modern manufacturers, eBay, and online classifieds. As far as I understand, the only tricky things about Santana spare parts are 1) the 1.25" threadless fork and corresponding 1.25" stem, and 2) the 160mm wide rear hub. Santana seems to sell their forks and stems still, and there are still manufacturers of 160mm wide rear hubs and used 160mm hubs online. Everything else on these bikes can be pretty easily upgraded as time and money allows. Those are my thoughts at least
