We are going to investigate CF in the fall. The primary driver of this decision is performance then secondarily, but real close, is stoker comfort. To say that the Cannondale is a little harsh might be understating it just a bit.

Suspension seat post was dumped after the first ride. Stoker says she would rather walk than ride on one ever again.

One of the best upgrades with regard to comfort on our CDale was swapping the fork for a Winwood Muddy Cross. Leaps and bounds more comfortable than the CDale Fatty. As a side bonus it also changed the steering geometry for the better and was about 1/2 the weight too.

If all I was concerned about was light weight I would look seriously at something like the Macciato, but we have other priorities. Although we do not take long trips on the tandem (longest trip to date was 63 miles), we seem to be a little worse for the wear when we ride the tandem, compared to our single cf bikes.

We have got time to make this decision. The plan is to have something new by January 2009.

Thanks for the responses.