Excellent feedback - extremely helpful.
One addtional question here - I understand that the material is the same, however have there been any changes to geometry or anything else over the years? I'm asking in part to see if a test ride on a new speedster would be similar to the 2002 (granted components would be different)
Originally Posted by
TandemGeek
1. Has the co-motion speedster frame changed significantly from 2002: No, same Reynolds 631 air hardened steel as today
2. Is $2100 reasonable for an 02 speedster? If it's in good or very good shape, yes. If it's tired and needs upgrades / extensive maintenance maybe not. More info
HERE.
3. Has the 09 Cdale frame improved to make it competitive with a six year old steel frame? It's as competitive today was it was back in 2002... well, check that. The '09 now has a stoker compartment that's on par with the Co-Motion, no so from '99 - '08 when they were shorter on the smaller sized C'dales.
4. Would it be lighter than steel? The vast majority of your big weight reductions on tandems come from the components, more so than the frame until you get to the uber-light materials / designs (open framed Machiatto Al, Paketa Mg, Calfee Tetra Carbon, R&E Trillium OX Platnium). Off hand, if I had to guess, the C'dale frame would probably be 1lb or so heavier than the Speedster's Reynolds 631 frame depending on the size of the frame.