While Co-Motion has definitely carved themselves a niche within the bike industry as the manufacturer of choice and/or the one to go to for road racers looking for a performance tandem, it's taken a long time for them to get that brand-name recognition outside of the PNW. Now that they've got a dealership network that's probably on par with Santana -- at least as far as regional coverage goes -- recreational riders are just as likely to end up on a Co-Motion as racers if that's what their local dealer is selling as their primary product line.

The same was true for Santana who has earned and enjoyed tremendous brand-name recognition since reshaping the US tandem market back in the late 70's and early 80's. Again, up and until that time if you wanted a well-designed tandem you either had a custom Paramount made or you looked to the UK and Europe for a good tandem. Santana's clear market leadership position has traditionally made it the top shelf brand for all types of riders, so even today you're just as likely to see state time trial champs or a Cat 2 racer riding a Santana as you are tourists or recreational riders. Moreover, even though Co-Motion and more recently Calfee and a few other boutique tandem builders has established a reputation for building tandems that "ride like single bikes" Santana's tandems are still some of the most comfortable and forgiving tandems that you can find so they're hardly a non-player and, depending on a buyer's dealer options and/or what their friends are riding, an elite cyclist could easily elect to ride a Santana.

Again, there really aren't any 'bad' tandems out on the market once you get into the premium quality brands. They're simply a little bit different. Some folks will take notice of the difference and have a preference for certain handling characteristics vs. another, whereas others won't. If someone who rides a Co-Motion finds that their back and shoulders are fatigued after a long day in the saddle then they might want to borrow a Santana or even a Bilenky for a long ride to see if that might be better. Conversely, if someone who rides aggressively just can't find their comfort zone on a Santana they might want to try a Co-Motion, Calfee or other brand of tandem that uses more steering trail to see if they can detect a difference.

Again, unless you've ridden a lot of these different tandems under similar conditions with the same stoker and know what to look for this stuff can be meaningless. However, there are in fact differences and sometimes it helps to know why and what they are so that folks can make informed decisions when those differences become a factor.