cderalow

Looking to expand my eldest daughter's riding experience over the next 3 years so she's comfortable riding centuries etc with me on a solo bike.

Was thinking a tandem would be a decent route towards that.
There's a used cannodale road tandem on the local craigslist, seems older, but is in the right price range for what i'm thinking of initially investing.

Anything to look out for?

it seems to have the following specs which have made it a bit difficult for me to properly age it
mavic a719 wheels
truvativ cranks/triple
disc brakes
Fatty R fork

Pictures seem to indicate travel agents and that the frame has original mounts for disc calipers and what look like cantilever bosses.

yellow frame (which the old cannondale catalogs don't seem to show)

Looks like ultegra 6500, which to me would put it late 90's early 2000's?

nfmisso

Does it fit your team?

Is there any frame damage?

For damage?

How does it ride/brake? Test ride solo.

IF you never have ridden a tandem, it is like driving a Greyhound bus compared to a road bike.

Read: The Proper Method

LV2TNDM

Funny you should ask. I've recently been casually looking for a small tandem and have drawn up a quick checklist of things to evaluate on a used tandem. You can be as detailed as you choose.

Used Bike/Tandem Checklist:

To Bring:
Flashlight
String - extra long for a tandem
Calipers
Dropout tools
Metal Yard stick AND ruler
Spoke tension meter
Allen wrenches

Things to check:

First of all, confirm size and fit for prospective rider(s):
Saddle-pedal distance good?
Standover height F & R?
Saddle-handlebar distance good?
Crank length F & R?

Serial number intact?
Check serial number with:

National Bike Registry

Stolen Bike Registry

https://bikeindex.org/stolen

StolenBicycleRegistry.com merged with Bike Index in 2014 to become the largest open bike registration service.

- Bryan Hance & Bike Index

www.safebikes.org


Original receipts?
Model year?
Bought at MSRP? Closeout price?

Frame alignment:
String check of rear triangle. (See video: )
Bowed or damaged down and top tubes:
- ruler check for bows on down and top tubes by holding flat edge along bottom of top
and down tubes. Front end damage will reveal itself through bowed tubes.

Frame Tube check:
- crimple check on underside of down tube at head tube

- Cracks at or near welds:
-- Downtube/headtube junction
-- Seat Stays at BB
-- Dropouts

- Dents anywhere? Check top tube especially as well as stays

- Remove seat post(s) and peer down seat tube to BB. Rust? Debris?

- Derailleur Hanger straight?

Wheels:
- Check for broken or replaced spokes.
- All spokes matching?
- Chain damage to drive side spokes next to large cog?
- Spin true both radially and laterally?
- Spoke tension even? High enough?
- Rim cracks anywhere?
- Spoke holes ok?

Remove wheels & check bearings & axles.
- Cassette OK?

Headset:
- Lift front wheel, turn headset. Smooth? Pitted?
- Cups tight in frame?
- Squeeze F brake, rock bike back & forth to check for bearing play/issues

Cranks/BB:
- Play in either BB?
- All chainrings spin true?
- Excessive tooth wear?

Chain:

12" section elongation check on both timing and main chains.

Handlebars:

- Shifters functioning?
- Check derailleur cable housing ends and cables inside:
-- Corrosion?
-- Housing ends square?

- Brakes
-- Barrel Adjusters
-- Cables & housing functional?
-- Check brake cable housing ends and cables inside:
-- Corrosion?
-- Housing ends square?
-- Brake pads hitting rims ok?

Tires
- Sidewal "X" ing?
- Treadwear?

Test Ride:

- Creaks under high load?
- Brakes stop well?
- Shifting crisp?
- Chain skip test. Stand and pedal hard in small(er) cog(s). A new chain that doesn't mesh with an old cassette will skip. Severely worn chainrings will also cause chain skip.
- No hands tracks straight?

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

cderalow

so the manufacturer (cannondale) is being generally not super helpful in finding out information about the thing.

Seller has provided a bunch of pictures of it, with a photo of the serial number, but cannondale can't track it down by the serial number.

Seller seems to think purchased in 2014 as a prior year model, but serial indicates a 2006 frame date, and components are 2006 vintage (look like ultegra 9 speed brifters etc).

you'd think the manufacturer would at least be able to decipher their own serial to tell me year of manufacturer and which model the frame was supposed to be.

Dean V

2006 would be right. They are a very good bike. I have one and my brother used to as well.
Just make sure that the front is the right size for you.

cderalow

dimensionally not very different from my CAAD10 in the front.

in fact, only big difference I see in comparing the geometry charts, is that the seat tube is about 3cm shorter and the angle is off 0.5°, but talking to my fitter, I should be able to make that work to achieve same levels of stack/reach required to maintain a similar position as my single bike should that be my preference.