I have not ridden a tandem before but am considering a trip with my girlfriend - however there is a large height difference between us. I am 6'4" and she is 5'2". Is there a tandem that would fit us or would we have to get a custom one made - is it even possible to have that large a height difference.

The trip would be a touring trip so I would like the tandem to have touring specs and be able to handle panniers.

Thanks!

Yep,

Cannondale makes both a large/small and an extra large/small frame. Go here for details: https://www.cannondale.com/bikes/06/geo-30.html

I'm sure several other makers do too, but I'm a C'Dale freak!! OHB

We're close to your size - I'm about 6' 3" and my wife is about 5' 3" -- and we ride a Burley Tosa medium. We could ride a large, which would defintely fit me better, but the stoker seat would be all the way down for her -- which isn't a problem if you're not using a suspension post.

We also looked at the Cannondales as OHB suggested and they have a good fit for the height difference you have.

Designed a custom tandem for 6'7" pilot and 5'3" stoker, 27x19 in frameset.
Yes it is very do-able but $$

Well, I'm 5'10" and my smallest stoker is 4'6" with the seatpost all the way down. That's a 16" difference. We currently ride a Small size da Vinci JointVenture but hope to trade up to a new Large/Small soon as the Small is just too short in the top tube for me.

Bike Fridays easily adjust to handle different size riders. Plus they pack for travel.

I am 6'4" tall and have ridden with a 5'3" stoker on my large size KHS . Her post still had about 2-3" showing (rigid post).

A few tandem manufacturers have Large/Small as one of their configurations. I have a 23"/18" Co-Motion that I ride with my 9 year old daughter. I'm 1.81 m tall with 88 cm inseam (5' 11" and 34.7 in), and she is 1.40 m tall.

Two things worth remembering:
– The pilot cockpit need to be sized like for a single, but keep at least 10 cm of seatpost exposed because of the stoker stem.
– The stoker doesn't need to reach the ground because it's only the captain that puts his (her) feet on the ground at intersections. So while an 18" single frame would not yet fit my daughter, it's perfect for the stoker compartment.

Most likely a custom will be your best - and for that reason you will have oppurnunity to buy a used custom that some else has paid the dollars to have built. There won't be much of a market to buy such a bike - just keep your eyes open.

Co-motion make the Periscope series with a wide adjustment range for the stoker.
See https://www.co-motion.com/peri700.html

Agree on the Co-Mo Periscope 700c model, but at 6'4" it may be at the max height limit for the pilot. Would suggest leaving steerer tube uncut, for max handlebar height (use lots of spacers!); also getting the max-adjust *pilot* stem for a bit more upper body 'reach.' A bit over $3,000 for a new one.
Good luck.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem