Sizing a Tandem
 

Looking into getting a Tandem, but the problem is that my finance are both roughly the same height/inseam. Our road bikes are both 57cm. All the tandems seem to have a short stoker syndrom. Does any one know of a brand frame that might come in the right size.

Cal

The stoker compartment will not normaly be an issue for most teams as there is usually enough adjustment on just about any brand tandem you choose to buy, Co-Motion, Santana, Cannondale, DaVinci, and so on. Make sure the frame fits the Captain or you and there will be no real problems fitting the stoker in the back (unless there just really tall) for example most tandems will adjust for a wide range of diffrent Captain & Stoker heights.

Below Is Co-Motions Standard Sizes for example, look at the range for the Stoker listed at the bottom.

Road Tandem Sizing 21 X 18 (small) 22 X 19 (medium) 23 X 20 (large) 23 X 18 (large-small)

Captain Small 5' 5" to 5' 10" Medium 5' 8" to 6' 1" Large 5' 11" to 6' 4" 5' 10" to 6' 4"
Inseam Range Small 29.5" to 33" Medium 30.5" to 34" Large 31.5" to 36" Large/Small 31" to 36"

Stand-over Height Small 30.5" Medium 31.1" Large 32" Large/Small 31.3"

Stoker Small 4' 10" to 5' 10" Medium 4' 11" to 5' 11" Large 5' 0" to 6' 0" Large/Small 4' 10" to 5' 10"

Stoker Inseam Range Small 26.5" to 33" Medium 27.5" to 34" Large 28.5" to 35" Large/Small 26.5" to 33"

Info Added later on Below

(NOTE) If the standard stoker compartments listed are not long enough say your stokers over 6ft tall for a small charge Co-Motion and some other manufactures out there can custom fit the Stokers compartment and make it longer to fit your needs.

Ride Safe,
Bill G

I might advise a bit differently. Make sure the stoker cockpit fits, first and foremost. I think you'll find that most manufacturers make a perfectly fine captains cockpit, but many of them compress the stoker position. We started with a tandem that "fit" on paper in terms of seat tube size/stand-over height, etc., but only when we got a custom frame with a longer stoker top tube was the stoker efficient and happy. If your stoker is an experienced and frequent single bike rider, then I predict she will find a cramped stoker cockpit uncomfortable. Measure up the dimensions on her favorite single and see how close you can get to that on the tandems you consider. Others here may know which production tandems have longer stoker cockpits.

What is short stoker syndrome- top tube or seat tube? What length are you looking for?

The equivalent top tube length seems most important especially if the stoker is tall and/or prefers a more aggressive riding position. Our daVinci (steel) is a large/small and I've had my 6', 190 lb bicyclist son on the back with a 410mm Thomson seat post without a problem. I didn't ask him how he felt about the position, but I would expect the cockpit to have been a bit short. My wife is 5'7" and is quite comfortable, but we're not going for a TT look. You may not need a suspension seat post, but I would size the stoker compartment to allow some sort of suspension just in case.