maxandpaddi

Paul J

Three years ago this GT Quatrefoil rekindled our tandem journey. I went to the bike shop to see if he would put one of my several rode bikes on consignment and came home with this bike. My wife was less the happy as she was hoping to "thin the herd" plus we had a less then positive start as a tandem team back in 1984 (see below). This bike flexed like crazy and was difficult to stop plus broke spokes like crazy but it will always have a soft spot in my heart for what it started.

Back in the early 80's while I was working at Trek we purchased a Gitane tandem which was part of the grouping of bikes Trek was getting as the USA distributor for Gitane. The Gitane got few miles and was not a great start for us. My wife found the Stoker compartment uncomfortable and I had to lie that the car was just over the next hill on our last ride on the bike or she would have gotten off and walk the 30 miles home. Wish I had a picture of this bike. It was a sight with the 1980 Burley Coop trailer tagging along.

I think the Bushnell is becoming our favorite but with only 55 miles it's a little early to say. But it is getting high marks from the Stoker.

jberenyi

Just got this Burley Duet this weekend. 300 miles on her and hung in rafters for years afterwards. Came with an extra rear wheel and drop bars to change over from current setup. I hope to put some enjoyable miles on her with the wife.

click me

hup

Hey - I saw your new tandem post over on the Paceline message board. I replied that we have a Burley as well. It's a solid, utilitarian sort of machine. Just about right for my & my wife's demeanor.
Congratulations! Many happy miles ahead!
Do you plan on reinstalling the drop bars?

jberenyi

Eventually I will. This puppy came with the drop bars and shifters as well. For now me and wife need to get used to it first.

JamieElenbaas

Our Davidson.

hup

Really love your bike!
Those tires look great. What are those?

Edit: I just looked closer at the picture. Did you ride the CA Classic this year? I didn't ride, but volunteered at the half marathon this year and last. Small world ....

Paul J

JamieElenbaas, that is a beautiful bike. Because of the frame design and the brakes I'd love to know it's vintage and/or a little of it's story?

vtrich

First was a balloon tire beach cruiser and after 6 months and still happily married I found a used Bilenky. Then
after se[SUP][/SUP]veral years and continued marital bliss, we bought a Paketa. The Paketa is far and away our favorite.

CaptainHaddock

Jamie, I really like the stoker-stem that you guys are using, was it custom built for you by Davidson? I ask as my wife is slightly taller than I and while I've cobbled together a solution to put her bars at the right height, it's ungainly and heavy in comparison to your stem.

Paul J

Love your bike vtrich! Is the green finish a nod to the Green Mountain in the background of your picture? :-)

WFRTony

I found this Santana Noventa on the Denver, CO craigslist last Fall. I am pretty sure that it is a 1996 model with a few upgrades (brifters, v-brakes, drum brake, & 48-spoke wheels). It is our first tandem, and I am looking forward to riding it on RAGBRAI in 2014. We call it the Lavender Limo...





The next time the chain gets knocked off, I am going to have to remember to sync the cranks when I put it back on...

Bent In El Paso

Nice bike!

LOL on the cranks. On a recent ride after reassembly of our tandem, I failed to sync the cranks. After taking the bike to a remote location to start our ride I did not want to return to where my tools were located just to sync them up. We rode with them approximately 90 degrees out of phase. Turned out that we liked them that way.

I tend to not like change, so I now have them back in sync. One of these days i'll try to overcome my ways and try it again.

JamieElenbaas

Glad y'all like the Davidson!

We actually had it built last year. My single bike is 'more modern than tomorrow' so we thought that it would be fun to go old school on the tandem with the double diamond frame, Brooks saddles, 35mm Panaracer tires, and cork bar wraps. Davidson built the stoker stem for us as well. The stoker has some hardware in her neck and so favors a bit more upright posture than others might, hence the custom stem.

We usually spin up climbs, so while it won't win an award for stiffest frame on the road, the bike works well for what we do. Compared to my aluminum framed single, this bike rides like a limousine. As far as handling, Bill and company got the geometry right - this thing descends like a bat out of hell. In the interest of safety (especially with the old school brakes) I have some personal limits, but the stoker is a little disappointed that although we've been close, I haven't let us top 50 mph yet.

Finally, yes, we did ride the California Classic last week. I get to brag a bit here: My 22 year old niece just took up cycling this month and at the last minute decided to do the metric with her mom and (although we had initially planned to do the Imperial) us - this despite the fact that she and her 16 year old brother were signed up to do the 1/2 marathon relay on Sunday. My niece cruised through the metric at a respectable pace as though she'd been riding all her life. The next day in the relay she and her brother got 2nd in the co-ed division and 3rd overall!

vtrich

Hey Paul,

Re. the green finish, maybe subconsciously, but really we were just trying to be outside the box with the thing. It is a mat finish as well.

hup

.... and rightly so!

The CA Classic folks do a very nice job, especially considering this was just the 3rd annual.

Take care ~
Henry