GreenCalfee

I recently saw a posting from Larryo asking about electric tandems. That prompts me to ask the group about a particular eBike tandem I have spent some time viewing reviews on YouTube, a Moustache Samedi 27 X 2. The Moustache Samedi 27 X 2 is a tandem and aluminum frame eBike made in France and shipped to North America. Does anyone in this group have one or tried one out? We have had a Calfee in the past and currently have a Co-Motion Carrera Co-Pilot with a Rohloff hub and Gates drive belts. The Carrera is a great bike coupled with the Rohloff hub but we are both in our 70’s and the idea of an eBike is very appealing. We have test rode the Co-Motion Metolius, their eBike. Very nice and makes going up hills much less work. At +$17,600 the Metolius is pretty pricy. The Moustache Samedi 27 X 2 is slightly less than half that.



There are three things I can think of that makes me balk at getting a Samedi; 1) Hard to find a dealer in Colorado, 2) The drive chains, having a gates belt with the Rohloff on our Carrera makes for no maintenance to speak of, 3) The Rohloff hub is so much easier to use and maintain than a Shimano derailleur.



If anyone in this group has tried one out or actually owns one, I would appreciate your comments.

Artmo 

I would also baulk at the Samedi’s weight: 68lb and that’s without attachments! I can’t find weight in the CoMo specs. It’s one thing to be able to climb hills as we age, but what about the practical challenges of loading the tandem into a van or whatever? I would need a crane at age 82😊.

Leisesturm

Our first tandem weighed 65lbs and it wasn't electric! 68lb for an e-tandem is stunning. That is the main reason it is so expensive. You will not find anything lighter than that unless it is even more expensive. But, did the o.p. see the Gazelle e-tandem I linked in the other thread? If I were in the market that is the one I'd order. FWIW.

nosnibod

Hi, we have a Moustache tandem, having purchased it in November last year. We tried a few tandems with electric assist before settling on the Moustache as the best suited to our purposes.

Some background - we’ve ridden tandems for nearly 30 years and have toured extensively including the French Alps. Health concerns (I have Afib and my better half has had two heart attacks - 5 heart operations between us) made us finally go electric. We have two other tandems, both Cannondales - a 26" wheeled one set up for loaded touring and a much more recent RT2 set up for day rides. We haven’t ridden either of them now that we have the Moustache.

The Moustache we have is the Trekking version, with mudguards, rear rack and lights, but otherwise identical to the MTB version. I have made a few tweaks - captains bars are now Jones H-Bar and the stokers are Satori Dali stoker bars. I have also upgraded the disk rotors to Magura MDR-P 220mm and matching 8.S Sport pads. The only issue we have had is a spoke breakage, but our dealer in the UK, JD Tandems has been fantastic and immediately rebuilt both wheels as soon as I reported the problem.

In terms of transmission we’ve done 1600 miles and the rear drive chain is still under 50% worn according to the Park Tools chain gauge and the timing chain wear is unmeasurable. I use Fenwicks professional chain lube which is a drip wax type, together with Fenwicks foaming chain cleaner and their chain cleaning sponge. Used as a system it makes transmission care as simple as it can be. The Moustache is a 1x11 setup so no front derailleur to worry about.

I upgraded the brake rotors as mentioned above before set off for the Alps. I was nervous after warping a TRP rotor on our Cannondale RT2 when we descended Ventoux a few years ago and I’ve subsequently warped a Shimano RT86 rotor too, both using Paul Klamper callipers. However the combination of the Magura MT5 brakes, MDR-P rotors and Maguras Sport pads has been superb. On our first day in the Alps I deliberately abused the front brake whilst descending the 2000-odd metres Col de la Croix de Fer to try and find the limits of what it was capable of. The rotor didn’t warp, there was no brake fade at all and no odd or excessive noises were heard. We did the descent of the Col de Sarenne which is extremely rough, twisty and needs constant hard braking and absolutely nothing happened - it was completely drama-free. After 350 miles in the Alps the pads are less than 50% worn.

Overall, the Moustache has been fantastic. And I have extremely high standards so I do not make that statement lightly. It’s a delight to ride. The twin batteries give us a range of 100+ miles in rolling terrain and 50 miles in the Alps (4 cols including Alpe D’Huez and over 2000 metres of climbing and we had 19% battery left after 46 miles).

Artmo 

Stunning indeed! I can't imagine having to manhandle something that heavy! But I'm old........:-)