Domromer

My wife and i are thinking of trying a tandem for our next bike tour. I'm trying to find a used one in the local craigslists in Arizona. We have a big height difference. She's 4ft10" and I'm 6ft. So far I know a Co-motion Periscope will work. What other brands/models should I look for?

124Spider

It's a tough order. I ride a 61cm bike; my wife rides a 47cm bike. We looked for a used one all last winter, without success. We finally had one built for us. Pricey, but it fits and we love it!

Good luck!

Mark

Yamato72

If you are looking for something off the shelf, the late-model Cannondales came in M/S, L/S, and XL/S sizes. We have a L/S and it fits me and my wife well; I'm 6'1" and my wife is just under 5'. I would be a little less cramped with an XL/S but that was borderline for my wife to be able to stand over the top tube in the stoker position.

tandem rider

Co-Motion makes a Large/Small that is a 56/42. Would that work? They have made this size for a few years and you might find a used one, given enough time.

fietsbob

Rodriquez in Seattle uses their 6 pack design to make a travel tandem bike with a lot of S&S couplers ..

and Bike Friday also makes travel tandems ,, knocks down into 2 suitcases ..

Both use 406 - 20" wheels to gain the small pack size.. strong wheels..

the Bike Friday company site occasionally has "pre loved" bikes for resale.. occasionally tandems...





..

fietsbob

oh and Hase bikes DE, has a combined tandem, stoker is comfy in a recumbent seat in front, rather than having a view of your back ..

PINO ALLROUND Tandem Bike

Paul J

We have a Bushnell that was a standard Large/Small that works great for us. It is 60/44 and was a standard model for Dennis if I remember correctly. Our CoMotion is also a Large/Small but the rear is larger then the Bushnell.


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Alan_F

You are probably right on the edge of fitting many large/small tandems as others have said. I am 6'00 and my wife is 5'00 and we have ridden L/S Canndondales, Treks, and DaVincis. We haven't used a rear suspension post in years which helps. On some of the bikes we've owned when we were using a rear suspension post it was a tight fit and wouldn't have worked for anyone with shorter legs than my wife.

We're selling our large/small aluminum DaVinci so if you're interested in one send me a DM. According to their web site the rear seat tube (center to top) is 42.5 cm and the rear standover is 26.4″ (67.2cm). How does that compare to her measurements on her single bike?

DT Tandem

My wife and have similar height issues. We found a Trek T900 and it works really well for us. You can also find them very affordable on CL. New they were about 1000. dollars but can be found used for much less.

We put over 1000 miles on ours last year and we love it.

Good luck finding your bike.

Don,

geoffs

JTGraphics

If your open to non road bike frames I have a like new Trek T900 that we used on road only so I have some thin road tires on it a few mods very clean haven't used it in few years if you want photos I can provide. No dents or scratches never dropped or crashed!

ikovacs111

If you are still looking for used ones, I recommend the Schwinn Duo Sport from around 1989/90. It is a shorter frame than most tandems, and with some upgrade parts we ended up with a great quality bike and spent only $500-600 total. It was last year.
There is one available Duo Sport in your area, but it seems to be the smaller of the two frame sizes they produced. This will definitely fit your wife, might be small for you:
I cannot post links yet, but search CL Phoenix for "Dual tandem"

We have the larger size, and I am 6-1 while my wife is 5-4. It is a good fit for both of us. Had a four-day trip with it last year, enjoyed it. Will keep the tandem for more years and more fun.

daywood 

My wife and I have a similar challenge. I’m 6’2” and she’s 5’. We wanted to give tandeming a try so we kept an eye out for a used one. We came across a mid-80s Motobecane at a community cycling center that was structurally sound but cosmetically rough. The mixte frame seems to have been designed with small stokers in mind.

Once we determined it would fit us both, I took it home and started restoring/modernizing it. Its Frenchness made some of the upgrades challenging but there were solutions for everything I needed to do.

We have the stoker seat as low as it will go, and I even had to use an old school seat post with the clamp inverted to get it low enough. But I was able match the cockpit setup of her “half bike,” so she’s happy.

We’re riding it a lot now and it’s working well for us. So if you’re like me and would rather have a project than something new anyway, something like this could be a way to go.

jim_pridx

I probably have a pretty decent vintage tall/short tandem frame available in terms of a restoration project. It was our first tandem in the '80s, but it's a heavy beast. Still, we rode this thing for close to 25 years. I thought of restoring it into a recreational rider but, in the end, I just didn't think it was worth the effort. Notice the eccentric on the rear BB location as opposed to the front.

bakerjw

Heavy or not, that is a darn cool looking frame.

To the OP. I am 5'11" and my wife is 5'. We had Doug Curtiss of Curtlo cycles build us a road and mountain tandem. The mountain tandem has couplers. Custom frames are not cheap but then again neither are tandems in general.

jim_pridx

FWIW, this is the bike we're mostly riding now. The geometry still looks a bit strange to me, but it fits us perfectly!