FWIW we started tandem riding in 2007 on a 45# steel tandem and on flat ground (under 4k ft for the century) we did the
century in 5H 5'. 18 mo later we got a Macchiatto which was ~30#. Never got near that same time on the Macchiatto.
Main difference with weight is toting the bike around (damned hard to get that 45# on a top rack) and climbing hills
longer than ~0.3-0.5 miles. Of course our combined ages back then were ~125+ and weight ~360 so realistically
the 15# less on the bike was not much when the riders were added. On longer rides in the summer the team
probably lost 8-10# in sweat and pee.
Last edited by sch; 06-15-20 at 03:11 PM.