Originally Posted by
due ruote
Cannondale tandems are fairly plentiful and deals can be had. It’s a lot of bike for the price - we paid $600 for our 2005 road model with disc brakes and 9 speed Ultegra/Deore.
Yes, Cannondales can be had for a song. I like them for new riders because they avoid the dreaded noodle flex many steel tandems suffer from. And I say this as a safety measure, not as an elite attitude or desire for "optimal efficiency." If your stoker leans or shifts weight or does something unexpected, a flexible tandem may surprise you. Stay a bit further from parked cars you're passing if you're on a really cheap tandem!
It's apt that this subject came up because I just happened to repair a damaged CounterPoint steel semi-recumbent tandem. This thing is quite a kick! The recumbent front rider is the stoker (if you're running a "traditional" captain stoker arrangement) and the upright captain is in back. I repaired it and called my intrepid stoker for a test ride! Some background: we've been tandeming together for almost 30 years. On and off road. We climb out of the saddle when we like. We track stand. We can even ride backwards a little bit. We've mountain biked the Sierra, Colorado and Moab on the off road tandem. In other words, we're pretty damn comfortable on our tandems. Well let me tell you, this steel CounterPoint is a HANDFULL to ride! I'm lucky in that my stoker is the lightest, awesomest stoker around. It's cheating on our "normal" tandems having such a good stoker. Well, on the CounterPoint - a flexible noodle - it's SCARY! She was shifting her weight on occasion and it really threw us around. I'd say this thing is not suitable for the general riding public it's so sketchy. Whenever the front rider shifts their weight, the bike wants to go wherever it wants to. This is the problem with poorly designed steel tandems with inadequately small tubing.
Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't expect you to have such issues with a traditional steel tandem. But I also had a surprisingly disappointing experience with a steel Santana I rented way back in the 90's. Total noodle. I didn't realize how spoiled I had been on my Cannondale. Rock solid. And many will say TOO solid. But for casual riding, the predictable, stability of the oversized Cannondale frames is a big plus in my book. So I'd consider a Cannondale, given their quality and good used pricing.
PS My steel Co-Motion has none of the issues I mention above. If done well, steel is fine. Just know what's good and what isn't.