bikebasket

Just to make sure, what size frame should i be looking for?

Are the Dawes tandems known for being suited to tall captains and short stokers?

Something like this is too big right?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Burley-Samb....c100012.m1985

Alot of online sellers dont seem to include frame size. When browsing online for used bikes, should i generally be looking for a sloping down frame?

Cheers

base2 

The Arai drum brake alone is easily worth $200 of the asking price. If the hub is uniglide. I wouldn't bother unless it has very little use or you are willing to upgrade in the future.

If it were me, I'd size the potential candidate bike for the captain, the rest can be adjusted. Stoker position can be shrunk down pretty small by lowering seat, getting different bars and adjustable stoker stem extender. Tandems East has them. https://www.tandemseast.com/parts/stems.html

I think R&E cycles actually makes them. You could contact them directly as each tandem is unique wrt seat post & handlebar diameter combinations.

unikid

Standover and horizontal top tube effective length are the most important measurements for the Captain. These should be close to what you run on your single bike. Seat Tube length is more important for Stoker since that determines the minimum seat height.

The Burley and its measurements looks like it might work for you but might be too big for your stoker. You might have to slam the seat all the way down to have them fit. Which can cause issues in future if you ever want to add a suspension post, run a different seat, etc.

In general a sloping tube on the back will enable a broader variety of stokers to ride with you. Otherwise you need to probably focus on a size Small in back to match the size of your stoker.

Mr IGH

Most of the frames I looked at have the same rear top tube length and the rear seat tube length is short to accommodate any stroker by jacking up the saddle. The frame's size is really set by the front top tube length and head tube length/steerer length. You should be able to fit most mediums/large frames unless your stroker has really short legs. I'd check a few local tandems out to see if the rear seat height is going to be an issue.

I'd love to buy a tandem frame with same front dimensions as my road bike but it's just not going to happen with my budget. Even a large Santana frame is a little short for me. I need a long seatpost and I had to design a stem extender to get my position correct.

$200 for an Arai drum? If anyone wants to give me $175 for my extra Arai drum I'll sell it in a NY second.

Paul J

I don't know where you live but this looks like a really good deal for a team like yours. https://columbus.craigslist.org/bik/...525900078.html

OneIsAllYouNeed

Like other posters have mentioned, the critical dimensions for you are captain stack and reach (or top tube length and head tube length), stoker seat tube length, and stoker standover height. You'll want the captain position to closely match your best-fitting bike.

Fitting a 4'9" stoker with a suspension seatpost will likely be a challenge. What's her saddle height (bottom bracket to top of seat)? In most cases, you'll need 18-25cm of height for a suspension seatpost and saddle about the top of the rear seat tube. For example, if her saddle height is 60cm, the rear seat tube must be 42cm or shorter to allow a suspension seatpost to be used.

Are you looking for a road, hybrid, or mountain tandem?

Cannondale Road Tandem, sized L/S might be a good fit. Co-Motion Periscope Medium or Large might be a good fit.

Mr IGH

The Santana pogo suspension seat post can go pretty low and able adjust its spring rate low enough for a lightweight stroker. Not as good as a parallelogram suspension post but better than nothing. Here it is at full extension, with the weight of a stroker it would be closer to 50mm from top of seat post collar to rails:

zonatandem

The American made Co-Motion Periscope would be the perfect answer for you two! It has fully adjustable seatpost-within-a-seatpost that should be very workable for both of you.

bikebasket

Cheers people. Great info.
For a touring tandem i should be looking at road bike size charts rather than MTB yes ?

Found this Dawes Discovery in the UK ;
https://www.southwatercycles.com/m1b...andem-(Ex-Hire)

''18in front/ 16in rear Silver/Black Alloy Frame''

Bit small for 6ft guy with 82cms/32inch inseam, but maybe ok for her ??

I have no idea if that bike fits me by adjusting handlebars and seat.

Paul J

Are you based in the UK or the US? Your first Ebay tag was for a bike in New Jersey. That will make a bike difference on recommendations.

The Dawes 21/17 could probably work for you but though you will need a riser stem (like the Ritchey 30degree Riser stem) to get your bars higher if you are looking to have the handle bars inline with the seat. It shows the headtube at 180MM. A large/Small frame configuration would probably be better if you could find that.

bikebasket

Looking at these 2 at the mo. Although delivery looks to be a problem.

My inseam is 82cm/32inch and the girlfriend 66cm/26inch. What do you think for sizing?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tandem-Tw...item4b3e615580

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dawes-Tan...item33e5c0e785

Cheers

Paul J

The fir one looks like it would be a good fit on the back and probably workable for you in the from. I see the front stem is adjustable for height which is nice as you dial-in the fit. How far away for you from the bike? It would be nice to try it out.

unikid

The first bike looks to be a better fit. The back can clearly handle a very small stoker. The front looks big enough and current captain appears to be tall.

The second bike is a way newer/better bike at an attractive price. Aluminum vs steel. Disk upgradeable vs non.

He claims it's a 21" which theoretically should work for you in front. But the photo appears small for some reason. It might be due to how the downtube attaches to the head tube. It also looks like the current captain is not very tall so that could be another reason.

The rear looks like it might work but it may be close. Based on his measurements you may have to replace the seatpost with a plain post, or a different suspension post that allows a lower insertion point (a few mentioned on this thread) to achieve a proper height for your stoker.

Either way it is best to try before before buying anything.

Dean V

Cannondale in a Large/Small. They are nice and low in the back.

turkey9186

If you are in the Sf Bay area I have a Burley Duet with a Softride beam that will work. I am 5'11" and could adjust the beam to fit my daughter when she was under 5'.
It would cost a fortune to ship it anywhere though.