univega.duder

I've been toying with the idea of getting tandem for my girlfriend and I. We've found a few used options on Craigslist. She's quite tall at 6'2 and I'm 6'1. I'm planning to be the captain and she'll be the stoker. The bikes are all located a couple hours away so I'm trying to figure out potential fit issues from the photos. Would love to get your opinions if any of these bikes seem like they may be good options for both fit and price. The bike we're most keen on is the Peugot. Wondering if I could add a set back seat post to make it a better fit for my girlfriend. Thanks!

Peugot for $400 that we both like the look of (particularly the curvy rear seat tub).
Santana for $600
Used Blue Cannondale for $750. Love the look of this but afraid it's may be too small.
Green Cannondale which is $1200. This seems close on fit but a bit expensive for my budget.

Paul J

The Santana looks to be the closest to your size and probably has a longer top tube for the stoker then the Peugot. I;m 6'2" and my wife is 5'7" and our original tandem was a Gitane which was very similar to the Peugot and it was super cramped. A Canondale would be a great bike for you but these two look to be too small for you. One of our tandems was a Canondale and it was a great bike but just too small for me and I was reaching down too far with too much of a drop between saddle and bars. You probably don't have as long of legs as I have so a large Canondale with a Medium rear would probably be good. Keep in mind the top tube is the same just has a different seat tube which you can get long seat posts for that. Something like this bike would be a good one for you. https://tandemclassifieds.com/tandem..._Sovereign.inc

univega.duder

Hi Paul-

Thanks for the tips. I could see how the Peugot could feel cramped. I just heard back from the Santana owner and it has 31.5" standover which might work for us. It looks like a fun and speedy bike. I'm wondering if it might be too speedy for a first tandem. I like that the Santana you linked to has room for decent sized tires and rear rack.

bwebel

Fit really needs to be your first consideration. I think Cannondale's largest size was pretty big and might be a good fit, but neither of those bikes look to be that big. Just from the look of the bikes, the Santana seems the largest, I'd probably tend towards that. Both the Peugot and Santana look old enough that, if you got one, I wouldn't think too much about upgrades. Just ride them and, if you like tandeming that much, get a more modern bike.

morganmarie19

We started tandeming with a vintage French tandem, similar in style to that Peugout. While it might be tall enough for you, I would echo Paul J's comment about the cramped stoker compartment. Those vintage tandems had much tighter stoker compartments than modern ones, I'm only 5'6" and felt cramped on our vintage tandem that was technically the correct height for me. I don't think someone 6'2" would be happy for very long as a stoker on that. Also, tandems earlier than the 90s can be a big headache to fix when something breaks, so that's an important consideration (for example, those TA cranks cost hundreds of dollars to find used on Ebay as replacements).

P.S. I recognize all of the tandems you posted from my own Craigslist browsings, so you must be near my area. I'm not sure how long you've been looking, but tandem listings get posted pretty regularly (Treks, Cannondales, and Santanas most often) so if none of the current options seem perfect for you then you may just want to wait it out to see what else pops up. Facebook Marketplace also has some good tandem finds if you've got Facebook.

Paul J

Sorry I'm slow getting back to you. Interestingly, Santana's are known for a very predictable ride. They are very stable and should be good. Co-Motions handle a little faster so on the continuum of handling the Santana should be very good for you. If you do go look at the Santana bring a tape measure to check the stoker top tube as I don't remember the progression for lengthening the rear top tube. Santana was an innovator in the modern tandem design back in the 80s-90s-and early 2000s for example. As a benchmark, our Co-Motion has a 72.4cm stoker top tube which is pretty standard in today's market. You might want to check out a tandem specialist in your area to do a test ride and get some pointers on tandem riding. We have a wonderful shop in our region called Tandems East. If you are in New England the two links below might be of interest for you. Best of luck!
https://www.wheelworks.com/articles/...kes-pg2779.htm
https://stokedcycles.com/apex/f?p=373373:1:0:::::

joeruge

From my research, which is likely not very comprehensive, taller stokers are in a tough spot. For almost all the builders you can find geometry charts for (Santana, Comotion, Calfee, Burely, etc), regardless of the size tandem you find, the stoker compartment does not increase across sizes.

The only exception I've found is that Cannondale in 'Jumbo' increases the stoker compartment by about 3/4", up to 28 1/4 from about 27 1/2. Now, this 3/4" is great, but it is likely not really enough for a taller stoker.

Though I don't know the specifics, my understanding is that Merdian, sort of a specialty bike maker, also made longer stoker compartments. They are rare finds.

Some of those builders mentioned also supplied custom sized tandems with a longer than usu stoker compartment. But good luck finding one of those on the used market. I've had my eye out for one for a couple of years now.

univega.duder

Thanks for all the tips. I'm up in Maine for the summer and have been scouring Craigslist. A really nice looking large size Co-Motion popped up yesterday in Vermont but now seems to be gone. I may go to check out the Santana and larger sized Cannondale.

univega.duder

Wow these tips are greatly appreciated. I really like the look of the Santana and it seems like the fit may work. I'm keen to check out Wheel Works and Stoked Cycles.while I'm here in New England. Thanks for sharing your knowledge :-)

univega.duder

I was curious about this as my girlfriend has much longer legs than I do. I'm hoping to find a larg-ish not too expensive tandem to get our feet wet and see if it's a style of riding we enjoy. I'll have to keep an eye out for the jumbo Cannondale.

morganmarie19

Make sure to go to the Belmont location Wheelworks for tandems. The Somerville location doesn't do much with tandems comparatively. Andrew is the "tandem guy" at Belmont. We haven't checked out Stoked Cycles yet but have been wanting to. Best of luck with your search!

merlinextraligh

Both the Puegot and the Santana are going to be whippy compared to the Cdale. While its a bit more expensive, IMHO, the Cdale is a much better bike.

And if you sell yourself short, the most expensive bike is the one you never use.

Carbonfiberboy 

It took us 2 years to find just the right used bike for us. I admit to being particular. Just to say, don't give up, keep looking until you see the right bike.

tandem rider

If you can get to Tandems East in New Jersey, they have about 100 bikes and many are used. You could call or email to find out what they have in stock. Tandems East can advise you on fit and give you tandem riding tips. I drove from Indiana to get upgrades on my tandem last summer and feel the trip was will worth it.
The older tandems may have single bike tubing and difficult to find drive train parts. They might be okay to ride around the neighborhood but not for serious tandem riding.