geoffs

Hi folks
we’re looking at replacing our 2005 Mocha Co-pilot with a new tandem. Over the years I’ve done pretty much everything that can be done to lighten the Mocha but now I’m after a lighter frame as I’m not getting any younger and I’m the one that gets to carry the tandem when we’re travelling overseas.
I’m thinking of either a cycles chinook All Road, Landshark or a Calfee Tetra with 2 sets of S&S couplers, SRAM etap, Lightning cranks etc.
Does anyone have any experience on the durability and weight of these bikes? I’m leaning towards the Calfee, Landshark as they don’t have such a long lead time but nervous about flying regularly with the tandem

noimagination

Sorry, I don't have any experience with light tandems, but Tandems East (it's in the U.S., use Google) sells both the Calfee and the Landshark, I believe. Perhaps you could get in touch with Mel (the owner), and ask him if you could connect with some of his customers? Tandem riders are usually willing to help out, so you may get some that are willing to correspond with you. Mel can be a bit hard to reach (you'll almost certainly have to leave a call-back message), but once you get in touch with him he is willing to talk tandems endlessly.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

merlinextraligh

There are several threads on here for Calfee builds. Our Dragonfly, with Lightning cranks, and a pretty much weight weenie build came in at 24 pounds.

Havent weighed our Tetra, but the frame itself would be a bit less than a pound more. 2 sets of S&S couplers would add a couple of pounds. Disc brakes would ad about a pound and a half.

So My bet would be with the couplers around 28-29 pounds.

Leisesturm

Over the years the o.p. has thrown a fair amount of money at their Mocha. It is very likely now within a couple of pounds of a new Landshark or Calfee. There is only so light these builds can get. You can easily pay $12G+ for a fully coupled up custom build in 2023, and to what end? A couple of pounds? If wheels on the carrying case(s) don't do it for the o.p., then flying without a bike and renting one in the destination city will, over time, prove to be the value position. IMO.

CyclesChinook

I can't speak to other brands, but I can shed some light on Chinook's tandems. A typical uncoupled tandem frame weighs around 3.2kg. The ultralight version shaves 300g off of that. Each pair of couplers adds 450g to the bike. For a lightweight travel tandem, you might opt for 1 set of couplers for a total frame weight around 3.35kg. We build each frame to suit the riders size, weight, and riding preferences, so there is quite a bit of variation in raw frame weights.
We haven't had anyone ask for a "weight weenie" build yet. The lightest tandem we've built was a gravel tandem with 1 set of couplers for a relatively lightweight team. The complete bike was around 12.7kg. They chose nice components, but not necessarily the lightest options available.
As for durability, I can say that all the bikes we've built are still being ridden hard. Most of them see some air travel, and I haven't heard of any travel-related frame damage.
Lead times have been a struggle over the past few years. Previous years' queues overflowed a bit into the following year. We streamlined quite a few processes over the past year and added some more capacity in the workshop. This allowed us to complete our "2023 queue" with some time to spare. 2024 looks promising for shorter wait times overall, and potentially shorter production times.

quickrelease5

We have a 2019 Calfee tetra - its a great bkie and rides like a dream. It has a build almost identical to what was describe: SRAM etap, 2 couplers, carbon everything (cranks, seat posts, bars, stoker stem, spynergy wheels, water bottle cages) and a few heavy bits in the name of comfort: SPD pedals, gel saddles. The bike weighs 34.8 lbs ready to ride, and I dont know how the bike can be built to be much lighter. And then there is the other stuff which weighs another 4-5 lbs: frame bag, Garmin computer and lights, water bottles, lock, pump, multitool and spare tube. So all in, the bike is 39 lbs.


And then there is the santana safe case for travel, another 29 pounds! Ulitmatley, travelling total is just about 80lbs for the whole set up, and of course you can easily move about 10-15 lbs to another suitcase to keep the safecase under 70lbs (the bussines class limit), but I think it just about impossible to get below 50lbs (the economy class limit). We have travelled to Europe and Asia a number of times and one has to make choices:

1. Hope for a friendly agent who will blow off measuirgn or weighing the case - which is just as likely that you will have some super ***** who will charge you hundreds extra for both size and weght (both these scenarios have happend to us).
   
2. pay for the bussness class and enjoy thie ride - you can't take it with you
   
3. stay in economy and be prepared to pay an extra 100-250 for the bike case each time you fly.
   

Enjoy the bike, and by the way Mel (tandems east) does not sell calfee and will try and steer you to a landshark, which is also a really nice ride, but I no real world experiecne with the bike. The Calfee dealer closest to New York CIty is way up north near Boston - Aton Neilson (stoked cycles). Good luck!