Steel Tandem

[rob137]

Any recomendations for a well built steel tandem?

[petitelilpettit]

Co-Motion would be a good place to look for a good steel tandem.

Pettit

[RPS]

My wife and I ride a custom Co-Motion steel tandem and love it.

[don'TreadOnMe]

http://www.co-motion.com/

The best handling tandems I've ever captain'd.
...and they are immaculate.

don'TreadOnMe

[landshark_98]

co-motion is very nice, as is Glen Erickson's work - Seattle

[72gmc]

Also in Seattle: Davidson bicycles, and Rodriguez bicycles.

I don't know tandems, I just know they build 'em.

[sg8357]

PBP 2003 winning mixed team tandem

http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/images/HERSETANDEM.jpg

Style, grace, speed.


Scott G.

[davids]

What about Santana? How do Santana and Co-Motion compare?

[Steve Hampsten]

I know you asked about steel, but Co-Mo builds some sweet aluminum tandems as well. You might look into those too when kicking tires.

[vaxn8r]

I'm on my Bill Davidson from 20 years ago and other than being a tad heavy by today's standards it is a great handling tandem. ATMO nobody does tandems better than Co-Motion but Bill still makes a great tandem as do a handful of other small builders. Erickson is famous or, if you need lugs, you can look to Tom Kellog, though you'll have to wait a long time as he says he only makes 1 a year.

Cannondale tandems are not steel and are butt ugly but they ride fairly neutral (in a good way) and you can't touch their value.

I do not recommend ti, even though you may run into a nice Ibis here and there, generally they are too twisty for good performance, if that is your thing.

CF is exotic and Calfee makes a good one but I wouldn't do it unless I was a serious racer. They are a bit more finicky, but man, it's like it has jets on it....from what I hear from 2 teams that ride them.

There are lots of choices depending on what you're looking to do with your tandem but I guarantee you'll be happy with Co-Motion. Like they say around here. They "get it".

[OldDog]

FWIW, I have a 2002 C'dale R3000 in M/S with about 150 miles on it. Blue fade to white, all Ultegra. I might be conviced to sell, should anyone be interested. Nubs still on the tires.

My sweetie and I aquired a Santana in 1993 and rode the wheels off it, up to 2001, when I had an injury. Thinking I was on track to heal, I sold it and pick up the C'dale. We never got back into riding tandem. I took a long time to heal, she got a job that took mucho amounts of time away from home. I have been threatening to sell it for the past two years but she claims she wants ro ride. At this point, when pigs fly.

To address your post, Co-Mo's are the best production tandems. I would have purchased one, however their standovers are tall for the frame sizes, the smalls did not cut it for me. I'm 5'8'' with a 30" inseam.

[Spinner]

In comparison to Santana: the welds are oh-so-smooth; handling from the captain's perspective is better; the people at the shop are among the best that I've encountered in the bicycling industry.

I love my Co-Mo!

[OldDog]

Spinner, we got to get together on the twofer's if I can get my other half out!

[vaxn8r]

What about Santana? How do Santana and Co-Motion compare?
I've ridden several Santana's over the years and they all felt sluggish. I'm sure they can build to order but I think they tend to lean towards overly stable handling, which to me takes the fun out of it. C0-M's and Davidson's ride more like your single, without being twitchy.

[zap]

Co-Mo. They may even build one with proper tandem racing geo and tri lateral design.

Ours is 13 years old and in desperate need of new parts. But the frame still looks sweet.

[Bradford]

What about Santana? How do Santana and Co-Motion compare?
Co-motions ride like your single, Santanas ride like mini vans.

We love our Co-Motion and are planning on buying a Periscope as soon as my son grows a little.

[RPS]

What about Santana? How do Santana and Co-Motion compare?I preferred Co-Motion over Santana because they didn’t overbuild to such a degree. Santanas had unique 1-1/4 headsets, extra long BBKT axles, and extra wide rear-wheel axle spacing. For large riders and those doing loaded touring that may be necessary, but at only 250-260 combined pounds, I wanted a tandem with as many ordinary parts as possible, which Co-Motion gladly built for us. Almost every component is standard off-the-shelf and can be serviced at any bike shop.

[landshark_98]

co-motion is very nice, as is Glen Erickson's work; Glen is in Seattle

[bironi]

Co-motions ride like your single, Santanas ride like mini vans.

We love our Co-Motion and are planning on buying a Periscope as soon as my son grows a little.

I have heard nearly the same words by a couple who went from Santana to Co-Motion. Another buddy went from Cannondale to Co-Mo, and described the captaining as "steering a semi to steering a single". :beer:

[Sheldon4209]

My stoker (wife) and I have two steel Co-Motion tandems. A coupled Moca and a Supremo. We have been pleased with both of them. They do ride more like a single than our previous tandems, a Burley and Ibis. Co-Motion is a great company to work with.

One option that we have on both tandems is an Avid mech rear brake. We really like the Avid brake and it is not too expensive, about $165.

Sheldon

[Too Tall]

(Cough) Second place mixed tandem at PBP (wink wink) CO-MOTION!!!

No kidding, PBP, transcontinental, multiple state champs and countless miles of great fun. Steel Co-Motions are just perfect...yep they get it :) I'd never consider any other tandem for a road tandem.

Nice thing about Co Motion is that you can infact talk to the owner. Great people and a business built around PEOPLE with a nod to doing giving back to the community and respecting the environment. Waddap?

Feel free to contact me offline to find out how I really feel :)

[Peter P.]

If you're looking for a performance oriented steel tandem, you might be interested in this:

I've got a Santana Team tandem I'm passively selling (55cm front, 53cm rear seat tubes), with 8 speed Dura Ace and downtube shifters.

It was Santana's top of the line racing/performance oriented frame with Columbus tubes and fork.

If you're interested, PM me.

I apologize in advance for those offended by my posting it here, but I only did it 'cause he was in the market...

[landshark_98]

it'd beautiful construction. Rides wonderfully. Took it across Tuscany - up, downa and through enough Serpentine curves to put a perpetual smile on our faces. Never rode a Co-Motion but I like the folks out there a lot. But if you want an alternative consider Glenn - although he only builds in the winter and it might be too late for this year.

[Too Tall]

Glen's bikes are really great only wish he was hands on building.

That Team Santana has a great geometry / build. If this is what I think it is the bike should be a pretty great handling bike. Isn't it make of Nivicrom?

[rob137]

Wow I didn't think I would get so many responses on a tandem thread.

Any experiences with the Speedster from Co-Motion?

[Tailwinds]

I don't know much about tandems, but I can say that CoMotions seem to be the most popular tandem around here (Denver), and everyone I've spoken to absolutely LOVES their CoMotions.

[Bradford]

Wow I didn't think I would get so many responses on a tandem thread.

Any experiences with the Speedster from Co-Motion?
We have a coupled Primara, which is the same frame as the Speedster but with 105 instead of Ultegra. (The wife vetoed the Speedster because the price of the couplers and boxes made the bike expensive).

The frame is great, absolutely everything we ever hoped for. My single is a Legend and I have an IF touring bike, and this frame is every bit as good. What a great ride.

If you want to see a picture of it, our bike was on the 2005 Co-Motion catalog cover.

And by the way, much to my surprise, the 105 has performed flawlessly.

[dwoodard]

I have owned both Santana and Co-motion tandems. While I liked the Santana, nothing else rode like the Co-motion. Fast, comfortable and climbed amazingly well. Also, consider one of their Alu frames. We had a Robusta for a number of years (their race Alu frame) and found it to be incredibly comfortable for both captain and stoker.

[davids]

If you want to see a picture of it, our bike was on the 2005 Co-Motion catalog cover.
Bradford's too modest to point out that he and his bride were also on the cover...