Co-Motion discontinued their BEAM TANDEM

[Smiley]

Well last I spoke to Dwan and company I was told they stopped making my Aluminum Cappucino tandem since it did not sell as well as the steel version. Now I go to think of buying a S&S coupled version of the same bike and DONE no more. This time I learn that Soft Ride stopped making the beam. So I load up on replacement beam parts just like I did with DKS parts. Now I can't sell this tandem or my wife will truly hate me since she loves the ride on the beam. Thinking of buying a Bike Friday travel tandem ..any thoughts on this subject ...Bradford ..where are you :)

For the record :
Aluminum Cappucinno tandem ....discontinued
Hors Categorie ......discontinued
Serotta Ti Max ...... discontinued (yeah they brought the name back only)
Uniscasi Steel ....... discontinued
Kogswell G 58 ...... discontinued


You guys sure you want me to buy a MeiVici :)

[vaxn8r]

Just get a Robusta and be done with it. Get it coupled if you want to...though the price of couplers just went up 50%. FOr a tandem that gets a little spendy. By the time you add in bike boxes you're looking at $3k for just the couplers and boxes.

[palincss]

Well last I spoke to Dwan and company I was told they stopped making my Aluminum Cappucino tandem since it did not sell as well as the steel version. Now I go to think of buying a S&S coupled version of the same bike and DONE no more. This time I learn that Soft Ride stopped making the beam. So I load up on replacement beam parts just like I did with DKS parts. Now I can't sell this tandem or my wife will truly hate me since she loves the ride on the beam. Thinking of buying a Bike Friday travel tandem ..any thoughts on this subject ...Bradford ..where are you :)

For the record :
Aluminum Cappucinno tandem ....discontinued
Hors Categorie ......discontinued
Serotta Ti Max ...... discontinued (yeah they brought the name back only)
Uniscasi Steel ....... discontinued
Kogswell G 58 ...... discontinued





I say, ride them and quit worrying about it. What difference does it make if the model is discontinued? Aside from the Beam and the DKS rear end, there are no proprietary parts on any of those bikes. Everything that wears or needs replacement is available in one way or another.

Apropos of Kogswells, IIRC upgrade forks for the G series Kogswells will be available shortly should you wish to experiment with low trail.

[RPS]

Thinking of buying a Bike Friday travel tandem ..any thoughts on this subject ...Bradford ..where are you :)I'm not a fan of beam bikes, so I won't comment on that. However, since my wife and I ride tandems but she doesn't do the kind of mileage I do, I've thought about getting a Bike Friday Q-type that I could convert to a single for the days she wants to rest. Will follow this thread to see if anyone has experience with them. I'd like to know how long it takes to convert back and forth.

[David Kirk]

It seems to me that most everything has a finite market life span. So most everything will be discontinued.......sooner rather than later.

We own 3 cars that are no longer in production.

I own one bike group that is no longer made.

My favorite rims are no longer made.

The Sram group I just bought will be history in just a few years replaced by something new.

Nature of the beast.


Dave

[mjb266]

If you want a beam bike here's one on craigslist in my town for $150....not mine

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/bik/299838379.html

[zap]

You guys sure you want me to buy a MeiVici :)

No

I think you should get a parlee.

tandemwise, get the steel CoMo with couplers and if you must, bouncy seatpost. But a tandem is long enough so that a stocker can feel a hit up front and lift off a wee bit by the time the bump hits the rear wheel.

[TimB]

Ditto what Zap said. Katie asked me to take off the boinger seat post a long time ago.

As for the demise of the beam, I've never been a fan - every time I've ever seen one on the road there's been more side-to-side motion than up-and-down, and on a tandem you just don't need that.

[bcm119]

I've seen a lot of tandems with sprung seatposts. Why is that? I've never ridden a tandem, but it seems like the weight of two people plus bigger tires would make the ride smoother than a single, not harsher. Am I missing something?

[palincss]

I've seen a lot of tandems with sprung seatposts. Why is that? I've never ridden a tandem, but it seems like the weight of two people plus bigger tires would make the ride smoother than a single, not harsher. Am I missing something?

Yes, two important things.

1. The stoker cannot see what's up ahead, so they can't prepare themselves for the bump. As a result, bumps take them unaware unless the captain warns them before the back wheel hits.

2. The captain has a very cushy spot between the two wheels, but the stoker is positioned pretty close to sitting right on the back wheel.

and possibly a third thing: on many tandems, the tires aren't much, if any, bigger; it's just that the pressures are higher.

[RPS]

Yes, two important things.

1. The stoker cannot see what's up ahead, so they can't prepare themselves for the bump. As a result, bumps take them unaware unless the captain warns them before the back wheel hits.

2. The captain has a very cushy spot between the two wheels, but the stoker is positioned pretty close to sitting right on the back wheel.

and possibly a third thing: on many tandems, the tires aren't much, if any, bigger; it's just that the pressures are higher.Well said. At speed many stokers just don't have enough time to lift off the saddle IMO. And if the back wheel hits as they are lifting it can be hard on the legs.

[Bradford]

In addition, the captain often has a lot to think about, like traffic, which is harder to negotiate on a tandem. When there is a lot going on, I tend to stop talking because all of my CPU power is being used to keep the bike up. This is when I don't yell out a hole and my wife takes a beating.

My wife uses a thudbuster seatpost, but set to my weight. So it doesn't move at all 95% of the time but gives on the big hits. It seems to work the best for her.