Because we were headed up to San Jose for other reasons we decided to leave early and visit the Bicycle Outfitters to see if they had the same tandems for sale. Previously we did a test ride on a Trek 2000 and a Comotion. The Comotion had a longer top tube and seemed harder for me to control and also it was double the price of the Trek. The Trek model was still there and they were getting in their shipment of new models in a couple weeks so they gave me a good deal.

We first tested to see if we could fit the Trek Tandem in our Odyssey mini-van. It fit just right. Oh, what the heck I thought and we went ahead and bought it.  Some people probably think I only buy Trek bikes but that is not entirely true.  Yes my last two road bikes are Trek models, which I do like, but I also bought a Giant Mountain Bike and an Giant road bike for Ann.

It is not what you would call a real high end tandem, but it is also not low end. Most of the components are the Ultregra class, 9 speed. It has a carbon fork and some nice aero wheels. Some people may not want this tandem because it might not have the beafy wheels they need or the steel frame, but Ann and I together don’t weigh that much so I felt it would meet our needs just fine. While the Comotion came with couplers so you can take it apart for travel, we decided if we go to Europe we would rather take single bikes anyway and for the price difference we could buy one Commotion single bike with couplers.

Here are the features:

Frame
ZR 9000 Alloy
Fork
Bontrager Satellite Plus Carbon Tandem
Wheels
Bontrager Race Lite Tandem
Crank
Ultegra 52/39/30
Rear Derailleur
Shimano Deore XT
Sizes
54/44

I had them change the stem to a 70 mm one since the top tube was a bit long for me. I also bought a drag brake but it was not in stock so it is on order. The drag brake allows you to add drag going down a long hill to save breaking so much.

I worked on it during the evening getting it ready so we can try it tommorow.

Categories: Cycling Equipment