Burley Tandem Question Please

In article <[email hidden]>, "Bob Newman"

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are recreational road riders (15-16 MPH 30-40 miles typical). We have been thinking
of getting a tandem as we ride 3 or 4 multi-day rides during the year also. We do not know much
about tandems and are on a limited budget. Today we saw a used Burley Duet. We don't know too much
about except it is supposed to have been made in the mid nineties and ridden by the proverbial
little old lady. It appears in good shape. It has the shifters on the ends of the drop bars. Is
this a plus or minus? Does this feature tell us anything about the "level" or quality of the bike?
They are asking $875.

Any suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated... Thanks, Bob

Burley tandems are in general part of the high-end of the tandem market, well above the MTB-based
lady-back tandems that make up the typical rental-market fodder.

Almost any late-model road-wheel tandem is going to be designed to a higher spec than the low-end
MTB tandems, because the demand at the low end of the tandem market is for flat bars and fat tires
(though there are many very good MTB tandems, if that's what one wants).

Barcons as you describe are a slightly eccentric feature, but are a connoisseur thing: you won't see
them spec'd by just anyone, only those who desire them. There are some dull arguments for them pro
and con versus integrated (STI/Ergo) brifteurs, but basically some people like bar-end shifters, and
I would consider it an indication of a quality bike.

$875? I don't know tandem pricing well. But this would be a premium touring tandem.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Quoted message said:

Burley tandems are in general part of the high-end of the tandem market, well above the MTB-based
lady-back tandems that make up the typical rental-market fodder.

A minor quibble, based only on my own impressions of the tandem market: Burley's are indeed a step
above those seen in the rental market, but I would place them as a "mid-price" tandem, below the
"high-end" portion of the market, which will include most Santana's and Co-Motions.

Quoted message said:

Barcons as you describe are a slightly eccentric feature, but are a connoisseur thing: you won't
see them spec'd by just anyone, only those who desire them. There are some dull arguments for them
pro and con versus integrated (STI/Ergo) brifteurs, but basically some people like bar-end
shifters, and I would consider it an indication of a quality bike.

Barcons tend to be more common on tandems than on singles due to two reasons:

1) Somewhat more difficult to keep STI/Ergo properly adjusted due to the longer cable runs, and

2) Its not uncommon for tandem teams to substitute gearing outside of that spec'ed by the component
manufacturer (For example, sub-30T granny rings with STI) . STI/Ergo will usually shift these
combinations grudging, if at all, but barcons are more forgiving.

Quoted message said:

$875? I don't know tandem pricing well. But this would be a premium touring tandem.

Lots of good info, including a pricing calculator, available at: home.att.net~thetandemlinkOpen ↗

Good luck!

Chris Neary [email hidden]

Chris & Tracey 1999 Co-Motion Speedster

Bob said:

My wife and I are recreational road riders (15-16 MPH 30-40 miles typical). We have been thinking
of getting a tandem as we ride 3 or 4 multi-day rides during the year also. We do not know much
about tandems and are on a limited budget. Today we saw a used Burley Duet. We don't know too much
about except it is supposed to have been made in the mid nineties and ridden by the proverbial
little old lady. It appears in good shape. It has the shifters on the ends of the drop bars. Is
this a plus or minus? Does this feature tell us anything about the "level" or quality of the bike?
They are asking $875.

Price calculators and new MSRP aside...does it fit both of you? Or can it be tweaked to fit? Have
you ridden tandems enough to know if you'll like it? (I've seen people attempt to borrow a test
ride at the start of a tandem rally ride, and it just wasn't going to work...that day, anyway.)
Do you like blue? IIRC it's Burley that has a cable run underneath a bottom bracket, which could
be problematic with a certain type of roof rack. Minor issue. --Karen M. with a brand-new GT
Crestline and a used Counterpoint, both perfect for my needs