Fuji Bicycles Absolute Tandem

Price Paid:  $999.00 at LBS

Model Year:
2005

Favorite Ride:
Fuji absolute

Bike Setup:
Pretty much stock.

Summary:
I used to ride all the time about 10 years ago but got very lax as kids came along. Now my daughter is almost ten years old and I wanted to get back into riding again but I wanted my girl to get involved too. The answer for us was a tandem. Went to the net and checked out the inventory of my LBSs. (A quick note to all you bike shops that keep pages on the net. Include your prices!! I didn't even consider going to a shop that didn't include prices. I also stayed away from bike shops that when you click on "bike desciption" you are simply linked to the factory web site. Enough said about that.)
Anyway this shop had a choice between The Fuji Absolute and Raliegh tandems. Chose the Fuji simply because it was the most reasonable price and my daughter and wife are more comfortable with the flat bars. The bike is a breeze to ride. Frame is light(approx. 36 lbs.) and sturdy with no real flex that I can tell. The bike is so easy to ride in fact that it is very easy to forget that there is a stroker behind you. My daughter took to it like a duck to water.
The last bike I bought and still ride is an '85 Centurion with the shifters on the down tube so the trigger shifters on the handlebars seemed like F/1 paddle shifters to me. Rear derailer is flawless, one click and you're in the next gear. The front derailer is more of a challenge. Shifting to a smaller chain ring is a simple click and you're in, but going from a small to a larger chainring requires continuous clicking of the trigger until the chain finally jumps up on the next bigger ring, then a little more trimming to get the feeling that the chain is indeed where you want it. Brakes are a joy compared to the ones I'm used to on my old "Half Bike".
Frame fit was a compromise between a 6'3" fifty year old man and his 4'2" 10 year old daughter. LBS had to change out the stroker shock absorber seat post to a non shock post so the seat could be lowered all the way down to the tube and my seat had to be raised all the way to the limit on the front so the bike always seems small to me, but as I said compromises have to be made.
Now the down side, after a couple hundred miles of riding I soon discovered that I don't like flat bars at all. I like riding on the hoods and really like riding on the drops. Tried adding some bar ends but I still don't like the feel. When asking LBS about changing the front bars I was told that by the time they installed new bars, brake levers and shifters it could cost almost half the original price of the whole bike. This is of course nobody's fault and is not to criticize the bike but it would be nice if Fuji offered some kind of upgrade option for those of us who like drop handlebars.
In the end I would say this is a very good entry level tandem and an economical way for a couple to get their feet wet in tandem cycling. However, after riding the Absolute for only a few months i find myself wishing that I had spent a little more money and bought what I really wanted. As it is, with the miles my little girl and I are racking up on the bike, and the plans we've already made for next year, the Fuji will probably be sold this winter and I'm already trying to decide between a Burly Tosa or a Cannondale.
I guess the point of this review is not so much to criticize the Absolute (it is a fine, reliable bike) as it is to say make sure to put alot of thought and test riding in a tandem before buying.

Strengths:
Good, economical entry level tandem.

Weaknesses:
Challenging front derailer. Flat bars become very uncomfortable after about fifty miles on the bike. Standard seats replaced after one ride to more comfortable gel seats