# Tandem Build?



## bsdc (Feb 15, 2002)

Flip Flash said:


> I've built my own road bikes and fixed up beaters, can I build my own tandem and save money. Any thoughts on where I can get a fine frame, etc. would be appreciated!


One good place to find good deals on tandems is www.ebay.com

www.chucksbikes.com has probably the best deal on tandem frames and parts.

www.precisiontandems.com is a good source for tandems and parts too. 

I've bought three tandems on bay. I've considered buying one of Chuck's triplets and building it myself for fun. The last tandem I bought was a titanium Santana tandem on Ebay. I'm currently getting some parts from Precision Tandem to fix it up.


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## Flip Flash (Feb 5, 2004)

I've built my own road bikes and fixed up beaters, can I build my own tandem and save money. Any thoughts on where I can get a fine frame, etc. would be appreciated!


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## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

Flip Flash said:


> I've built my own road bikes and fixed up beaters, can I build my own tandem and save money. Any thoughts on where I can get a fine frame, etc. would be appreciated!


No! Let me explain. If you want a tandem to ride in your lifetime it is cheaper/faster/easier to buy one complete. If you have a lot of time you can scour eBay/CL and maybe get lucky. Of all the parts that will be hardest to get, the one you will pay through the nose is the crankset. So few manufaturers are making anything that makes it to the retail market that they can demand high prices for them. The rarely pop up on eBay either.

But you can with enough patience find stuff and I would think that if you wait long enough you might be able to break even on the cost of used components as opposed to a used tandem.

_Didn't realize this was an old thread placed here to make believe the new tandem forum actually had posts, and I responded!_


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Flip Flash said:


> I've built my own road bikes and fixed up beaters, can I build my own tandem and save money. Any thoughts on where I can get a fine frame, etc. would be appreciated!


No matter when this was posted - here's some good advice form first hand observation.

I'd planned on scoring a frame, then building up my first tandem. After buying a complete used tandem, it was quickly obvious that would've been a bad idea.

No matter how much I knew about single bikes (i've been riding for 37 years and building my own pro bikes throughout that time) tandems are unique beasts with non-standard bottom bracket widths, several different rear hub axle widths, stoker stem issues, headsets that can range from 1" to 1.25" wheel build tradeoffs, gearing crossover challenges like nothing else, brake considerations... that's the starters list. I thought I could figure out the right mix, but without practical tandem experience, any one of the choices would have just as likely been a bad mistake as it would have been perfect.

Until you've owned and spent time on a tandem, narrowing down the variables on the above issues are academic, without any real-world evidence to help you decide what's right for your needs. 

My advice? Buy a used tandem to see if it's right for you, then start exploring the myriad of choices related to custom speccing a tandem.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Or do what I do.....*



thinkcooper said:


> ....My advice? Buy a used tandem to see if it's right for you, then start exploring the myriad of choices related to custom speccing a tandem.


I tend to agree with Coops thoughts but don't like to spend time messing with bikes.

Just buy a new Santana every few years and don't even think about the bike-the riding in sync with your sweetie is all that matters.

You get pretty good money for a used tandem which makes the cost of renewing pretty low over time.


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