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Building a road tandem


Hi All,

So this is my third tandem. The first was an offroad KHS, I always was uncomfortable on the bike. A short top tube (53cm) and short stem (8cm) and a straight bar for the handlebars made it very uncomfortable.

Then I purchased a Giordana road tandem (through Amazon), ~$500 new a complete bargain. Well, needed to change the brakes to Shimano 105 and voila a perfectly good bike. I rotated the antler handlebars, changed the saddle, moved it a bit and all in all tried to recreate the Cervelo S3 geometry of my road bike. Mostly works. Definitely more comfortable. We ride more and I enjoy the ride more. Just need to ignore the weight/noise/lousy crank/... and other elements of the Giordana tandem.

So now I am ready to invest. We mostly ride hills here, either rolling or up and down 5-7K climbs at 5-10% gradient. We ride between 1-3 hours, 20-40K, though with a new bike I have a goal of riding the Jerusalem Gran Fondo.

A little research and I came across the Matrix Road Tandem, it is a very pretty blend of carbon and alu. I am struggling with the geometry, it looks like it will be shorter across the top tube than I am used to. The Giordana tandem has a 56cm top tube and 12cm stem, while the Matrix has a 53cm top tube. I can extend the stem out (can I extend to a 15cm stem?), but I am concerned that I will be tight in the cockpit, I am roughly 6' 1'', ~187cm. I need to triple check this and I will contact Matrix directly, since I see conflicting information on the web.

I mostly ride a Cervelo S3 58cm frame. Measured at a 56cm top tube and a 12 cm stem.

The other major decision is wheelset. I don't think I have much choice here, the bike shop is pushing towards heavier stronger wheels. From what I have been reading the lighter wheels truly to not hold up to the weight and pressures of Tandem riding.

The crankset is FSA triple, with Shimano Ultegra derailleurs and brakes. I am confident in the brakes given my experience with the 105's on the hills here. But a triple Ultegra is a new thing for me.

So, I would love to hear from you'all. Is extending a stem to 15cm reasonable? Will the front wheels be to close?

David