Price Paid:  $2450.00 at stanwood velosport

Favorite Ride:
seattle to portland

Bike Setup:
Panaracer pasela tour-guard 700x32 tires. We have sharp-edged gravel on the shoulder of the road in a few areas around here and wanted a little more cush than the stock 700x28's. Swapped stoker bullhorns to ergo drop bars that match the captains, added suspension seatpost and swapped stoker seat for a Serfa. Otherwise stock. Considering a zzipper fairing once my bank account recovers - as if this thing isn't fast enough already!

Summary:
This is a great tandem! My wife and I just started tandeming 2 years ago with an older steel frame Miyata and had so much fun we upgraded to the Burley Tosa this year. After riding Seattle-to-Portland on the Miyata last year I must say the 206 miles went by a lot faster this year despite less training beforehand and fewer paceline opportunities. The problem we had with pacelines is everyone followed us on the flats and rolling hills but as soon as we hit a long downhill everyone seemed to drop off - even the other tandems! Our average speed increased from 13-14 mph last year to 16-17 this year despite a lot less drafting. This bike is fast. The large frame fits us very well and I can get a good tuck position downhill- I am 6'3" and my wife is 5"4". No doubt the 700C aero-style sun venus wheels and 52x11 top gear also help. We hit 58 mph on just our second time out and the bike was very stable. No shaking or other handling quirks at speed although I must admit i was scared as this was more than 10 mph faster than I've ever ridden a bike and my wife's life was also in my hands. What a rush!

Strengths:
Good stiff and light frame climbs and handles well. No derailler rub or frame sway when climbing. Despite the rock solid frame the ride is not harsh. We added a rock-shock road suspension seatpost in the stoker position, but I am riding the stock seatpost and seat with no ill effects. The steel fork soaks up vibration well and no doubt the optional carbon fork is even better. The tektro mini-v brakes work well although I would add the arai drum brake option the bike is set up for if we were doing a lot of loaded touring. We did a number of panic stops on the STP ride and the brakes always stopped in time and modulate well. The 105 STI and deraillers work well too- This is the first bike i've ridden with STI and I'm loving it! The bike shifts down so quickly on the front chainrings that there is very little wasted momentum on hills. A little slower going from the smaller cogs to the larger, but that's to be expected. Also the cables are stretching out and we are about 400 miles overdue for our 100 mile tuneup - just can't stop riding the thing to take it into the shop! For $2400 this bike is a steal!

Weaknesses:
We like a little larger tire than the stock panaraser pasella 700x28 although they did ride well. Our combined weight is about 350 (without the bike) and we have a lot of gravel on road shouders, railroad tracks, potholes etc... where we ride. Lighter riders on good roads will probably be happy with the stock. I may eventually swap the ergo captain bars out for a deeper drop traditional bend. Not much flat for my big hands on the ends.

Similar Products Used:
Mid 90's miyata dupli-cross tandem with chromoly steel frame and 26" wheels. Set up with avocet cross-k tires for light off-road,towing a trailer for camping with kid stokers. My wife and I never ride it together now we have the
Tosa. My wife captains a 2003 raleigh aluminum frame MTB tandem with our 9 and 11 year old son and daughter. The Al frame Raleigh is also a great tandem for the price and we seriously considered a Raleigh Pursuit road tandem before buying the Burley.