Wow, thank you all so much for the input. Pretty much confirms what I thought that we would probably want clearances for up to 50mm with fenders.
1) Co-Motion Java Yes, should have mentioned that I've looked pretty long and hard at this offering, but wondered if the frame might be a bit overkill as we won't necessarily be doing much trail per say, and as was noted Co-Motion's Dawn said it was stiffer than their Speedster. Though I'm pretty tall, 36" inseam, but we're not a an overly heavy team at 280#? Also, while it says touring, kind of surprised that it's lowest gear with 29"er tires is a 30-34--and the granny can't get much smaller My Sam's got lower gears than that, as do Co-Motions touring singles. Also, the duel disks seem a bit sub-optimal for descents over a mile or so with gear (overheating)? Seems like the tried and true cantis with drum would be better--at least as an option? So certainly would be looking at building out a frame if go this rout. When I asked about fitting a 64/104 spidered triple, the sales rep would not confirm it would fit and said I would need to check with the crank supplier-DaVinci? Also don't know about room for canti studs on the rear given how the triangle is configured? Will need to check that too. 2) Wheel diameters (26", 650b, 700c) Yup, trust 26" will offer the greatest confidence, and can confirm on our Cannondale that 40* Rhyno Lites can really take a beating and hold true (though one broken nipple) for thousands of miles. However, it seems 700c rim/wheel strength can be pretty good these days as well, and I think we might find a bit more comfort over the smaller ruts and long haul with the slightly longer circumference. Hard to know exactly, but I'm far more comfortable on my Sam with 33/35mm tires than the Cannondale with 26"x1.9"--and their could be all manner of reasons for this beyond the tires/wheels: aluminum tubes.... So exploring the 700c option and wondering how wide we should be prepared to go if we choose to. The 650b option is interesting. Certainly a growing number of tire choices out there. But I've not seen many rim options at 36-hole and none at 40-hole, but maybe 36 is enough for our needs? What are folks using for touring tandems? 3) R+E Yes, had a visit there and test road one of their tandems. Nice folks for sure. One reason the Java looks interesting is that we likely may want a pair of couplers as we move/travel with the bike a lot, and one less tube would be kind of nice. The R+E frame price would sill be a bit less though. But one thing that I found a bit odd though, is that when looking at their build options, say substituting DaVinci cranks or a Thudbuster ST stoker post, R+E is actually charging customers well above the retail price if you just went ahead and purchased them on you own--independently of the fact that it's a substitution for the stoker post or Sugino tandem crankset. Same with Phil hubs, etc. There's no more work involved? In general, however, their philosophy seems to be more Riv-like than most, and like that. Again, this input has been very useful, especially hearing from an actual Java owner, and look forward to any more that might follow. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
