Rodriquez Softride tandem

[racecarjohnny]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1261630003...oJ36a5nSj-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[narcotitlan]

That’s quite something!

 

[wiredfool]

I know it says aluminum, but I've got a steel Rodriguez of that era (without the softride) that has really similar joint details and tubing shapes, especially the ovalized top tube, the seat/chainstay sizes and the Capitan's seat tube going through the main diagonal tube.

 

[narcotitlan]

Pretty sure the tandem is steel.

 

[incorrigible]

OK, be honest now.
I can't be the only one who was expecting to see a 6-foot-long Softride beam, can I?
Is it just me, or................Okay <sigh> I guess it's just me....
My head hurts.....
I need to take a nap......

 

[narcotitlan]

OK, be honest now.
I can't be the only one who was expecting to see a 6-foot-long Softride beam, can I?
Is it just me, or................Okay <sigh> I guess it's just me....
My head hurts.....
I need to take a nap......
View attachment 808020

That would be mental - love it

 

[L-Note]

Should at least be two softride beams - front rider putting in the hard graft whilst the rear takes it easy on the softride!

 

[wiredfool]

We test rode a softride tandem when we were in the market for ours -- not the Rodriguez, probably a Burley. It definitely fixes the direct line from the rear wheel to the stoker's bum, but my stoker didn't really like it. Felt really wierd and disconnected.

We wound up with a 26" Rodriguez road tandem, which at the time had super wide high pressure 35mm tires on it. Had to do a lot of bump warnings for stoker harmony. But now it's running more modern 50+mm tires, and it's soooo much better.

 

[narcotitlan]

We test rode a softride tandem when we were in the market for ours -- not the Rodriguez, probably a Burley. It definitely fixes the direct line from the rear wheel to the stoker's bum, but my stoker didn't really like it. Felt really wierd and disconnected.

We wound up with a 26" Rodriguez road tandem, which at the time had super wide high pressure 35mm tires on it. Had to do a lot of bump warnings for stoker harmony. But now it's running more modern 50+mm tires, and it's soooo much better.

Pics!

 

[wiredfool]

Ok, twist my arm why don't you. It's a little dirty at the moment, as it gets ridden on Irish roads in the winter.

Purchased new 2001 off the rack from R&E, so who knows when it was made. It has a mishmash of parts from the shop.

For the frame -- Top tube is heavily ovalized, bottom tube is less so (but _large_). The captain's seat tube goes through the top tube and the diagonal, supposedly to improve torsional stiffness.

Drivetrain is a 3x8 bar end shifters, mixed Shimano road of the era. 12-28 Sachs Maillard freewheel, 54-42-28 front rings. Phil Wood rear hub laced to a Velocity Aeroheat (soon to be replaced with VO Voyager), (new) White Industries/Velo Orange Voyager on the front. I've been running RH Rat Trap Pass (2.3") on the rear, but there's been a couple of sidewall failures that look like they're from rim incompatibility. So for now, there's a 50mm Schwable on the back. The front is a RH Nachez Pass 44mm.

Other little details -- the stoker bar ends are champagne corks. The rear fender spacers are also champagne cork slices. Devil Duckie rides up front. That's a Portland Design Works otter cage in the captian's top spot.

This bike flies. It's sooo much fun, handles really well, even on rough descents.