Hi Dullboot and good to see tandem talk on the Adventure Cycling forum!
We have a Co-Motion 'Colorado' Supremo bought about 4 years ago. We originally borrowed one from friend to try, and our old Dawes Galaxy tandem felt like a noodle in comparison.
Ours has S&S couplings (objects of beauty in themselves!), 700 wheels, disc brakes and carbon fork. We fly with it regularly which does mean about 90 minutes (or less if we work together) at each end to pack / unpack and finding somewhere (usually a hotel) to store the cases.
The wheels fit in the cases, no problem. Depending on the airline and what else we're carrying this often falls within our baggage allowance but sometimes we'll pay for an extra bag. So far no problems flying. We pack the cases with clothing etc up to the weight allowance.
To load it in the car we take of the front only which is a 3 minute job. It's got a Gates belt drive for timing - this is fabulously clean compared with a chain and never needs adjusting and gives a very direct link between driver and passenger (I should not have said that...) . The rings began to wear after 8000 miles so we've replaced them.
For touring we use a trailer and two rear panniers. We've cycle camped across France and done many major climbs in Europe and USA. But the our Co-Motion excels at all kinds of road riding and this is what we like about it - it's light, fast enough and handles well for shorter day rides and climbing, but we can also load it up and tour long distances. And it feels totally secure and predictable at speed - a lovely smooth flow never any wobbles or jitters. We've done some reasonably fast descents on a wide variety of surfaces. We rarely ride off-road, and when we do we take it slowly on our relatively narrow tyres.
We have absolutely no regrets - yes, expensive to buy, with some maintenance costs, but compared to the riding enjoyment but well worth it. A classy machine.
In terms of fit we are similar heights so was fairly straightforward. I set mine up similar to my road bike (using the three contact points) as a starting point. Jeannine has a telescopic stem with loads of length adjustment (I think these are standard). Our dealer was excellent and making sure we both had a good fit. After while she did switch to drop handlebars instead of the standard 'bullhorns' - just her preference.
We could not imagine finding the right bike for us second-hand - we wanted the right bike, without compromises, which will hopefully last us many years. It was a bit of an eye-watering sum at the time but well worth it 4 years on.
Ian
