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As Seen In RTR Issue #7: Recumbent & Tandem Rider Review #43: Burley Tosa Tandem By Brian Brennan It’s actually quite humorous to think about saving a pound, half a pound, or even ounces when speaking of bicycles, much less tandems. Bicycles are meant to hold riders that are oft times 10-fold the weight of the bike and in the case of tandems even more. The tandem is meant to hold two people and if its riders were to pass on that last Latte or possibly not consume the entire three-pound bag of peanut filled M&M’s there would be no need to scrutinize the weight of your latest two-wheel ride. Well, that also assumes any of us who live in the real world will ever pass on dessert or other of life’s fun filled treats. So, with this in mind, let’s take a look at a 34-pound tandem that while lighter than some (Burley San Marino @ 37.0 lbs.) still aren’t svelte (Burley Rivazza @ 33.4 lbs.). Yet this tandem offers its riders plenty of value for each dollar extracted. The Tosa by Burley Design Cooperative out of Eugene, Oregon, offers a great deal of value packed into its aluminum alloy frame. To this, quality-built and industry-recognized components are added, which as we stated earlier, leads to a value packed tandem. The Tosa comes in the traditional small (21/18), medium (22/19), and large (23/20) configurations. (As with any tandem frame-to-rider fitment can become a bit of a challenge should there be a significant size difference, or lack of difference, between you and your riding partner. Often time these differences can be readily adjusted with accessories changes such as varying length stems, handle bar width, seat posts, or seat adjustments.) The Tosa, San Marino, and Rivazza represent Burley’s long-awaited entry into the suddenly crowded field of aluminum tandem offerings. Having developed a sterling reputation over the years with their steel tandems (Paso Doble, Duet, Rumba, Rock ‘N Roll, Samba, and Zydeco), Burley has a fantastic field of faithful followers. Previously, owners who were well satisfied with their Burley tandems and wanted to move upscale to an aluminum bike were left with no choice but to leave the Burley clan. Now, Burley aficionados not only have the option of buying an aluminum Burley tandem, they have a choice of three! Or review bike, the Tosa, is the middle bike, price wise. Burley has cleverly used the same aluminum frameset and their proven steel fork on all three bikes while equipping each of the models with differing components to reach three separate price points. Clever marketing, and clever engineering. Our review Tosa comes with a suggested retail price of only $2549.00. The top of the line Rivazza is priced at $3399.00, while the San Marino is set to sell at only $2099.00. In riding the Tosa we found that even a 34-pound tandem can feel nimble, easy to maneuver, and most important of all—fun to ride. Simply stated: It’s comfortable. Burley is quite proud of its first aluminum frame and, while this may be an eyeful to read, it does deserve mentioning. The Tosa frame is made from a proprietary, custom 6000-series seamless, double butted, heat treated aluminum alloy tube with a square-oval boom tube, large diameter stays, and a forged replaceable derailleur hanger. Add to this a neatly fitted fork, custom-designed of True Temper tandem-gauge butted blades outfitted with a CNC taper gauge steerer tube. The intent is to inform you in a technical manner that the tandem will last. It is intended to give its owners years of performance, as pointed out by the sturdiness of the design but, as is said, “The devil is in the details.” The luxury of a forged replaceable derailleur hanger is one such detail that gives added value. Anyone who has been around bikes long enough or has placed thousands of miles on a tandem realizes that the derailleur hanger is one place trouble will eventually surface. Now it can be fixed and you are quickly back on the road, no worse for the wear. The Tosa frame is an aluminum alloy. And what does that mean? Well, it’s made from a proprietary mixture of alloy components including magnesium, silicon, and zirconium, which according to Burley, “yields unmatched strength, fatigue-resistance and hardness properties.” It does read as if it’s made from material more commonly found on a fighter jet than a bike. Yet it’s reassuring to mention that Tosa (and Burley’s Rivazza and San Marino) framesets come with a lifetime warranty for the original owner. This particular aluminum alloy allows for double passes in the welding of the frameset. Double passes means that after the first pass of the welding process, another pass of welding is performed which fills in much of the somewhat rougher texture found in single-pass aluminum welding. The results are quite striking, with a very smooth and flowing appearance on the bike’s joints. It should also be noted that the finish is another strong suit of the Tosa. The Alpine White electrostatic powder coating finishes off the Tosa giving it a very clean and sharp looking appearance. Burley’s Alpine White has just a touch of cream that really adds a classy touch to the bike. The merits of power coating are well known throughout the cycling world, however, you should still exercise care with your tandem. The paint, while resistant to such road elements as dirt, grease, etc…can be chipped if subjected to careless abuse. In riding our Tosa it was apparent from the onset that this aluminum alloy tandem would prove comfortable from the get-go. While the frame is aluminum, the forks are a True Temper steel, which according to Burley is, “a steel alloy so advanced it deserves better than the generic ChroMoly name.” According to Burley the forks undergo a series of thermal treatments to remove imperfections and residual stresses which in turn yields forks with superior life expectancy. (Burley also makes other of their tandem and recumbent frames out of True Temper steel as well.) While the Tosa aluminum tandem is 34-lbs., it really offers a comfortable ride. We experienced little, if any, vibration or road feedback through the forks and handlebars. The handlebars are Ritchey Logic (42mm) road bar with a Ritchey Comp threadless stem in front; and, Burley Upturn (45mm) bar with a Burley alloy stem in back. (While this width suited both my wife and I, remember that handlebar width is an important aspect of any bike fitment. This is especially true for the Captain where additional width can be an aid in maintaining control.) Adding to the riders comfort are the Serfas Cosmos front seat and the Serfas Curva back seat with a HL/Zoom SP-41 Microset 2 seat post. Call me affected, but I have grown up with Shimano equipment (yes, there are other outstanding components out there but…) and when I ride a single or tandem so equipped I “feel” as if I ride better. The Tosa is outfitted with many Shimano components, and they are in all the right places! The crankset is a forged Truvativ ISIS splined drive unit, while the bottom bracket is a UN52. The derailleurs are 105’s in front and Deore XT SGS in back; the shifters (brake/gear selection) are 105SC STI. We found these components to work well after the initial break-in period. (It’s common for cables to stretch during the first hundred miles or so of riding and then require a “final” adjustment). We did mention brake levers and it should be noted that the Tektro Mini-V brakes worked well in unison with the Burley Aero 40-spoke rims equipped with Shimano XT tandem hubs and DT stainless spokes, all wrapped with Conti Ultra 2000 tires measuring 700x28. (Personal preference: Since my wife and I are physically larger than your average pair of tandem riders, we opt to inflate the tires to 125 psi versus the recommended tire pressure of 120 psi. We feel this helps us to avoid pinch flats when hitting that unseen pothole, etc….) Back to the subject of properly tuned components. This is a good thing given you have a Shimano 9-speed gear cluster (11-32) and a triple ring (53-42-30) that you want to make sure you can use at your command coupled with the always reliable Shimano HG72 chain. We found that pulling a 53/11, while requiring a bit of effort, yielded some 40-plus mile per hour runs down our favorite stretches of unencumbered roads. Again, the 42 chainring is your bread and butter workhorse giving you enough latitude with the 9-speed gear cluster to tackle most road undulations. However, there’s no getting around it, you and your stoker will most assuredly become accomplished in the 30/32 should you have any steep or steady, long climbs in your surrounds. (It figures, during one morning ride we were passed by a tandem powered by a pair of strong riders who blew by us in most likely a 42/mid-range gear, like a 14,15,16. It was truly amazing to watch how fast they could attack the hill. Oh well, maybe at a later date we will be able to thrash up our hill!) The Burley Tosa is built literally for the long haul—from miles to years of service this tandem should do the trick. Combine the inherent quality with top-notch components and you have a tandem that will perform with bikes priced higher while giving you the value for the dollar that you expect. Contact: Burly Design Cooperative, NOTE: You can get a copy of Recumbent & Tandem Rider Issue #7 featuring this review fully illustrated with detailed photos. Our other fully illustrated reviews in Issue #7 include: Lightning's Wild M5 Lowracer recumbent, Bike Friday's SatRDay recumbent, Santana's Extreme Tandem, the WizWheels TerraTrike, Vision's unique Thoroughbred. You'll also find equipment reviews including Haluzak's Seat-Back day pack, Trico gloves, Kenda Kwest recumbent-specific tires, the Tandem Talk Intercom and the Pantour suspension hub, along with other interesting features and columns. To order your back issue, forward a $5.00 check or money order to: Coyne Publishing, P.O. Box 337,San Dimas, CA 91773. (Price includes postage & handling) |
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