{"id":1304,"date":"2014-01-21T16:12:27","date_gmt":"2014-01-22T00:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/?p=1304"},"modified":"2014-06-04T14:44:40","modified_gmt":"2014-06-04T21:44:40","slug":"get-serious-lighten-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/get-serious-lighten-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Serious&#8230;Lighten Up!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/js\/pop.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rodriguez&#8230;The Featherweight Champion of the Tandem World!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Now even lighter with <b>more steel!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When it comes to the world of ultra-light tandems, there are a lot of crazy things that people do to try and save weight. Aside from just&#8230;well&#8230;.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/web_articles\/weight-a-minute.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">not telling the truth<\/a>, some of these things sacrifice ride performance, and others even sacrifice <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/tandem-forks\/tandem-forks.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">rider safety<\/a>. Not at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodcycle.com\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">Rodriguez<\/a> though! We just keep lightening up our time tested design.  A few years ago, we shocked the tandem world with a sub 27 pound steel tandem.  For 2014, we&#8217;re going one better.  How about a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/catalog\/light-tandem\/light-tandem-main.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\"><strong>sub 26 pound<\/strong> steel tandem<\/a> that even uses a steel tandem fork? You&#8217;ll be amazed when you lift this certified 25.8 pound featherweight tandem!<\/p>\n<p>\n<font class=\"bigtext\">No Magic&#8230;.just tragic<\/font><br \/>\nLet&#8217;s face it, anyone can build a lighter tandem if they exclude crucial performance components like&#8230;.a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/stiff-proposition\/stiff-proposition.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">stiffener tube<\/a>. C&#8217;mon, really? Just removing frame tubes, and telling folks <font color=\"red\">&#8220;really, those were just extra parts&#8221;<\/font> doesn&#8217;t cut it for us. Some even resort to using <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/tandem-forks\/tandem-forks.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">unsafe forks<\/a> on their tandems to save a little weight, and that&#8217;s a serious No No.<\/p>\n<p>\nThere&#8217;s no magic to making a tandem lighter weight with these techniques.  The real trick is to make it lighter without compromising safety or efficiency. This way, you&#8217;ll end up with a real tandem that climbs like a rocket, and gives you the confidence you need to descend at much greater speeds.\n<\/p>\n<p><font class=\"bigtext\">Nothin&#8217; up our sleeve!<\/font><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/catalog\/light-tandem\/light-tandem-main.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/catalog\/light-tandem\/2014-light-tandem-small.jpg\" style=\"border:1px solid black;width:90%;margin-left:20px;\" title=\"Read About this Bike\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>No Sacrifices! At Rodriguez, our newest creation will give <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/letters\/letters.php?tag=tandem\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">our customers<\/a> unprecedented comfort and performance!  On long climbs or even rolling hills you&#8217;ll appreciate our use of a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/stiff-proposition\/stiff-proposition.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">double miter stiffener tube<\/a>. This gives you 27% less bottom bracket flex than a frame with just a single miter stiffener. That means more of your power goes into the drive train instead of being eaten up by the frame flex. If you want to climb fast on a tandem, or if you like to stand while you climb, then this is your frame.<\/p>\n<p><font class=\"bigtext\">Don&#8217;t Get Forked Up!<\/font><br \/>\nThe specially designed Rodriguez light weight <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/tandem-forks\/tandem-forks.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">steel tandem fork<\/a> uses a steel steering tube that will not flex under load like a carbon steering tube will. You&#8217;ll notice an <strong>immediate difference<\/strong> in handling, holding a line, and climbing as well. While descending, you can take those curves with more confidence as this fork doesn&#8217;t back down to strong braking like a carbon fork can. <\/p>\n<p>\n<font class=\"bigtext\">Comfort?<\/font><br \/>\nYou Bet! The S3 steel tubing will <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/web_articles\/perfectblend.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">ride like steel<\/a> because it is steel. Now you can enjoy all of the comfort and performance of a real steel Rodriguez tandem, and still brag about the lightest tandem in the group! Or, you could just let everyone think you&#8217;re on a &#8216;heavy steel tandem&#8217; and you&#8217;re just kicking the stuffing out of them because you&#8217;re incredibly fast&#8230;it&#8217;s your call.<\/p>\n<p>If you are considering a purchase of a light weight custom tandem, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/catalog\/light-tandem\/light-tandem-main.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">this bike<\/a> is truly a champion worth your consideration.  We do have a little experience building tandems. At Rodriguez, we&#8217;ve been hand building tandems <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/historical-tour\/historical-tour.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">since 1973<\/a>.  Satisfaction is always guaranteed, and we&#8217;d love to build your new ride. Just talk with some of our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/letters\/letters.php?tag=tandem\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">tandem customers<\/a> if you need help deciding who your tandem company should be. We think you&#8217;ll agree with them &#8211; A Rodriguez is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodcycle.com\/articles\/value_line.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">best value<\/a> in the industry.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThanks for reading &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/web_articles\/mr_rodriguez.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">Dan<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><font class=\"bigtext\">Related articles and links<\/font><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/the-new-carbon.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">The New Carbon&#8230;..Carbon Steel!<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/stiff-proposition\/stiff-proposition.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">A Stiff Proposition<\/a> &#8211; Can you sacrifice your stiffener tube?<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/tandem-forks\/tandem-forks.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">Double Trouble<\/a> &#8211; An industry putting itself at risk<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/web_articles\/perfectblend.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">The Perfect Blend <\/a>&#8211; Steel<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/web_articles\/chaos.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">Chaos, the new standard<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/web_articles\/weight-a-minute.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">&#8230;Weight a Minute<\/a> &#8211; Truth in advertising<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/proprietary-parts.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">Do you want a &#8216;Forever&#8217; bike?<\/a> &#8211; Proprietary parts<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/articles\/bike-weights.html\" onclick=\"home(this.href);return false;\">2 truths and a lie<\/a> &#8211; bike weights<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/body><br \/>\n<\/html><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rodriguez&#8230;The Featherweight Champion of the Tandem World! Now even lighter with more steel! When it comes to the world of ultra-light tandems, there are a lot of crazy things that people do to try and save weight. Aside from just&#8230;well&#8230;.not &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/get-serious-lighten-up\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5],"tags":[89,87,88,50],"class_list":["post-1304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","category-new-bikes","category-news","tag-carbon-tandem","tag-lightweight-tandem","tag-steel-tandem","tag-tandem"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p219Oe-l2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1304"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1487,"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1304\/revisions\/1487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rodbikes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}