The Rodriguez Model 2014

A tandem that fits all of your needs!

Disclaimer: While I'm a good salesperson, I can't do nearly as good of a job describing this amazing bike as Jeff and Louise did themselves.

The story of this bike's creation:
At Rodriguez, we take tandem riding very seriously, and have since 1973. So do our customers! So, when Jeff and Louise came to us for a new tandem, they were serious. They wanted the smallest packing tandem they could get that would ride as much like their full size tandem as possible. We had been building the 6-pack micro-bike for several years, and had several people convert from other small wheeled 'microbike-brands' to our micro-offering. The feedback has been fantastic! Most of our 6-pack customers said they no longer had a need for a full size ride after their 6-pack.

You see, in the world of micro-bikes, a certain level of compromise is assumed, as far as ride quality goes. Therefore, most micro-bike owners also own full size bikes as their everyday ride. They reserve the micro-bike for travel only. This is not what the 6-pack (or the Model 2014 tandem) are about. We design and build the 6-pack as a no-compromise micro-bike. A bike that you will want to ride as your everyday rider as well as your micro-travel bike. It's hard for most people to believe until they ride one though.

Most people assume that micro-travel bikes have a 'whizzy' ride (to quote Steve, the owner of many 'other brand' micros) due to the small wheels. Until we actually built a test ride 6-pack for the shop floor, it was hard to convince people otherwise. Actually, wheel size is not what makes the others feel this way, it's the 'whizzy' frame designs.

Jeff and Louise are different than most. They don't own a car, and their tandem is their everyday commuter as well as their recreational vehicle. They really wanted something that could replace their full sized tandem, but after riding other micro-brands, and having the same 'whizzy' experience as Steve, they had all but given up on that goal.....until they talked to me. I told them of our plan to build a tandem version of our 6-pack, and it should do the trick. I just needed a couple that wanted to order one. Originally, they were skeptical. We fitted Jeff for the test ride 6-pack and he took it out for a long ride. He decided that it rode like a big bike and that the tandem was worth a try.

We went to work designing a tandem that could be packed into cases small enough for train travel carry on (even smaller than airline cases). It was crucial that it be quicker and easier in every way to pack and re-assemble than any other travel tandem on the market....micro or not. All of these requirements, plus the goal of 'big bike' quality ride. At Rodriguez, we were up for the challenge, and honored to be chosen. Even though we moved forward on the build, they were not convinced that they should sell the full size bike right away.

When the new bike was ready for its pre-paint test ride, it performed exactly as I had suspected. Logan and I took it out around the U-district, and there was no way to tell that it was a micro-tandem! It rode just like all of our travel tandems do! The real test though, was Jeff and Louise. Would they think they have the same experience as I did? The answer came after their first week or so on the new Model 2014. They put their full size tandem up for sale. They will stay a one-tandem couple and not have to sacrifice anything. Jeff and Louise suggested the name '2014' for this bike because of the 20" wheels, 14 S&S couplings in combination with the 14 speed Rohloff rear hub. Add that to the fact that we created the first one in 2014. We loved the idea and ran with it.

I will say it again:
I can't say it nearly as well as Jeff and Louise. You can read what they have to say about their new bike in their own words here. I think you'll agree, if this bike is good enough for them, it's good enough for every adventurous tandem couple!

If you're ready to own a serious tandem that just happens to be a micro-travel tandem, then you're ready for a Rodriguez Model 2014.

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Full Bike Specs	Model-2014 Basic With Drop Bars	Model-2014 Rohloff pictured above
Price	$9,499	$11,999
Frame	Custom Rodriguez Model-2014 steel	Custom Rodriguez Model-2014 steel
Fork	Rodriguez Custom	Rodriguez Custom
Shift levers	Shimano Ultegra Bar-end	Rohloff
Brake levers	Tektro	Tektro
Brakes	Trillium Big-Squeeze™	Trillium Big-Squeeze™
Cranks	Origin8 Alloy	Origin8 Alloy
Bottom Bracket	Sealed Bearing	Sealed Bearing
Eccentric	--	Bushnell Retro pat. 8,070,633
Front Derailleur	6-pack Triple	None
Rear Derailleur	Microshift Touring	None
Hubs	Formula	Rohloff/Formula
Rims	Sun 20"	Sun 20"
Spokes	Stainless	Stainless
Wheels	Hand-built	Hand-built
Tires	Kenda Kwest 100psi	Panaracer Minits folding
Handlebars	Kalloy Uno Compact (or European folding)	Kalloy Uno Compact (or European folding)
Head Set	Chris King 1 1/8" threaded	Chris King 1 1/8" threaded
Bar tape	Black Cork (or Serfas atb)	Black Cork (or Serfas atb)
Seat posts	Alloy	Alloy
Seat	WTB Speed V	WTB Speed V
Front Rack	Customized Tara folding	Customized Tara folding
Rear Rack	Customized Racktime folding	Customized Racktime folding
Bottle Cages	Alloy with quick release mounts	Alloy with quick release mounts