As a stoker, I have to chime in. I've tried like 5-6 different tandems and here's what I know:
It does make a difference in how fast you want to go- the lightest frame will go very fast. However- you really have to check your brakes because when you go downhill on a tandem, you go much, much faster and can easily burn out your brakes. Bike Friday tandems are different from "regular" tandems (I find them a bit more rickety; my (sadly, now deceased) captain found them more "fun" to bike). Riv-style tires (ie the wide tires) are a pain to put in most tandems (I know, because I once asked if I could put hetres in one of them). And, if you're over 6' and your stoker is over 5'6" a majority of tandems are going to be too small for you. Bike Fridays get around the height issues because most of them can be adjusted for varying heights, but IMO, they feel very different from the solid frames. There really is no such thing as no pedaling, unless you have independent pedaling systems. Also, you really don't want the stoker to not pedal, because otherwise it will be like biking with a er... dead weight in the back. And don't even think of not pedaling as a captain unless you want your stoker to really, really hate you. (Don't ask me how I know :) It's really more about working together more than anything. In the long rides, one of us (but not both) would inevitably get tired, and it really helped that the other one had a bit more energy than the other- the tired one would just lightly go through the movements while the other one would pedal harder. That way we sort of took "breaks" without stopping. You cant do this as a captain, but a stoker can pretty much ride without really having to lean weight on arms/hands (unless you are planning on racing). In short, the captain does all the steering and balancing - looking out for traffic, braking, stopping. The stoker provides the "engine" - pedaling. (My least favorite question is "does she really pedal? she really isn't pedaling, right?"). It took me a while to let go of not being able to brake- I like to go more slowly and take less risks- but eventually I just trusted the captain to do things right. (And he, more or less, trusted me to pedal when I should be pedaling.) I've done 33 miles, 45+ miles, and a metric century (about 66 miles) on a tandem. The last one took about 6+ hours and that may be a bit much for a stoker. i know it was a bit much for me- mostly because I could not *imagine* spending more than 6 hours on a bike. Plus, staring at back of one's helmet or bum for 6+ hours can get a little tiresome...one thing that helps on such ride is having the stoker read maps/be the "backseat rider." In the winter, one advantage as a stoker is that one never really has to face the wind chills as the captain is a good draft blocker...ha. My favorite thing as a stoker was being able to take photos that I otherwise would never be able to take on my single bicycle. I would suggest trying out a rental or borrowed tandem first, doing a few city rides, and if you do get one, try using it for commutes or nights out, and then gradually moving to longer weekend rides. And if you end up hating it, don't feel bad. You won't be the first couple who hates it- everyone has a different cycling style. I know one couple who tried a tandem and it took them a while to say that it was not for them and they're still together. Here's a list of tandems I've tried: vintage Gitane (sold) Burley Paso Doble- best for long distance Bike Friday Family Tandem Traveler (sold) vintage Santana (so old they didn't list it in their catalogue) - best for city rides Bike Friday Tandem Traveler XL - best if you want to fly around and take your tandem with you rentals/test rides: Burley Duet Hase Pino (this is a weird tandem in which the stoker is a recumbent in front and the captain steers in the back. This is fun until you go downhill and the stoker realizes that trying not to fall off the bike might be more of a challenge.) Stoker cam (as I like to call it) pics at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejchang/sets/72157624509288453/ Also, I don't know where you are but if you are in Maryland, Mt. Airy Bicycles might be worth going to test out a bunch of tandems. They aren't the cheapest but iirc, they have a lot of variety- new and used and you can try out a bunch of them. Here's the link: http://www.bike123.com/ Hope that helps, Eunice On Thursday, January 30, 2014 5:36:23 PM UTC-5, Michael wrote: > > Wow! I didn't know tandemming was so complex. > I really don't know anything about them and thought the two could just hop > on and ride. > Definitely sounds like research for this project will be needed. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
