On 02/08/2014 12:03 PM, ted wrote:
I am sure Jim knows well where of he speaks, so I count my wife and I as very lucky to have gotten a used tandem that suits us fairly well for far less than 5k, and through RBW no less. What I don't get though, is why virtually no "enthusiastic" husbands seem to let their wives drive. I can see over/around my wife better than she can me, and I think she appreciates being able to drive more than I miss it. I have read that there are tandem riding couples were the guy is the stoker, but I have yet to see one on the road.
It's more about handlebar height for the stoker than anything else. The stoker stem is attached to the captain's seat post, and the height of the handlebar as a result is limited: even with up-angled stoker stems, it's almost impossible to get the bar significantly higher than the stoker's saddle. Now imagine a stoker significantly larger than the captain, as most husbands are physically larger than their wives (obviously not always, but certainly so in most cases). You're looking at very significant bar-drop for the stoker, well into racer-territory, never mind current Riv "bar much higher than seat height" thinking.
Then there's the matter of physical strength: the captain of a tandem needs more upper body strength than is typically needed to operate a single bicycle. For one thing, it's usual at a traffic light or a stop sign for the captain to dismount and for the stoker to remain seated and clipped in. Although it's mostly a matter of balance, if the stoker should make a sudden move it's up to the captain to hold the bike steady, and that does take strength. And, of course, just horsing the bike around when nobody's on it takes more strength than a single because the tandem typically weighs as much as two singles. While there are plenty of strong women, in general the male half of a tandem team typically has more upper body strength.
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