tandem terror

Random Vince
Random Vince Posts: 11,374
edited March 2008 in The bottom bracket
planning on taking my girlfriend for a ride round rutland water hiring a tandem just for the fun

anything i should think about or know before we do this?

obviously persuading her is one thing that needs to be done, but once she's pursuaded...
My signature was stolen by a moose

that will be all

trying to get GT James banned since tuesday

Comments

  • Cunobelin
    Cunobelin Posts: 11,792
    Take your time - it can be fun and a good shared experience.

    1. Communication - it is an unnervivg experience for the stoker. No control and no view of the road ahead, keep the stoker informed as to your intentions, bumps, turns etc.

    2. Agree how to start and stop. The pedals are linked so you both have to stop or start in the same position. This is down to riding style

    3. Comunication

    4. Compromise - You may approach downhills at 25 mph, but does your girlfriend?

    5. Communication





    Actually it is good fun, but needs a few minutes practice of stopping starting and steering somewhere quiet before heading off round the reservoir. The only snag we found was that these are fairly chepl tandems and the grip of the pilot's stem by the frame is not that briliant. My wife would try and steer, my seat moving beneath me as it did.

    Still we survived and bought a second hand Dawes Galaxy tandem a few weeks later.
    <b><i>He that buys land buys many stones.
    He that buys flesh buys many bones.
    He that buys eggs buys many shells,
    But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.</b></i>
    (Unattributed Trad.)
  • APIII
    APIII Posts: 2,010
    They are great fun. You can really motor along once you've got the hang of it.
    Re: starting/stopping. We had a bit of tuition before we were let loose on our first tandem. The best method was for the stoker to get seated while you hold the bike and then for her to 'set' the pedals in the off position, so that you can just get on and go. When stopping at junctions, etc. it's best that the stoker remains seated with feet on pedals. That makes it much easier to get going again. It takes getting used to though!
    Good luck, I'm sure you'll have a blast.
  • Cunobelin
    Cunobelin Posts: 11,792
    Riding a tandem is a bit like looking at rings though!
    <b><i>He that buys land buys many stones.
    He that buys flesh buys many bones.
    He that buys eggs buys many shells,
    But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.</b></i>
    (Unattributed Trad.)
  • Parkey
    Parkey Posts: 303
    If you want to get some real speed out of a tandem try the Tissington Trail in Derbyshire. My girlfriend and I hired one from the bike hire in Ashbourne and got up to some ridiculous speed on the return trip.
    "A recent study has found that, at the current rate of usage, the word 'sustainable' will be worn out by the year 2015"
  • Random Vince
    Random Vince Posts: 11,374
    Parkey wrote:
    If you want to get some real speed out of a tandem try the Tissington Trail in Derbyshire. My girlfriend and I hired one from the bike hire in Ashbourne and got up to some ridiculous speed on the return trip.

    now, between ashbourne and tissington there is a steep down hill followed by an uphill,

    she always walks that bit, we might do that sometime, but it is a narrow trail in places - we did it at new year as her parent's live near the tissington trail
    My signature was stolen by a moose

    that will be all

    trying to get GT James banned since tuesday
  • Parkey
    Parkey Posts: 303
    Random Vince wrote:
    now, between ashbourne and tissington there is a steep down hill followed by an uphill

    The one near the Ashbourne end? We nearly managed to cycle through that bit. It was the slalom at the top of the far side that made us put out feet down.

    But there are at least 5 miles of a nice steady downhill before you get to that point when you're on your way back to Ashbourne. We must have been pushing 20-25mph.
    "A recent study has found that, at the current rate of usage, the word 'sustainable' will be worn out by the year 2015"
  • OffTheBackAdam
    OffTheBackAdam Posts: 1,869
    I remember riding the Tissington in my youth, none of this mountain bike rubbish, winter hack back & rough-stuffing. Tried to go round the edge of a great f-off puddle, hit a rock and stopped.
    Puddle or nettles? :(
    Puddle won!
    Remember that you are an Englishman and thus have won first prize in the lottery of life.
  • r0msey
    r0msey Posts: 31
    Communication is Key.

    Decide which side you're going to get on/off - tell her this in advance, and remind her through out.

    I say "gears" when I'm changing so the stoker can back off a little. (Up or down isn't or importance here)

    Ask if she's ready to set off. If not wait a tick.

    With care it will be a fun experience and before long you'll want to buy one!

    Just in case, carry an emergency beer:

    IMG_0052.jpg

    Just in case the weather turns, you get very wet, have a sense of humour failure when your tyre blows off the rim due to sidewall failure:

    IMG_0076.jpg
  • geoff_ss
    geoff_ss Posts: 1,201
    Riding a tandem for the first time can be a bit tricky. It may feel unstable at first.

    My wife had already ridden many 1000s of miles on the pillion of our various motorcycles so she was used to sharing a 2 wheeler with me. We work by her clipping in both feet and staying clipped in until we get off. She relies on me to support the bike at temporary stops and it makes it easier to set off, particularly on hills, because she can put the power in straight away.

    I know a lot of tandem couples do communicate verbally when changing gear but we never do. She knows when a change is coming because we're either pushing too hard up hill or spinning too much on the flat or going down hill. My wife does all the hand signals and taps me on the shoulder before she puts her hand out so I know she's done it and which side.

    Despite the Tissington and High Peak trails being in our backyard we rarely use them because they're rather boring and, at weekends particularly, crowded with walkers and very inexperienced cyclists. We have been known to ride up both the big inclines (Sheep Pasture from the A6 and Middleton Top) on our road tandem.

    The main thing is to enjoy it. We started tandemming after we got separated on a ride withing half a mile of home due (according to my wife) my not being sufficiently explicit as to our intended route :) My wife is a superb route finder/map reader so having her as a navigator is very useful.

    Geoff
    Old cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster
  • Cunobelin
    Cunobelin Posts: 11,792
    Emergency Beer

    [Al Murray] ... and a glass of wine for the lady[/Al Murray]
    <b><i>He that buys land buys many stones.
    He that buys flesh buys many bones.
    He that buys eggs buys many shells,
    But he that buys good beer buys nothing else.</b></i>
    (Unattributed Trad.)
  • geoff_ss
    geoff_ss Posts: 1,201
    Here you are - the joys of tandemming. Mrs Geoff and I climbing out of Crowdicote in the upper Dove valley Derbyshire


    2314873803_83a7e52290.jpg


    Geoff
    Old cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster
  • bagpusscp
    bagpusscp Posts: 2,907
    Not trying very hard .....stoker still :):):) ing
    bagpuss
  • geoff_ss
    geoff_ss Posts: 1,201
    bagpusscp wrote:
    Not trying very hard .....stoker still :):):) ing

    Watch it! She'll charge you double club subs next year.

    It's steeper than it looks - we're just approaching the first hairpin - and I was trying as I recall. I think Avice was more grimacing than smiling.

    Geoff
    Old cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster

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