I was a Tandem virigin

Chewy Cheeks

Now I am not

Rode a tandem for the first time on Friday evening.

Only 10-12 miles or so.

I was on the back, cause I did not know the way and being shouted whilst steering and trusting my streer seemed much less risky altogether. So I was the stoker, apparently.

Surprised at how much speed we built up, and how hard it was to stop/manoeuver. It was a good evening out with a couple of beers thrown in.

I liked it and would do it again.

Is it a bit wierd?

Kieran_Burns

Very.

Never post on here again you weirdo.





I saw a tandem recimbent the other week - I never knew such a thing existed!

jds_1981

Yeah, very weird. My parents have a triplet in their garage. They also have a road called "the straight mile" near them. Very, very tempting

dugliss

I keep telling Mrs Dugliss that we should do London to Brighton on a tandem but she`s less than keen

Chewy Cheeks

I do really know its wierd -

I had the impression being slightly if not entirely odd was far from the edge of this forums core demographic.

edhornby

my Uncle has a tandem trike

they are a good laugh especially going down hill they are really fast, but a bugger to get up climbs on

Big Wib

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I saw a tandem recimbent the other week - I never knew such a thing existed!

On holiday last year saw a half & half, normal at the front, recumbent at the back.

andy83

at my local time trial there is a couple of blokes who race on a tandem and they smash everyone lol

lastant

These guys were staying in the same hostel and then setting off to Lands End the day after I arrived in John O'Groats.

Back-to-back recumbent tandem. Mental!

marcusjb

Yes - they are a bit weird.

Being pretty new to riding tandems I am no expert - but we just did 500 miles through France and I am pleased to say it went very well. The thought of touring again on solos terrifies me - we'd fall out at least 10 times a day due to our speed difference - so the tandem is the perfect solution. We loved it - chatting away all day.

As other people have said, they can be ferociously quick - especially on the downhills. But they are very slow going uphill - especially towing a trailer - feels pretty humiliating at times crawling up a hill at 6mph.

Try going up front next time - it's very different to riding a normal bike - the sense of responsibility has a real impact on you.

Oh - and getting back on solos after a couple of weeks on the tandem is very odd - my girlfriend had forgotten how to steer a bike and I had forgotten how to look behind me and signal!

Norky

marcusjb wrote:

... but we just did 500 miles through France and I am pleased to say it went very well. The thought of touring again on solos terrifies me - we'd fall out at least 10 times a day due to our speed difference - so the tandem is the perfect solution. We loved it - chatting away all day.

+1 on that. I've been considering one for my wife and I as our normal solo speeds are *ahem* slightly different and have lead to a *ahem* little bit of friction. We rented a tandem a day while on holiday, partly to try it out. Sadly it was a bit of a heavy pig (rental bike, what did I expect?), worlds away from my road bike or even the hybrid.

Libraio

Lost my tandem virginity last week while on holiday in Italy. Me and my gf went to Luca for a day and rented a tandem to ride on the city wall. Bike was heavy and slow but it was fun trying. Prefer to ride solo though, the both sets of legs moving together was kinda frustating.

itboffin

:shock:

Mods for the love of sweet baby Jeebuz PLEASE lock this thread and ban all who've admitted to this crime.

jds_1981

No comment needed...
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250 ... ndemTT.jpg

itboffin

jds_1981 wrote:

No comment needed...
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250 ... ndemTT.jpg

FFS

WHY????

rjsterry

Hmmm, stokers on TT tandems do get a bit of a bum deal, don't they?


IGMC.

sufferingpete

Sounds Strangely tempting

Kieran_Burns

jds_1981 wrote:

No comment needed...
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250 ... ndemTT.jpg

Wow. the human centipede... on a bike.

lost_in_thought

I quite want to have a go on a tandem...

itboffin

lost_in_thought wrote:

I quite want to have a go on a tandem...

What have you done ....

Stokers form an orderly queue

edhornby

you can hire tandems at the manchester velodrome 8)

2 saddles, 1 gear, 0 brakes

Kieran_Burns

edhornby wrote:

you can hire tandems at the manchester velodrome 8)

2 saddles, 1 gear, 0 brakes

no chance

night_porter

I own a tandem (along with other bikes) and use it to ferry my 11 year old daughter the 4 miles to school (16 miles a day for me). If I had to wait for her to cycle on her own it would take hours.

Although she is only little we have got it up to 37mph heaven knows how fast it would be with another adult.

Pilot and stoker both have their difficulties but getting the timing right and when to stop pedalling is the hardest to learn. Sometimes I want to stop because I see what is up ahead and she tries to keep pedalling. Forward planning is definately the order of the day.

Anyone who wants to try it shold coz' it is great fun!!!

I especially like the return trips when I am on my own. People shout you have lost your passenger but cars give you plenty of space.

mroli

We've got a tandem. We bought a Peugeot steel frame from the 80s for about £90 off of ebay. We have now spent about £250 on it!

TBH it is great in London - you get a lot more room from cars, people always seem to smile when they see one, it is an easy way to make sure my wife and I keep the same pace and don't lose each other at lights.

We've done some touring - did London Bristol on the Cycleway which was "interesting" on some of the rougher grass canal bits and a pain on all the bits where they've put up the anti motorcycle barriers (needing us to take everything off and put it all back on again). Also pootled around Cornwall.

Hills are hard - going up. Hills are very easy - going down.

You can chat to each other on them and they are very social.

You do have to put up with the following comments though:

"Oi, Oi, Oi mate - tandem!" (I know, I bought it, I'm riding it, I'm not stupid).
"Mate, mate, she's not pedalling!" (actually I really notice if my wife doesn't stoke it on the back - does make a difference!)

Irvinet

I can recommend them to any couple. We have had ours for a bit over a year and it is great fun. Keep in mind though that it can be quite unnerving for the stoker at first and due to "once-bitten-twice-shy" if you screw up the first ride you may never take another one together...

As "Captain" you should learn how to start, learn how to stop and remember to call out bumps and front gear changes. On top of that remember that The Stoker is ALWAYS Right and you will have a great time.

As others have noted, on the flat you will go faster than either of you could manage alone. Down hill you will find out why Tandem owners spend so much time talking about brake technology. Up hill depends on a number of factors but the worst case is that you will go up at about the speed that the weaker rider would be able to manage on their own. This might feel very slow to the stronger rider which is probably why Tandems have a reputation for being crap up hill. We do fine on hills and up Ditchling we were happily spinning past guys on road bikes who were looking envious of our granny ring...

The real plus though is that you will be together and can chat and work as a team. If anyone in SE London would ever seriously like to try one out they are more than welcome to drop me a note.