Why do people have tandems? what are their advantages etc?

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SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
A slight saving in bike weight per rider and a huge aerodynamic gain as you've got 2 "engines" but the same frontal area.
I'm sure someone will correct me if wrong, but didn't some clubs run TT's for tandems in the old days, and weren't tandem winning times significantly faster than solo times?
 
Only if you bicker off the bike. We managed a three-week, 1100 mile ride with only one serious strop.

My l'il sis once stoked for me to get the tandem back home from Mam's house - I'm very proud to this day that we happily managed the best part of 20 miles with NO bickering, despite me being a left-foot-down-to-stop kinda gal, with a tendency to mash a big gear, and her being a wrong-foot-downer with a fondness for spinning :smile:
 
Slightly more seriously, our Circe Helios is quite simply the best thing we've ever bought. It's been the main transport for the SmallectCub and I for several years. We ride to school, and then I carry on stokerless to work. We've done day rides, and a mini camping tour and (with me, CrinklyAuntie and the EldestCub on solos and CrinklyUncle piloting with the SmallestCub stoking) even a 50km audax. The EldestCub did a FNRttC stoking for his uncle when he was 11 or 12, as well as a handful of 100k audaxes. The tandem has made all those things possible. I've also introduced a fair few kids to the joys of stoking, and lent the bike to a number of visitors too.

I've also stoked for a couple of other people, including my first ever real tandem experience which was the DunRun back in 2010. It's probably a slightly silly thing to make your first go at stoking one that involves riding 120 miles overnight on a bike you've never ridden before (apart from once round the block somewhere in London a few weeks in advance to check if you can reach the pedals), with a chap you've only met a couple of times, using clipless pedals for the first time ever. It was fine,apart from the nasty sunburn :smile: What I discovered on that occasion was that a tandem made riding in London possible for me - I couldn't have handled that at all on the solo.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
A slight saving in bike weight per rider and a huge aerodynamic gain as you've got 2 "engines" but the same frontal area.
I'm sure someone will correct me if wrong, but didn't some clubs run TT's for tandems in the old days, and weren't tandem winning times significantly faster than solo times?

We still run tandem and trike weekends, with a 10 and 25 tt involved.
 

Julia9054

Guru
Location
Knaresborough
[QUOTE 5259797, member: 10119"]being a wrong-foot-downer[/QUOTE]
I've been the stoker on a tandem with a friend a couple of times. I am very strongly left handed/sided and found setting off on the wrong foot was a lot harder than you'd think.
 

rvw

Guru
Location
Amersham
I've been the stoker on a tandem with a friend a couple of times. I am very strongly left handed/sided and found setting off on the wrong foot was a lot harder than you'd think.
I'm also strongly left-foot-down and even though I seldom actually unclip at junctions, it matters. It just fees so wrong when the bike leans the wrong way!

Other (less important) tandem benefits to those mentioned already: on narrow high bridges (eg on cycle paths crossing roads) a stoker who doesn't like heights can safely avoid looking at anything at all. And I am better up hills if I can't see how bad it is!
 

Dave 123

Legendary Member
Photo Winner
Only just seen this thread.

Mrs Dave was never really encouraged to do anything sporty as a kid, a family friend took her swimming, she's a million miles better at swimming than me. She also grew up in Devon, to say it's hilly is an understatement. Cycling never featured.

We met in college in 1989. I grew up on a bike. One day we loaned a couple of bikes from people and went for a ride. Within 50 yds she was sweating, red faced, struggling and fighting against it.

In the meantime she's ridden a bit, but not much, but she liked the idea of doing a bit of cycling. She bought a decent bike and started from there.
My two brothers have had tandems for years, I started saying about us going out on one of them, she agreed. We did better than that, we bought a second hand one on ebay, the rest is well documented on this website.

What does it give?

It gives 2 people with vastly differing abilities the opportunity to do it together. We both enjoy the countryside, birdwatching, flower spotting, cake eating, seeing new towns and villages, exercise and spending time in each others company. That wouldn't be possible on solo bikes.

Having said that she's getting strong on a solo bike, just having done a 65 mile night ride for charity on Sat/Sun just gone. So a tandem also gives the weaker partner time in the saddle to improve their cycling ability.

As the stronger rider I never like to push it, making it hard for the other person would be counter productive.

It also gives others a lot too. We are forever getting waves, smiles, positive comments and good vibes from the people around us.

And flying down hill at 50mph takes some beating!
 

Dave 123

Legendary Member
Photo Winner
How do you transport a tandem if you don't always want to set off from home?
When we bought our second hand one it came with a roof carrier for the car.
We have a Pendle

https://www.tandems.co.uk/m10b0s21p0/Car-Racks/Roof-Mounted
 
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Ian H

Ancient randonneur
[QUOTE 5259797, member: 10119"]My l'il sis once stoked for me to get the tandem back home from Mam's house - I'm very proud to this day that we happily managed the best part of 20 miles with NO bickering, despite me being a left-foot-down-to-stop kinda gal, with a tendency to mash a big gear, and her being a wrong-foot-downer with a fondness for spinning :smile:[/QUOTE]

Ideally only the pilot puts a foot down. The stoker stays clipped in.
 
Ideally only the pilot puts a foot down. The stoker stays clipped in.
At junctions and the like, yes. When getting on and off we discovered it was a touch tricky that we use opposite sides! I found a technique tho - I'd stop, with left foot down, then plant myself firmly and tip the bike slightly the other way so she could get a foot down and get off the other side. And assembly was the reversal of disassembly :biggrin:
 

swansonj

Guru
i suggest that the alleged slowness of tandems up hill is up there with the alleged higher efficiency of clipless pedals in terms of dispute as to whether it is real or not and if so as to the causes.
 

adamhearn

Veteran
I can see riding a tandem for a couple of reasons... those who want to share the ride (much nicer than shouting behind only to realise that you've left your riding partner way back) and added performance (assuming both parties are actively pedalling - likely not the case if the tandem is being used to share with someone less able).

The worse part is (I assume) like being pillion on a motorcycle - whoever is behind can't see much up front and has limited control over proceedings.

Solo riding for me whatever the 2 wheeled option is!
 
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