Has anyone on here been on one,thought of having a go on one or owns one? If so can you tell me if it's a lot different to riding a conventional bike and how do both riders communicate? Say for example the captain hits the brakes if a car pulls out how would the stalker know if he has his eyes to the floor? I'd love to have a go on one,maybe i'd regret it?
Not a lot different, But;
Heavier, so faster downhill, slower uphill - that said I feel safer doing 80km/h on the tandem than I
do would on my single
Needs practice to use efficiently and safely - starting off is difficult at first.
The pilot (captain) rules, so if he says pedal the stoker pedals and does not try to resist - this can be dangerous in junction / turning situations. So the stoker must trust the pilot completely
My
stoker wife does the signalling and shares the 'looking out' at junctions and turns.
It's more sociable - having bought one originally because my wife is not too confident on a single and kept getting left behind (osteo-arthritis)
24 years later we are now on our 2nd tandem.
A definite talking point, especially here, where by far the majority of tandems are non-French owned.
We were even pulled over by 2 motorcycle mounted Gendarmes once, because one of them was a keen cyclist and he had never seen a tandem before
You can ride one on your own, but the back tends to skip about, without the stoker's weight
