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

[User10119]

whoever is behind can't see much up front and has limited control over proceedings

That's why I could ride a bike in London, when the bike in question was a tandem with me on the back at least. It's also ace for night-riding, I discovered, because you can stare at the stars as much as you like and it still won't be your fault if you crash because it isn't your job to look where you're going

 

[Julia9054]

As a control freak i found not being completely in charge of my own destiny disconcerting!

 

[Milzy]

People did the Fred Whitton on them without walking up hard knot. Amazing.

 

[User10119]

As a control freak i found not being completely in charge of my own destiny disconcerting!

Horses for courses, innit

I have one mate who always said there was only one seat for her on a tandem, and it was the front one. Assorted kids on the back over the years, I believe.

Then she met her current partner and they discovered that she trusted him (as a cyclist, rather than as a hooman bean iyswim) sufficiently to give it a go, and liked it. They ended up LELing and BPBing on it! You do need to be confident that the person at the controls is _at least_ as good a cyclist as you, I think. Of course for me that includes pretty much everyone

 

[jongooligan]

How do you transport a tandem if you don't always want to set off from home?

See Tandems on roof bars thread.

 

[Tim Hall]

I have memories of tugging at those terrifyingly fixed, non-steery handlebars, and comforting myself that when we did crash, my lunatic mate on the front would be dedder than me.

I rode the front (stoker) seat of my Pino once with a fearless descender occupying the rear (pilot) seat. We went down Whitedown Lane (the one off Ranmore Common) ever so quickly. I may have closed my eyes.

Later that day we were making good progress going at about R17 descending Staple Lane, heading north. A combination of over enthusiastic piloting, wet road and adverse camber saw us both sliding down the road on our bums.

 

[T4tomo]

How do you transport a tandem if you don't always want to set off from home?

that is a major downside unless you get something like a circe Helios. Or are into roof racks. The best advantage is the equalling up or sharing of efforts of two unequal riders.

 

[Sixmile]

When I was in my early teens a distant relative lent our family their Peugeot tandem. I remember heading out for 20 or 30 mile spins on the thing with my da, much further than I would've dared head on my own bike at that age. It was a pretty crap view though from the back and my da had a tendency to stand up and fart in my face for a laugh but then got really angry if I used the word 'fart' to ask him to stop.

The only tandems I see around here now are the group that take blind folk out on the back of tandems. It must be some thrill for someone who has been blind or partially sighted to go out on a bike at 30mph+.

 

[srw]

that is a major downside unless you get something like a circe Helios

Or S&S couplings

 

[Blue Hills]

I quite often see an elderly couple on a tandem round here. They are out every day no matter the weather. It gets you out of the house. There are a lot of hills here, so for elderly people 2 are better than 1. And they use it to do their shopping. They seem to enjoy it so why not?

Not my cup of tea, but each to his own sort of thing.

nice. Long may they prosper/pedal on.

Have often thought that you need a particularly good relationship to tandem - praps that chimp was on to something - the litmus test - met a nice person on a recent cchat ride who picked up a tandem particularly cheap as the couple of riders were getting divorced.

edit - a less nice impression of tandems - was once cycling on hire bikes with a then gf in the peak district on one of the traffic free cycle trails (forget which of thw two linked ones) and a couple on a tandem appeared at speed around a shallow bend and crashed into us bending her wheel and making the bike unrideable. Disgraceful. They should have been shot by the Universal Tandem Authority if such a thing exists. Only nice thing about the abandoned trip was that the bike hire outfit on the trail didn't charge us any excess for the trashed wheel.

edit edit (and it must be in this bit of the forum anyway)

the clip

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqNnPrxzm3g


remembered from my childhood

caution - have it on mute - clip has not been checked by the gender police.

 

[Blue Hills]

Very fast. So fast. Cripes they are fast.

yes - working back through the thread - see my other post about a collision with a couple of *** on one. Always had the idea that tandem riders were universally nice sensible sandalled souls until that experience. They could have _ and I'm not exaggerating - killed someone - that trail had lots of children on it.

 

[Blue Hills]

by the by, and apropos of their undoubted speed, why is there no tandem riding sports cycling?

or olympic events?

Am sure it would be a welcome spectacle - and it could be mixed which would be kinda nice.

 

[Blue Hills]

Tandem cycling was an Olympic event until 1972 (that is, tandem as in bicycle made for two, not tandem as in pair of riders)

Sorry, heat getting to me, don't understand the distinction.

 

[Blue Hills]

Ah ok, thanks, maybe I very vaguely remember it.

Single sex tandem riding I assume.

 

[Tim Hall]

There's lots of tandem cycling in the Paralympics.