Tandem

GSVBagpuss

GSVBagpuss

GSVBagpuss

Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2013
Posts
2,632
Anyone ridden one and got some tips? I am assuming the starting and stopping are the hard bits but once going it's great on the flats and awful on the hills? We've got a potential charity ride in November but I'm only interested if we do it in pairs :)
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Anyone ridden one and got some tips? I am assuming the starting and stopping are the hard bits but once going it's great on the flats and awful on the hills? We've got a potential charity ride in November but I'm only interested if we do it in pairs :)
Click to expand...

When I was younger, my friend's parents had one and when they were out we would sneek out on it. They are quite easy to get used to and are blisteringly fast if you both go for it. The front person controls everything, the person at the rear just provides pedal power
 
I've been out with Mrs Chri5 on a tandem a few times.

We were "taught" on our first go by the good folks at The Tandom Experience.

Setting off, the stoker (Mrs Chri5) has both her feet in the straps (she doesn't use SPDs), so I would be balancing the bike. As the pilot, I push off, clip in (with SPDs) and off you go. Stopping wasn't too big an issue (discs all the way!), just need to make sure you (the pilot) have unclipped and take the weight of the bike on your leg touching the floor otherwise the stoker isn't going to be your friend if they end up on the floor clipped in.

Not done any major killer hills but I believe it can be harder as both riders need to match cadence, which might not be easy if you have a spinner and a masher together.

The extra weight downhill does mean you fly and you can motor along nicely on the flat. You've got the power of the stoker without the drag penalty of them being full in the wind.

Oh, and even with the stoker having a suspension seat-post, we were told that the pilot should call out things like speed bumps otherwise the stoker can't be ready for the impact.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom