On a bicycle built for twooooooo

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Originally posted by emily_in_nc
We do have a tandem in addition to our single bikes, which solves the riding together problem, but we've discovered that we're both a bit too independent to be good tandem partners. He forgets to call out turns, stops, bumps, etc, and I don't like not being able to see in front of me.
Emily

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On another thread, Emily talked about riding a tandem. And Veronica, aren't you riding your tandem in the Cinderella? I have never ridden one. What's it like? Is it more fun than the two people riding on separate bikes? I never even considered that the person in back couldn't see... but I guess it's pretty logical. I also didn't know that the person in front was supposed to call out obstacles. And I take it the person in the back can never just sit back and coast....:p What happens when one rider is stronger than the other? Does it take some work to get coordinated together? I guess like everything else, it just takes practice.

Sorry everybody....

Right after I posted that post, I used the search to look up "tandem" and got lots of interesting info. I should have searched before posting.... Sorry:mad:

I really enjoy riding the tandem with my hubby. We have very similar abilities and builds, so we don't have some of the problems that some teams do. Thom doesn't call obstacles most of the time because between my Brooks saddle and the Thudbuster seat post, I hardly feel them. Because we're so similar in size and ability we like to spin at about the same rate (90 -105) and I know when he's going to shift so he doesn't call out that either. The biggest issue we have is that the bike doesn't fit me really well. It's a small/small but manufacturers expect the woman to be smaller than the man, so the stoker small is SMALL! I cannot get completely aero behind him when he goes down into the aero bars. That's a sight to behold - a tandem with the captain in the aero bars. We fly then! We're thinking about a custom tandem as our next purchase.

Learning to captain has been interesting. The bike fits me a lot better in that position. My stoker is a little smaller than me, so she seems pretty comfy. She's a really strong rider and an excellent climber so I think we'll haul a** on the Cinderella. :p I find it more stressful than either being a stoker or on my single. Stopping and starting are very different. Joann prefers a slightly lower cadence - about 80 rpms. Which takes a little getting used to. She often calls out me how to shift because the tandem has STI and my Riv has bar end friction shifters, and sometimes I get a little confused. Kind of funny.


Veronica