

It’s important that the stoker sits reasonably still start jumping around and you can seriously unbalance the bike.

He or she may also be in charge of signalling, taking pictures, and positioning the pedals before pushing off. The stoker is responsible for pedalling, waving at people, taking the mickey out of the captain, and generally admiring the scenery and wildlife. It’s vital that the captain warn of major changes of pace, anything that could wobble the stoker around, and especially imminent bumps and potholes. The captain-the rider up front-has sole responsibility for brakes, gears and steering, but has to avoid sudden changes of direction, and to let the stoker know what’s going on, because visibility straight ahead is limited from the back seat. Visually impaired cyclist Jamie Weller of Team GB races a tandem with the help of a guide at the 2017 Invictus Games (CC BY 2.0 DoD photo by EJ Hersom|Flickr)

Although you both have to pedal at the same cadence, you can hammer while your partner soft-pedals and you’ll still arrive together.Ī suitable tandem can even be a great way to introduce children to the skills of riding a bike on the road, and many parents prefer it to small solo bikes or a trailer bike. A tandem takes both riders’ power and puts it through the same transmission so it doesn’t matter if one rider is working harder than the other. You’re on the same bike, so you can’t get separated, but there’s more to it than that. That leads to frustration on both sides as they fail to actually be together during the ride.Ī tandem can solve this. But for many couples the problem with cycling together is that one party is often fitter, or stronger, or more experienced, or more skilled, or has better equipment than the other. There is a saying that couples who play together stay together sharing an activity can really strengthen a relationship, whether it’s walking the dog, skydiving or riding a bike. Urban transport in style (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Elly Blue|Flickr) A side-by-side two-seater bike is a sociable Riding a tandem can be a serious test of a relationship or friendship, but when you get in synch, whizzing along with only moderate effort is lots of funĪny bike with seats behind one another is a tandem the term comes from Latin and was originally used to refer to horses harnessed "at length", that is, in a single line. Tandems are faster than solo bikes downhill and on the flat uphill speed depends on the fitness and coordination of both riders The extra material and mechanical complication of a tandem pushes the price up compared to a solo decent tandems start at around £1,000
Tandem cases from bikepro usa how to#
Let’s take a look at the reasons you should add a tandem to your fleet, and how to choose one of the best tandem bikes for you.Ī tandem physically connects two riders so they can rider together even if one is much stronger or fitter than the other A tandem bike can be the secret to combining a relationship with a bike obsession: a bike built for two will enable cyclists of different fitness to ride together, and can even give you get an extra turn of speed compared to solo bikes – among other advantages.
