Tandem Cycling - clipless pedals

We unclip from just one pedal (captain only) when we stop at a light or whatever.

I (captain) unclip my left foot to stop. Then I shifted my weight to the left, but my wife (stoker) shifted her weight to the right. I forgot that my right foot was still clipped in. #$%!&*! We were lying on the pavement, and laughing.

How long did it take for you to feel comfortable to twist out and stop with clipless pedals?

You are not the first ones to do this! Have tried clipless and decided toeclips worked just as well.
Had no trouble unclipping the clipless but been riding clips so long, they feel more natural and of course have more float.
U-2 keep riding, no doubt stoker has now learned that excessive leaning can cause some issues!

Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

We unclip from just one pedal (captain only) when we stop at a light or whatever.

I (captain) unclip my left foot to stop. Then I shifted my weight to the left, but my wife (stoker) shifted her weight to the right. I forgot that my right foot was still clipped in. #$%!&*! We were lying on the pavement, and laughing.

How long did it take for you to feel comfortable to twist out and stop with clipless pedals?
When my wife and I first got clipless for our tandem, something similar happened. My wife wasn't laughing, instead she got up and kicked me :D . I still have problems from time to time on the tandem, and we've been riding it for over 5 years. It's a non-issue on my road bike, it probably took a day to get used to.

It's a non-issue for us. Debbie never unclips unless we've come to a stop where we plan to dismount. It eliminates a lot of balance issues and makes routine stops and starts a lot less complex... at least for us.

You will find a few different discussion threads where the merits of the different starting and stopping techniques are addressed at this search string: http://www.bikeforums.net/search.php?searchid=1078379

Just click on each of the subject lines to open up the thread and read through the various responses to your heart's content.

Anticipate the stops, too, and unclip the captain far enough in advance. I prefer that the stoker stays clipped in at stops, but sometimes my wife remembers the two times when we flopped over and unclips anyhow.

I've learned to brace the bike at stops by leaning it slightly and resting the horn of the saddle against my hip. That's steadier and less likely to shift balance than centering the bike and holding it with both arms

My sons don't unclip. I just hold them up at traffic lights. This has its downside as well. They cannot shift their weight at all or we'll fall over. As they get a little older, they will have to start unclipping. They're getting big!

At the Georgia Tandem Rally, I witnessed some teams that are so good at this they are unconscious. The stokers stayed clipped in and the captains did not even take their butts off the seat – just unclipped one foot, put it down and leaned the whole rig slightly to that side. They had the clipped-in foot in the ‘go’ position before they even came to rest. I think there are several things that may lend themselves to making stopping in this manor easier:

• Experience (that’s obvious)
• Light stoker and/or light & short stature team. – easier to balance 100 lbs on the back than 150 lbs and easier to balance everything when it has a lower center of gravity.
• Low bottom bracket – I think Santana may have a low BB which makes reaching the ground while still on the saddle that much easier.

I stop and stays seated on my single, but have not quite gotten to that comfort level on the tandem. I unclip the left foot, come to a stop and get off the saddle with the right pedal in the down position. Once stopped, I hold the bike with the brakes, the saddle nose in my butt and my left foot on the ground and call for the stoker to backpedal to the ‘go’ position.

Then we take off. I have not fallen over at a planned stop, but did fall over at an unplanned stop but that was because my down foot slipped. This fall precipitated the change from racing shoes and pedals to MTB style shoes/pedals.

On a stop position like by a stoplight, I seem to recall reading that the captain, with both feet on the ground and the stoker clipped in, should balance the bike with his hips and not his arms.

Can someone elaborate on this?

Can someone elaborate on this?

I think what this may be in reference to is Santana's official "test ride center" suggested method of steadying the tandem when the stoker mounts, dismounts, and perhaps at stops by essentially "squatting" on the top tube. The idea behind the technique is to preclude side-to-side frame movements caused by the stoker's movements by placing a large and heavy object on the frame, i.e., the captain's butt.

Most teams who start off doing the squat will eventually develop their own variations such as the spread eagle stance while resting the forearms on the handlebar tops and brake hoods (how I'm often seen when waiting for a ride to start with Debbie on the tandem: see attached photo), or resting the hammy of the clipped-in or raised foot on the top tube while standing with your weight on the other foot firmly planted on the ground. In other cases, captains may find that their stoker remains quite still and/or is small enough to rely on the hands on handlebar or brake hoods to steady the load.

The hazard with treating a tandem like your personal bike is that, if you take both hands off the bars and/or have only one resting near the stem, a sudden movement by the stoker to the left or the right can cause the front wheel to turn in the opposite direction. As you would expect, such a shift of the wheel is followed by the frame and your stoker listing well past the center of balance and often times ends up with both on the ground before you can react to counter the momentum and leverage.

In his GTR photo collection, Galen posed the question "can you find Mark L" on one photo and it was a trick question because most of Mark L is hidden by Eric O. However, the photo does show enough of my hands and left leg to get the gist of spread-eagle stance I apparently use when Debbie (black & white floral print jersey) is clipped ready to go before the start of an event or for any length of time when she would rather stay seated on the tandem instead of standing around or astride the bike.

Howdy from c-o-o-l Utah!

Being a small, and older, captain and having an experienced stoker that's petite we have never had issues stopping, yet . . .
Have ridden with stoker's more than twice my weight and even that was no problem as long as they don't do the hula at stops.
Did have a 280 pounder (male) novice stoker on a test ride who decided to try and steer from the back . . . now that was scary!

Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

I am usually on the tandem with my wife or one of my two kids. The kids are so compliant at stops. They always stay clipped in and never lien. As stated by others, NO LIENING is crutial. Plus, they don't weigh much. But my wife on the other hand..... not that she weighs much, but she liens..... I hate liening!!!! I'm still working on that with her!.. :)

Leaning or excessive/unexpected radical moves by a stoker can be a bit upsetting!
Kay is so good back there than she can take off a jacket or reach into the back bag for something without me noticing it.
Suggestion: if you do have problems with clipless pedals is to switch to either old fashioned toeclips or Powergrips. However after a couple incidents like you discribed you become a bit more aware and you'll get accustomed to clipless pedals.

instead she got up and kicked me :D .

lol :D