Went on a 1/2 bike club ride yesterday and got into trouble even though I was trying hard to stay out of it. On a new ride where I know no one, I generally will stay in the very back, about 15 feet off the last rider. We still ended up playing their yo-yo game which is really hard on a tandem, esp when the yo-yo slows you down at the bottom of a hill. Anyway, near the end of the ride we had a long straightaway where we decided to ratchet it up a notch and catch the lead rider about 1/2 mile in the distance. So we slowly move out and pass the trailing group and unbeknownst to me, we gain a drafter. My goal was to catch the leader and drop in behind him then move over and let anyone else in front while we fall to the back out of everyones way. About 500 feet from the leader we start to slow and all of a sudden there comes a hail of swearing and yelling right off my back wheel. At that point, I fall back into my youth and cower down and start hammering again because of course for some reason, I'll let anyone yell at me. I do manage to yell back..."I don't know where the F* I'm going?!?".
So one thing I learned...I need to tell these idiots to at least announce themselves if they're gonna draft off of us. From now on, I'm going to assume we have a drafter and yell "SLOWING" before we get to the point of slowing. Most the time when I look in the mirror, I get my wifes face or her pony tail. I will never see a drafter off to my right.
Another thing I like to tell people is, stay away from us on corners...we turn a little wide. Actually, I always like to grab the outside lane in corners because the inside can get kinda tight.
Any other tips to give the 1/2 bikers while we're out there dicing it up? I hate learning things the hard way especially when it ends up with someone yelling at me.
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IMHO, all you can offer to solo bike riding friends is a general caution... unless you've got some experience drafting behind a tandem, hang back a bit further than you usually would when drafting another single bike. Tandems will lose speed faster under certain conditions and if you're not paying attention you could find yourself overlapped, hitting the brakes, or clipping a wheel.
As for any other cling-on who jumps on your wheel, it's up to you with regard to how best to deal with them. While under no obligation to do so, you can certainly offer hand signals to telegraph your intentions, e.g., holding out your left hand, palm back to indicate you're slowing or tapping your left thing with your left hand and then motioning left before dropping off the front of the line. Otherwise, they're on their own.
ElRey
Tell your cLub riders to get with teh real world and pay attention to the road themselves: you didnt ask them to draft.
merlinextraligh
If you're on a group ride, I think it's reasonable to expect that people in the group are going to draft you. Given that, it's also reasonable to give hand signals or verbal warning of hazards, slowing, cars, etc. After all this is a group ride.
I think the guy behind you was peeved because by slowing, you disrupted the chance to catch the lead group. If you would have known he was back there, you would have pulled off and let him come through. It doesn't sound like a big deal or a safety issue, and the guy shouldn't have gone ballistic, but I could understand a little frustration.
When you're pulling at the front, or pulling to bridge a gap, you pull off to the side before you slow down. It's sound like just a little bit of miscommunication, because you didn't know you were pulling anyone.
Also, I think if you're going to ride a tandem in a group ride with single bikes, you need to ride the bike, like any other bike, in a predictable manner, and in a way that doesn't require you to tell the other riders anything, other than what you would do on a single bike, i.e. call out or signal hazards. If the handling of the tandem requires other riders in the group to somehow behave differently because there's a tandem then maybe the tandem shouldn't be in the group. So I tend to disagree with the premis of the title of the thread that there is something to teach single riders about the tandem.
stapfam
[QUOTE=
Also, I think if you're going to ride a tandem in a group ride with single bikes, you need to ride the bike, like any other bike, in a predictable manner, and in a way that doesn't require you to tell the other riders anything, other than what you would do on a single bike, i.e. call out or signal hazards. If the handling of the tandem requires other riders in the group to somehow behave differently because there's a tandem then maybe the tandem shouldn't be in the group. So I tend to disagree with the premis of the title of the thread that there is something to teach single riders about the tandem.[/QUOTE]
I ride a Tandem with solos, never with other Tandems, and they have learnt that The Tandem does silly things compared to their bike. It does slow rapidly if power is taken off. It does take different lines on corners. And if they hit it- they come off worse. They have also learnt that it does a higher speed than them--On the flat, through corners and downhill. It also has better brakes than them. In fact a Tandem is a menace to solo riders. If solos do ride with a tandem, they have to respect it, mainly for their own safety. We have a system in which we try to let the solos know what the Tandem is doing and that is the stoker. I give warning to the pilot that he has someone drafting, I give warning that a solo is trying to pass, and I also give warning to the pilot if he is not riding smoothly enough. I also give loud verbal warning to the followers when things are about to happen. They always seem to ride head down trying to stay with the thing, so they Have a very good chance of damaging their bike and themselves by their inattention to what is going on.
I would love to say that a Tandem should not be ridden with solos, but if I did, It would be just me and the pilot all the time. All it takes is a little bit of consideration from both sides and Solo,s can ride with a Tandem, but it does take a bit of training.
Incidentally I rode the solo on Sunday in my group. Not too many people about on the cycle ways but We have one rider that will put his brakes on without warning at the slightest reason, and we have another rider that rides head down and never sees what is about to happen. 3times I had to take avoiding action from the Braker, and I was hit twice by the head down merchant. The problem does not only apply to Tandems.
galen_52657
Group rides have a lot of changing dynamics and unless there is a plan laid out in advance that all participants have agreed upon, then it is up to each cyclist (or team) to be in control of their bike at all times. So I would venture to guess if you were taking a hard pull, that they guy drafting you was in 'a spot of bother' prior to almost rear-ending you. Since you did not know of his presence, it's up to him to follow at a safe distance.
Tandems and singles can ride together but it's hard to ride as a pack unless the terrain is flat. On a free-for-all type of group ride, the singles are going to attack the climbs whereas the tandem team is going to attack the flats and descents. I have had enjoyable rides being the only tandem on a group ride but it can also get tedious. In my limited experience if it is a large mixed group, the tandems will go off on their own.
merlinextraligh
I'm not sure I really get this idea that Tandems have to ride different in a group. The suggested differences don't seem to hold true in my experience.
1) Tandems slow down more abruptly when you coast. As a matter of physics this doesn't make sense. The tandem has approximately twice the weight of the single, therefore twice the momentum, and only slightly more than 1/2 the rolling resistence and wind resistence. Thus as a matter of physics, the tandem should deccelerate more slowly than a single bike, when coasting.
2) Tandems brake more slowly. Granted that is generally true. Simply means the Tandem riders have the duty to be more attentive, predictive, and leave sufficient room.
3) Tandems accelerate more slowly. True if all else is equal, but simply means the tandem team may have to put more effort into ensuring they ride smoothly and do not disrupt the paceline and cause a yo yo effect.
4) Tandems turn differently. At the limit this may be true, but we've never been on a group ride where the group was going through corners so fast that we couldn't hold the line of the rider in front. Unless it's a crit, you ought to be able to follow a single bike's wheel through about anything. If you can't hold your line, then perhaps you shouldn't be riding with the group.
Obviously it takes some work to ride a Tandem smoothly in a pace line, but with a little effort it shouldn't be a problem.
galen_52657
I am not saying you have to ride in a different group. Just that the dynamic differences between tandems and singles make it easier and smother if you do.
On a rolling ride with a mixed group: If tandem is leading on the flats, the tandem will loose speed and the singles will bunch up behind it at the bottom of a hill. The singles will then pass the tandem and leave it behind. Once on top of the hill or heading down the other side, the tandem will close on the singles. The tandem team will then either pass the singles or ride the brakes behind the singles. If the tandem team rides the brakes, than they will find themselves even further behind on the next climb and have to work a little harder on the flats/downhill to re-contact the group of singles.
Last mixed ride I did I discussed this with the others (4 males on singles - B riders) and arrived at a compromise: We would take the lead on flats and descents. The others would follow as close as they wished. On the climbs, the singles would either slingshot off our draft or catch and pass us and not wait up. We would then re-join on the flats and descents and do it all over again. Worked out well.
Doggus
If the handling of the tandem requires other riders in the group to somehow behave differently because there's a tandem then maybe the tandem shouldn't be in the group. So I tend to disagree with the premis of the title of the thread that there is something to teach single riders about the tandem.
If that's the case we shouldn't let bikes on the road either. They sure handle differently than a 1 ton vehicle. My thread title is more about what I need to tell them so we can remain safe. One group we've been riding with many times has no problem. They love to jump on our tail and we've been asked a couple of times to pull them on the flats which we happily do. Of course I know they are there at that point. Maybe you mistook my thread title to be in a haughty manner, but believe me...all I wanna do is have fun and do it safely.
I easily jump on my single and mix it up tight in our group but there's no way in hell I can do that on the tank. We've had two close calls where somebody will jump out in front of our wheel which is easily handled on my single but on the tandem we nearly bowled them over.
merlinextraligh
No, that's not my point at all. My point is if you're going to ride in a group, it's your responsibility to be able to ride safely in that group. You can't expect others to treat you differently or make special accomodations. Personally I've never had trouble riding a tandem in a pack, even some fairly spirited training rides. No quarter asked no quarter given.
If, as your premis would suggest, it's only safe to ride a tandem in a group if the singles in the group take special heed of the tandem's unique requirements, then you've got a problem. My point is you can ride the Tandem safely in a group without any special behavior from the rest of the group.
ElRey
I usualy tell folks to just stay away a little bit: I don't like drafters, I don't draft, and I don't point out potholes.
ou98dtbiggs
If your are going to go on a group ride that has drafting, you can't expect for people not to draft behind you. I have done some rides with singles on a tandem and it works better if the terrian isn't not extreme. I think that people will draft behind a tandem because they are going to be in front on the down hills.
zonatandem
Put a sign on the back of your tandem: "Draft at your own risk!"
cornucopia72
In general, I agree with merlinextraligh. We love to draft on gentle uphills and the group we ride with loves to draft behind us in the flats and downhills. It is harder for a tandem to change speed... so in a tight pace line there may be a yo yo just in front of us... but we do not panic if the ridder in front of us gains a few feet on us.... we just keep going a set pace and catch him or her right away.
In the pace line I ask my wife/stoker to maintain a level that she can live with for the long haul. I ease on my effort if we are getting too close or pick it up a little if we are falling behind. Very seldon I stop pedaling and almost never touch the brakes.
On a group ride, we always use hand signals to point to road hazards or a change in riding mode. That is true wheter we know that people is drafting us or not. My wife also uses hand signals to comunicate with me... we do not rely on verbal signals because my hearing isn't what it use to be... and the wind blowing by my helmet at 40 mph doesn't make it any easier. She taps my left hip once for each aproaching "car back". She traces her hand up my lower back to signal that she is about to stand. And she drives her nails in my shoulders to signal that she is not confortable with the speed at which we are descending or taking the turns.
All kidding aside, we have ridden with a number of groups and single ridders. With one exception, everytime it has been great. Singles and tandems alike love to draft behind us because our pace is very consistent and our accions predictable and/or announced.