Tandem Cycling - Random Tandem Questions

Okay, so maybe not so random....

A friend of mine enjoys riding her bike with me, but goes substantially slower than me due to her weight. I am overweight myself, but not to that degree. I tend to average around 14 mph, where she can do about 8 mph. So this makes for some slow rides for me. I had been thinking about getting a tandem where we can ride together and I could exert most of the effort when her legs/lungs give out. And we could go on much longer rides. I can easily do 40 miles and up where she is limited to under 20 miles and even that is a stretch.

So the issue is that she is about 300 lbs and 5'5" tall and I am only 5'2" tall and need a small frame. I ride a 44cm road bike. Is there any way to find a tandem where I could be the captain? Would it be okay for me to be the stoker even if I am the fitter more experienced cyclist? What are my options?

Check this out:
http://www.evergreentandemclub.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=index&catid=&topic=8

Never saw another bike this small.

I'd say you can stoke for anyone you'd trust your life to. But maybe you could captain this bike. The deal is that the captain has to keep the bike upright while the stoker mounts and clips in, and then keeps it upright at every stop while the stoker stays clipped. I'll never forget pulling up to a French toll booth on my fully loaded BMW motorbike with passenger and . . . slowly, majestically, toppling over. Perhaps your stoker shouldn't ride clipless.

But maybe you could captain this bike.

Let me anticipate Bob Freeman's response: No, not THIS bike. That frame was built for a very small, lightweight team and does not have the tubing or frame design needed for even mid-weight teams, i.e., open frame fabricated using standard diameter tubing, lightweight fork, 36h lightweight wheelset, etc...


The deal is that the captain has to keep the bike upright while the stoker mounts and clips in, and then keeps it upright at every stop while the stoker stays clipped.

The "Proper Method" (stoker stays clipped in) is also not a universal rule and, in some cases, it is impractical for the captain to use even if they wanted to follow the practice. The OP sounds as though they may fall into this category.


So the issue is that she is about 300 lbs and 5'5" tall and I am only 5'2" tall and need a small frame. I ride a 44cm road bike. Is there any way to find a tandem where I could be the captain? Would it be okay for me to be the stoker even if I am the fitter more experienced cyclist? What are my options?

Your options are limited...

Co-Motion's Periscope "might" work as it has a 26.7" front standover height with 19.8" in the rear: http://www.co-motion.com/periscout.html

Green Gear's Family Tandems, while not exactly conventional, will also fit a wide range of riders and are quite robust despite their diminutive appearance: http://www.bikefriday.com/tandemprimer

Trek has a couple of nice entry-level / family tandems (T900 and Cruiseliner) but the front standover heights are ~28.7" - 30" on the one-size-fits-all frames. That's marginal even for me and I'm 5'8.5".

Beyond that, you could look at Recumbent tandems (Ryan / Longbikes) which are not as picky about inseams or search out an older Schwinn Town & Country with dual step-through frame that could be refitted with a Shimano Nexus hub for multispeed convenience if that's necessary.

While we are not the same height as you guys, we are close to and we are in the same boat as the shortest person is the captain.
I am visually impared so I am the stocker, I am 5'6" ans my girlfriend is 5'4" and captain the bike wonderfully. We ride a cannondale rt 1000 M-S frame, and she has some room to breathe in the front, but of course, you should try one just to be sure.
As stated by tandemgeek, I dont stay clipped when starting or when we stop, I always unclip because my girlfriend could not hold the bike by herself while I am on it.

I hope it helps!

Your options are limited...

Co-Motion's Periscope "might" work as it has a 26.7" front standover height with 19.8" in the rear: http://www.co-motion.com/periscout.html

Green Gear's Family Tandems, while not exactly conventional, will also fit a wide range of riders and are quite robust despite their diminutive appearance: http://www.bikefriday.com/tandemprimer



I was going to suggest these 2. We had a Bike Friday tha tmy daughter and I rode,as well ss my wife and I on some trips. Very adjustable to a wide range of sizes.

Also if you buy a Bike Friday and want to sell it, you won't get hurt financially. Used Bike Fridays are in high demand.We rode ours for 8 yearsand sold it formore than we paid for it.

I bought a tandem for similar reasons as yours. I'm a much stronger rider than my wife, and the tandem equalizes our abilities. Another problem was my wife is short,(4'10"), and can't raise her leg up very high due to some hip problems. Our choice was a Trek T900. It's very resonably priced, and has some nice equipment for the money.

Don

I'm a long time cannondale fan so i may be a bit biased, but I think you'll find that if you get the biggest cannondale you can fit on as captain, your stoker will be ok. I'd look at a mountain version and put sliks on it. Reason being that the cannondales are noted as having a longer than most stoker top tube. this allows more room for a stoker to ride a 'smaller' frame and still be able to adjust to fit with stem/handlebar seatpost adjustments. As for clips. Personally other than a ride to the icecream shop, i would never ride without clips. When you are running down the road and need to 'adjust'. if you forget to tell the stoker or vice versa, and stop pedaling, they do too. if you are clipped in, it's a suprise and a glitch, but if you arent... it can throw your feet right off the pedals. Am I SURE this can happen???? YES!! OUCH! of course if you clip out on the left, as I do and inadvertantly lean RIGHT (what a dumb thing to do!!) you can easily go over, but at least you're stopped. Believe me, it's embarassing and can scrape your shins, palms, etc. but not as scary as having your pedals stop dead as you are flying along at 20+mph with an 85 cadence!!!

Reason being that the cannondales are noted as having a longer than most stoker top tube. this allows more room for a stoker to ride a 'smaller' frame and still be able to adjust to fit with stem/handlebar seatpost adjustments.

Just to clarify and update on the evolution of Cannondale's tandem frame (and, no, I'm not picking on Cannondale):

There was a time when Cannondale had very generous stoker compartments on both their road and off-road models. However, when they redesigned the frames back in '99 the M/S and L/S and X/S versions adopted just about the shortest stoker top tube found on a tandem @ 27.1", while others like Co-Motion and Trek made theirs longer. As it is now, the X/M road version and the M/S, L/S and X/S mountain frames with their 28.1" rear stoker compartments while longer than Burley, Santana, and a few others, are still shorter than Co-Motion's 28.5" across the board standard, Trek's equally generous stoker compartments (28.5" - 28.8"), and well short of the the Rodriguez frames with ~30" stoker compartments. Now, to be fair, their largest frames do offer 29.1" stoker compartments, but unless your captain is also fairly tall, it's literally out of reach for other teams.

It's also worth noting that while the two smallest sized Cannondale frames have a stepped front top tube that creates a generous 28.2" or 28.3" of standover height, the length of the top tubes is somewhat disproportionate on both the road and off-road models, e.g., the road with a 21.5" top tube (54.6cm) and the off-road with a 22" top tube (55.9cm). While these aren't unusually long top tubes for Medium size tandem frames, consumers can find themselves with a poor fit if they wrongly assume that the shorter standover height (~1" lower than other similar sized Small or Medium frames) is mated with an equally short top tube. Having ridden with 85mm stems, it is possible to "shorten" a frame but it's not ideal.

Again, nothing wrong with recommending Cannondale's frames, but I'm not sure your characterization of the Cannondale sizing is current.

Why not consider letting your wife be the pilot? Peddaling strength is not a requirement for the pilot, first requirement is interest, stearing ability can be acquired.

The Periscope with (26" wheels) could be a 'close fit'. The Bike Friday tandems, a guaranteed fit.