Tandem Question?

[CoolRiderNJ]

ok im new to this forum i didnt search it sorry and its probably been asked before.

will someone who cant or never ridden a bike. throw your balance off if they were to jump on the bike with you?

my wife does not know how to ride a bike and sometimes when we've been to the shore i see rentals for tandem bikes and wondered would she throw our whole balance off with her not knowing how to ride or will my balance be enough for the both of us to ride? hmmmm

[NewbieIATandem]

Depends. Can she follow directions?

Try the following...

Tell her.

"
Don't wiggle.
Don't lean.
Don't reach for anything.
Sit still.

If you need to adjust your seat position, or need to get a drink, or... let me (the captain) know so I can be prepared, or even pull over and stop.
"

The captain needs to know how to ride a bike, but the stoker there is a bit more flexibility.

Try it, rent one of those tandems. If you do have a problem that seems to be unfixable, then I change my answer to no. If however you have fun and it seems like something you like, GREAT!

[cornucopia72]

... or will my balance be enough for the both of us to ride? hmmmm
Can she ride in the back of a motorcycle? ....then yes

[mtcougar832]

I don't know if this helps, but I ride with my almost 5 year old, who can't ride a bike without training wheels. It took a few short tandem rides (about 3 miles total) for us to get used to riding without him throwing my balance off (we never fell over though). I tell him when bumps, etc are coming but I've given up on telling him to sit still. He/We are doing better and I want him to have fun, not listen to me harp on him. Of course I out weigh him by a lot, which helps me counter balance him.

I would rent one, you don't have much to lose if you don't enjoy it.

[bikeriderdave]

Don't worry about it. Many blind stokers have preceded your wife in the experience, and renting way minimizes your investment. I once captained for a non-cyclist, and the outing convinced that stoker to acquire her own bike and learn to ride. Seems to me that as long as your wife is the least bit willing you should have fun.

[NewbieIATandem]

Yep, renting sounds like the thing for you. I don't always advocate renting, but this is in cases where neither the prospective tandem or the prospective stoker know if they want to tandem. It sounds like from your original post the two of you (or at least one of you) thinks tandeming is a good idea.

Your specific concerns can be addressed in a single ride. Don't expect things to be perfect. She will wiggle around. You will wiggle around. She will do things that are counterproductive to a smooth comfortable ride. You will do things that are counterproductive to a smooth comfortable ride. The big question, do the two of you like it enough to work through the inevitable beginner issues? A couple of additional rides and you can be well on your way to a wonderful life Two-gether.

Our first ride on a tandem was on a 1970s "wiggler". My wife couldn't peddle without her knees hitting the handlebars. The seats hurt within the first 10 feet. The timing chain had a habit of popping off. We went a total of 4 miles on that bike in a total of 3 rides. Yet we knew from the first ride that we were going to be riding a tandem together.

[zonatandem]

I hope you did not mean it literally about her 'jumping on the bike' with you!
Ride the tandem first, solo. Get the feel of the machine for a few blocks.
Then you straddle the top tube of the bike, both your feet flat on the ground and holding both brakes with your butt touching the nose end of the saddle (do not sit on saddle until your are ready to push off!).
Wife/stoker then gets on the bike . . . she gets fully seated, feet on the pedals and hands on the handlebars.
Count down 3-2-1 and both push off. Sure, you'll be a bit bit wobbly but as long as she is predictable by not wiggling or doing the hula you'll be fine. Also she should not try to steer from the back.
As a non-rider she has nothing to unlearn.
Have taught folks how to ride on a tandem that had never been on a bike and folks that were blind. No big deal.
Get out there and do it TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

[CoolRiderNJ]

i don't want to buy a tandem at all i just thought it would be cool to ride one with my wife to see how she likes it. maybe she'll try to learn to ride and she'll want her own bike ;)

[NewbieIATandem]

Hmm, I don't know that her riding on the back of a tandem would particularly motivate her to want her own single. But, renting sounds like the best way to go now on both fronts. If you want to rent a tandem for an hour or two, then if that goes well, rent her a single...

Have you talked to her about riding a bike?