[tandemjc]

My wife and I are novices and are interested in tandeming. I am blind, so she needs to ride in the captain position. The problem is that she is 5/4 and I am 5/9. Has anyone had success buying a tandem with a taller stoker and a shorter captain or have any suggestions?

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[djurgensen]

Co-Motion Periscope. www.co-motion.com

[Xanti Andia]

You should not have any problem unless you run on a very tight budget. Older tandems and cheap tandems typically have a small stoker compartment, so you start with a small bike fitting your captain, and you end up with an even smaller stoker compartment which is your concern.

However modern tandem manufacturers will have sizes to fit you, and there are some tandems which are specifically designed to take a broad range of riders in either seat, check out:

http://www.co-motion.com/periscout.html
And
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/road/tandem/t900/

Either of these bikes should fit both of you and you will find teams in this forum that ride them.

Is your wife a cyclist? Many of us are in the situation where the captain is a cyclist and we drag our dear beloved onto the sport, as a stoker, with varying degrees of success. Most of us on this forum are captains. Teams that give up are often due to the stoker quitting. This is certainly a generalization with many honorable stoker exceptions who will take issue with me. You have a big advantage over the rest of us if you as a stoker take the lead in this project. Best of luck and hope to hear more from you.

[moleman76]

For something completely different, yet still in the tandem family, the Bilenky Viewpoint puts the stoker in a semi-recumbent position in front, and the captain upright behind them.

http://www.bilenky.com/viewpnt.html

Not for everyone, but said to make it even easier than a normal tandem for the stoker and pilot to talk to one another, because their heads are closer together, etc.

[zonatandem]

Both the Co-Motion Periscope and the Bilenky Viewpoint are excellent suggestions! Even the Bike Friday tandems could do the trick.