Tandem Cycling - Coupled Tandem Computers

I have a coupled tandem and I'm looking for a computer with two displays (captain and stoker). Wired is fine if there is a way to easily "break" the wires. Looking for speed/distance and cadence. What are the choices out there and what does everyone use.

BZ

I'm not aware of a computer that accomodates two displays, although there certainly may be one. I use two computers, one with a sensor on the back wheel for the stoker and mine on the front wheel for me. That way when I break the bike for transport it's not an issue.

We use the wireless Flightdeck for the captain and Cateye Double Wireless for the stoker on our coupled tandem. Works well.
Sheldon

Cateye Double Wireless for the stoker on our coupled tandem. Works well.
Sheldon

Never heard of this. Do you put the pickup on the rear wheel? Does is transmit to the stoker bars?

Do you have a link to where I can get one?

Thanks!

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/251

The Double wireless has a sensor on the left rear chainstay and it picks up cadence from the crank and speed from the rear wheel. They are pricey and difficult to set up but work well. I use them on on both tandems and have learned to change batteries before they go dead to save setting up the computer.
Sheldon

what does everyone use.

Circa '01: Two SigmaSports BC1200's hard wired to the front fork with two pick ups. Stoker's wires were taped under the white top tube using white vinyl electrician's tape which made it nearly invisible and black tape at a few strategic points on the black captain's seat post and black stoker stem.

Circa '02: CicloSport CM414 Alti wireless up front & SigmaSports BC1200's hard wired to the front fork with two pick ups. Stoker's wires were taped under the white top tube using white vinyl electrician's tape which made it nearly invisible and black tape at a few strategic points on the black captain's seat post and black stoker stem. Worked great and I still have the CM414 around here somewhere.

Circa '04: CicloSport HAC4 wireless up front & Polar S720i wireless in back. Way more functions than you're looking for and very $$ at the time. However, they both worked well.

Circa '08: CicloSport HAC4 (same unit as '04) and Garmin Edge 305 for Debbie. We don't use all the functions, but I don't worry about wireless signal loss or wheel calibration when moving it from Debbie's bike to the tandem.

Front: Flightdeck
Rear: Garmin 305

Works great!

VDO DS series (C2, C3 & C4) digital wireless works great with the head unit mounted to the stoker's handlebar. We're running a C2 on in the stoker position, with the transmitter on the fork.

VDO has confirmed that there is no problem mounting additional heads.

The transmitter is "dumb" and only broadcasts (I'm sure like every other brand of bike computer), so has no idea how many head units are receiving the signal. Because the pulses are digitally encoded, there should be no discrepancy between the captain and stoker computers, provided they're set up identically.

VDO DS series (C2, C3 & C4) digital wireless works great with the head unit mounted to the stoker's handlebar. We're running a C2 on in the stoker position, with the transmitter on the fork.

VDO has confirmed that there is no problem mounting additional heads.

The transmitter is "dumb" and only broadcasts (I'm sure like every other brand of bike computer), so has no idea how many head units are receiving the signal. Because the pulses are digitally encoded, there should be no discrepancy between the captain and stoker computers, provided they're set up identically.

I just did some experiments to confirm how well this lossless digital transmission works.

The current setup requires ~7 wheel revolutions to mark 0.01 mile. So I hid the computer out of range of the transmitter, then spun the wheel 15 times. Out of range, the computer still showed 0.00. I brought the computer back into range, spun the wheel one revolution, it counted up to 0.02 and stopped. Five more revs of the wheel and it increased to 0.03, right where it should have been.

Link two VDO computer heads to one transmitter and they should never be out of sync.

What was interesting was the reception range. The first attempt I moved the head unit a room away from the transmitter, about 30 feet away, and it was still receiving a signal. I moved it an additional room away, and stuck it in the freezer, about 40' away, to block reception. Out of the freezer, but still ~40' away, it maintained reception.

So, yeah, no problem transmitting 5' from the fork to the stoker's handlebar!

I'm using a Garmin on the front. We tried running a Cateye Wireless for the Stoker, but the model we were using wasn't really designed to be that way like the Cateye dual wireless. I've seen some setups where it worked but ours would have problems with the signal not being strong enough throughout the ride. Eventually I want to put another Garmin on.

No problem using 2 VDO C3 DS Digital Wireless Cyclocomputer w/ Wireless Cadence computers both units running from one sender these have a 15ft range so signal is not problem, the senders can be on rear or front wheel and cadence can also be on stoker or captains crank doesn't mater. I happen to have mine on rear wheel and stoker crank.

Anyone try the Trek incite ACH digital?

We use the Wireless Mavic ES. Two heads, one transmitter which replaces the front QR and skewer. You can even put the wheel on backwards and the sensor still aligns. It is digital so you just have the head learn the transmitter signal and you then will not pick up other stray signals. Range is something like 15 feet so stoker computer head reads fine.

What I do not like is it does not have an auto on. In other words you have to get the head out of the sleep mode for it to register trip distance. I can usually remember to turn it on at the beginning of the ride but after a lunch stop or repair a flat stop, I may forget to wake it up again. And there seems to be a time spot where the head will still display but not record, like in a semi sleep mode. So I try to click it to make sure it is fully awake. I do not constantly look at the computer so have sometimes gone 15 miles before noticing it is not on or reading.

I too use the VDO DS 3 for both the captain and stoker. Never have I had issues.

We have a VDO for the stoker. It has 4 buttons but it seems like only 2 of them are useful. Resetting the computer is like 4 levels deep in the menu. The computer often gets lost or gets "behind" in counting. It has given us current speeds in the triple digits. When the batteries get low (which seems to happen often and with no warning) the head unit just stops hearing the sender.

Too complicated and undependable for our tastes. However, it sounds like the Cateye digital unit may not be much better.

We have a VDO for the stoker. It has 4 buttons but it seems like only 2 of them are useful. Resetting the computer is like 4 levels deep in the menu. The computer often gets lost or gets "behind" in counting. It has given us current speeds in the triple digits. When the batteries get low (which seems to happen often and with no warning) the head unit just stops hearing the sender.

Too complicated and undependable for our tastes. However, it sounds like the Cateye digital unit may not be much better.

I'd email VDO about the problem. I bet they'd take care of you. They've given me great customer service in the past, despite them being in Germany.

Anyone try the Trek incite ACH digital?
Just returned the Trek Incite I ordered (for stoker) with our new tandem. We put on some 400 miles and simply got tired of the hassle. Specifically,
-If you stop (at a light). the unit often "loses sync" displays a bar in the speed display. re-syncing requires you to get into a specific mode and rotate the wheel while holding down two buttons.
-Re-syncing often resulted in us selecting "wheel 2" which screwed up our speed/trip data (I'm sure we pressed the wrong 2 buttons).
-Ambient Temperature sensor was worthless, often off by 15 to 20 degrees.

Speed, distance and cadence seemed to jive with my Flightdeck. However, the thing is far to much work for our needs.

We'll try the VDO digital.

I have a coupled tandem and I'm looking for a computer with two displays (captain and stoker). Wired is fine if there is a way to easily "break" the wires. Looking for speed/distance and cadence. What are the choices out there and what does everyone use.

BZ

If you let the stoker know how fast you are going, someone will invariably tell you to slow down...

I never did figure out why anyone would want to give the stoker control over a drag break.

However, the thing is far to much work for our needs.

We'll try the VDO digital.


Our experience is that you'll find the VDO too much hassle. Similar synch issues. Others on this forum feel otherwise.

I think we'll go with the Garmin Edge 305 - $240 on Amazon.

I think we'll go with the Garmin Edge 305 - $240 on Amazon.

Good call.

Debbie's hardly a techno-geek -- she just wants to see her current speed, average speed, and distance -- the the Garmin allows me to set it up so that that's exactly what she can see in a single glance.

The basic interfaces for her as a user are straight forward: turn it on, acquire satellite, hit reset (1,2,3..), and then hit start. When you're done hit stop.

Because we use it on the tandem the second screen view is the one that I use and as you'd expect, it has all 8 displays populated with data that I'll look at at the end of a ride on the screen or on the PC after downloading the device.

About the only thing I had to proctor her on was making sure that she allowed enough time after start-up for the Garmin to acquire the satellites before heading off.

It's been a couple months since we've had it and it's been great, especially since I no longer have to worry about a dropped signal from a rear wheel speed sensor due to interference or simply because the sensor got bumped during a rear wheel change.

For the HHH I decided to run my Cateye Astral wired with the speed sensor on the front wheel and cadence off the captain’s pedals. I made a bracket for the cadence sensor off the bottle cage. For the stoker I mounted the GPS and will let her navigate since the HHH has a download of the route. This allows us to tear the bike down without breaking and wires. Not sure I’m convinced that the wireless units are worth it.

I may clean this up for a more permanent solution later.

Thanks for all the input.

A guy here at work has the Garmin Edge 305. His is set up to show only 5 displays at a time because of the near focal distance age thing. I'm sure I'll have the same problem.

Seems odd that you have to spend over $200 to give the stoker a basic speed, odo display (Garmin). Performance has the digital VDO for $50. I'll have to give it a try-Performance is great at taking things back anyway.
I have a Garmin GPS in my car which generally works fine. Last week we happened to cross the Hudson River on the George Washington Bridge lower level. About half way across, the Garmin thought I made a left (into the river). It showed our car there. It calmly told me to make a right (to the shore).

Seems odd that you have to spend over $200 to give the stoker a basic speed, odo display (Garmin). Performance has the digital VDO for $50.

....and KHS sells a pretty nice tandem for about $1,200 too that does everything a $10,000 uber-tandem does.

A guy here at work has the Garmin Edge 305. His is set up to show only 5 displays at a time because of the near focal distance age thing. I'm sure I'll have the same problem.

Also look at the 605/705 series. They have a much larger and easier to read display but is similar to the display of the 305. I think you can get the 605 now for around $340.

....and KHS sells a pretty nice tandem for about $1,200 too that does everything a $10,000 uber-tandem does.

We all have different ideas of what enhances the tandeming experience...but I'm with Barry on this one. Thinking of all the accessories I've purchased over the years that cost more than my first decent road bike makes me a little woozy.

We all have different ideas of what enhances the tandeming experience...but I'm with Barry on this one. Thinking of all the accessories I've purchased over the years that cost more than my first decent road bike makes me a little woozy.

My point was it's pointless to try and make sense out of the economics of enthusiast-level hobbies and sports.

We buy the stuff we buy because we 'want' to not because we 'need' to and because we (hopefully) have the means to make those types of discretionary spending decisions.

My two cents worth on computers for coupled tandems: go wireless if you can. I have no experience with wireless so I cannot tell you how best to do it. Look for TandemGeek's posts on computers, he seems to have tried everything.

I do have experience with wired computers on our coupled tandem: a Sigma computer in the back, which long enough cable to the rear wheel, and a Cateye in the front reading the front wheel. We also have a drum brake, so the wire to the rear wheel runs wrapped onto the drum brake cable. However when you break the bike to pack, the cables to the sensors are one more issue to deal with. Not a big issue, but I loose my patience with the sum of little steps required to assemble and disassemble a coupled bike, so any step reduction is well worth the investment. You alredy have invested good money into the couplers.

On the other hand my stoker never pays attention to the computer, so why I have two an not just one is only justified by the unlikely event that maybe some day she will and we could squeeze a bit more speed out of our rig, but it won't happen, she prefers to look at the view, and I am not complaining.

We use a Vetta V100 wired unit with wired cadence for the captain and an inexpensive Aireon speed/distance only computer for the stoker. They are wired in series for the speed sensor, it works well and inexpensive too. I think any brand of wired computer would work in series, they all use 3 volt batteries.