Tandem Cycling - Comments people have said about your tandem

Haven't heard this one before, but as we were riding past a flower vendor, he yelled "Better speed up, she's about to catch you!"

Two little girls were eyeing our tandem when we stopped for supplies on a long ride. One little gal said to the other, "Look! It's a Christmas tree of waterbottles!"

"She's not pedaling!" Very original.

We get a lot of "cool bike" comments ... mainly from the kids in the area. We also get a lot of smiles and waves. :)

Two small kids yelled " Look! It's a two-ster bike!!". Not many tandems in the Litchfield Hills.

I rarely 'listen' to comments called out by motorists, pedestrians, etc... so I typically don't have a clue what they said. That's not to say I don't hear things, but hearing and listening are obviously quite different. I think some captains and stokers have had problems in this regard, i.e., they may hear their partner saying something but don't actually listen and/or heed what's being said.

However, that said, the most frequent question / comment I've heard dating back to 1997 has always been... "What's something like that cost?", partcularly from folks under 20. Kids today always seem to be more interested in what stuff costs than the more important aspect of 'value'.

"Why the mirror on your helmet? So you can make sure that she's pedaling?" OR one day we were riding through a questionable neighborhood, past a group of intimidating looking guys, with another tandem, when one of them yelled out: "Look at that 2 seat s--t!" We ALL (us and them) waved and shared a good laugh!

I often hear child exclaim cool when their see our tandem. Makes my 9 year daughter proud!

Kids today always seem to be more interested in what stuff costs than the more important aspect of 'value'.

Be careful, you're showing your age. :)

Most kids we ride past say "Regarde! Un vélo pour deux!" because we live in a French-speaking region. Translation: "Look! A bicycle for two!" Not very original, but I thought you guys might enjoy a bit of cultural diversity.

Whenever we park the bike in a small European village, within 5 minutes it has a group of old men standing around it pointing to things and discussing it with their buddies; this is a great method of theft protection/security.

Be careful, you're showing your age. :)

With kids in their 30's and grandkids as old as 10, we've learned to accept it... the age, not the mis-guided value systems.

Since my single bike is a recumbent, I am used to getting the looks and comments (mostly positive). The question I get most often while out on the tandem is "How much does a bike like that cost?"

This question typically comes from folks who don't ride "performance" bikes. Folks who ride performance bikes have a pretty good idea of what a bike costs by looking at it.

At first my answer was "Whatever you want it to cost anywhere from $1,000 on up." At that point their eyes would gloss over and they would look at me like I was a lycra-clad idiot for spending that kind of money when I could buy a perfectly good bike from Walmart for $200. Now when they ask, I just respond with "Too much." LOL

In Colmar, France, about our tandem + Burley trailer: "Un limousine!"

In Fontaine de Vaucluse, France, this summer, as we sat eating our ice cream, we had no less than 10 people gathered around our triplet looking at it, pointing at things and discussing it in various languages, etc. It's a great way of getting to talk to the locals. Although we sometimes feel like a freak show, we love it.

We have been asked how much our tandem cost in many locales, both here in the USA and abroad. And now with the triplet, that is the one of the two most-asked questions (the other: how do you haul that around? Answer: Honda minivan). I hate to tell people how much it really cost, because they never understand why we'd spend so much on a bike (unless they are bikers themselves). Just this week we had a roofer out to estimate a new roof on our house. He noticed the triplet in the garage and asked about cost. I told him he could buy it and have money left over with the price he was charging us for the new roof!

This didn't happen to us but was told to us by another tandem couple on this year's Cycle North Carolina. They were doing a group ride as was their pastor. As he rode by them, he said to the captain, "Rich, you're really hauling ass" ( referring to his wife). Classic.

As someone in their 20's (I understand not under anymore) and with limited budget I often ask how much something costs when I like it to see if it's realistically in my budget. Even though I understand the value of a nice tandem (and someday we'll get one) if my only experience with tandems was when I heard the price of a calfee I'd quickly lose interest. I could be off on this as I don't know how it's said or asked but that is the feeling I get when my friends ask us what the price of our tandem was. Even the price of a used cannondale scares most of our friends away who are students with loans and no income (it would have scared us away not too long ago).

But as alreay stated she's not pedaling is the most heard comment we get, the other one we get at red lights a lot from people on singles is how does it climb.

I passed a little kid who was excited to see a tandem and he said "look it's a two wheeled bike!"

Lots of stammering, actually....

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_tjqvmQtORUA/TGdf7QjkzpI/AAAAAAAACwQ/atHmoWDVxy8/centricquad.jpg

I could be off on this as I don't know how it's said or asked but that is the feeling I get when my friends ask us what the price of our tandem was.

The question gets asked two ways; the way you characterized it... and those are easy to recognize and answered with the more useful "as little as a few hundred for an older used tandem to many thousands for exotic or multi-seat models". That typically leads to more questions... and that's a good thing if you're a tandem cycling enthusiast who wants to see more folks on tandems.

And then there are the more common ways it's asked by folks who you can tell aren't interested in tandems and tandeming or if you guess wrong, push back on the useful answer with the, "no... how much did that cost?" Those types of folks are answered differently depending on where we are and what we're doing there, but my typical answers are "a couple bucks" or J.P. Morgan's oft quoted, "If you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it". That's actually a brilliant statement if you think about it... not an arrogant and flip remark. Serious buyers know what things cost and/or ask completely different types of questions when they're in the information gathering process.

I don't beat around the bush when asked how much the bike costs, I just tell them. It is what it is. If they looked shocked I ask them how much does a Ferrari or Lamborgini(the car not the tandem ;)) cost? Heck my single bike cost nearly $7K five years ago so why shouldn't the tandem be twice that now? I don't really see the big deal.

I don't really see the big deal.

Because some folks just don't have a need to know... In fact, I've never told anyone what our Calfee actually cost.

If the initial questioning goes somewhere useful, then yeah; I'll share what something like a Calfee could cost.

I don't know why some people would "need to know" and others wouldn't? It's not like the cost of these things is a big secret or anything. I could just say "go look it up on the internet" but what's the point? I don't tell people what I actually paid since that isn't relevant (and they can't get it at that price anyway) but I do tell them what they'd have to pay if they wanted one like it.

Mostly folks smile and wave. Stoker smiles and waves right back. Stokers are our best ambassadors. Our bike was purchased used, so we tell 'em what it cost us. I just looked to see what the '11s cost. We sure have a valuable bike, he said, showing his age.

Verbal comments are mostly, "Cool," and "Wow, a belt drive!" We've never heard the "she's not pedaling" one. This could be because she's obviously pedaling like crazy.

I don't know why some people would "need to know" and others wouldn't?

Let's just say we agree to disagree and celebrate the existence of differences that make us interesting, unique and give rise to lively discussions like these.

I passed a little kid who was excited to see a tandem and he said "look it's a two wheeled bike!"

That's happened to us too... We even posted it up online... too funny.

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Stopped the other day by a traffic light when passenger in pick-up truck asked:
"How much is that tandem worth?'
Us: "More than your truck."
He: "Wanna trade?"
Us: "N-a-a-a-h!"
Smiles all the way around . . .
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Let's just say we agree to disagree and celebrate the existence of differences that make us interesting, unique and give rise to lively discussions like these.

We can do that and I certainly agree with what you just said. ;) It's really nice to be able to agree to disagree in a pleasant conversation! The tandem forum is good that way. :)

A great way to respond to any comments people make about the tandem as we are riding past is to give them a toot of your horn! It makes everyone happy, especially my stoker. Another bonus is that it works equally well in any country/language region.

We recently upgraded from a plastic model that a friend gave us for free to a fancy metal one that I picked up for about US$5 at a department store, which makes an awesome noise:

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It may weigh a few hundred grams and it doesn't really help our aerodynamics, but it's more than worth it for all the smiles that it brings. My stoker now honks at anyone she sees who is even standing there staring at the bike as we ride by. Again, lots more smiles :)

Another interesting cultural difference is that here in Europe, people we don't know have never asked us about the value of the bike. Friends who are serious cyclists have asked, and they are the type who actually understand the value and costs involved, so I don't think twice about discussing it with them, and I try to encourage them to join the tandem crowd. But other types of people just haven't asked, despite often showing interest in the bike. I think people in Europe don't discuss financial matters as openly as N. Americans.

A great way to respond to any comments people make about the tandem as we are riding past is to give them a toot of your horn! It makes everyone happy, especially my stoker. Another bonus is that it works equally well in any country/language region.

What fun. Harpo Marx is probably the reason certain types of horns can sometimes be recognized as silly communication tools instead of simply an annoying demand to get out of the way. Bicycle bells -- at least the melodic ones -- seem to be accepted that way too.

http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/437460328/HarpoColorVinette300_bigger.jpg

Asking how much someone paid for something is rude. It is common in the US. I ignore it or tell them, depending upon the situation.

Besides the direct comments to us "She's not pedaling", the one we hear a lot is usually from other couples riding on singles, "That's what we need, you can pedal me around..."

The "She's not pedaling" really starts to pee me off after a while, along with "oh it's easier on a tandem".
But the best quote I heard recently, was young guy leaned out a car window and said "thats the best f***ing thing I've ever seen!" Who am I to argue?!

The sight of a tandem just seems to make people smile! Some make comments, but most just smile!

Before we bought my solo bike (thanks honey!) I often rode our tandem by myself. Now that gets everyone's attention!

"I think you're missing something!"

"Where's your partner?"

Often the person asking is driving alone in a two ton, eight seat SUV.

A couple of teeny-boppers in the front seat of a four-door sedan pulled up next to me at a red light. The silly-girl driver called out "where's your passenger?" I answered "In the back seat with your other passengers." She actually turned around, looked, saw the empty seat, and then with a horrified look on her face cried "That's not funny!"

We were in the mountains, fully loaded + a monowheel trailer. I ask a local people about the road. He take a long look at the tandem and ask "This is a bike???"
A few times I heard "Look, a bike whit 2 pedals". I said "All bikes have 2 pedals". "Oh, I mean 4 pedals!!!"
And my favorite is "Look, a bike whit 4 wheels" :))

Often get the comment- "He's Not pedalling" (All male offroad Team)

I just say that if the pilot started steering- then I would pedal.

We've gotten a few "She's not pedalling", a couple of "Nice bike" and some others that I don't remember. Once while on a club ride with other tandems we had to go through a construction zone and the flagger called ahead on his radio "Limousine bikes coming through!"

Every once in a while when we're at a stop someone will come up and appear to be examining our bike. Invariably they will zero in on the drum brake and either ask what it is or comment on us having 3 brakes. If someone asks "How much does a thing like that cost?" I answer by saying that a cheap one of these is just over $1000 but ours was custom-built and cost a lot more. I am not offended if someone asks, but I try to evade the question by giving a vague answer (besides, I honestly don't know exactly how much it cost.)

The best comment I have heard was when I was riding my single behind my roommates who were riding my tandem. A girl on the sidewalk said to my roommates, "Aww...you guys are so cute." Made me laugh for the rest of the ride because they both turned bright red.

We heard a new one today as we were riding our bike through Colonial Williamsburg. A four year old boy shouted out: "Look, twins!"

We often get the typical "not pedaling" comments also, however this weekend while attending an MTB festival, the tandem was the focus of some attention during lunch or pre-ride organizing. The event was 350 riders 345 on single mtb's, 4 on all terrain unicycles, and us on the tandem.

Fiver comments we never heard until this weekend were.

This from a single rider stopped at the top of a technical climb..." this is embarrassing, I've been passed by a tandem"

While riding in a fast group on tight technical singletrack trail I rubbed the rider in front of us, our front tire "buzzed" his rear tire. Without looking back initially, he asks "who is that", I say nothing but his buddy behind us immediately says "you're going too slow", he turns to say something to his friend as we round a corner, sees the tandem and decides he better speed it up. His eyes were the size of silver dollars.

While bench racing around the campfire, stories are flying from various riders about the feats of the day...Ralph, who decided he had to see to believe followed us for a while during the rides that day proclaims to the other riders, "whatever you rode was easy, watching a tandem ride that stuff is unbelievable, and they make it through and don't go slow".

The last was from a ride guide..."we're not going to ride that section because the tandem can't ride it"...after voicing our opinion of don't let us stop you, (we had already ridden the section clean once earlier), our guide took us on another trail, with caution belching from his mouth we and several singles entered and rode the section. As luck would have it, the ride guide couldn't make one climb, I yelled make a hole. He too had wide eyes as the tandem roosted him heading upward over the hack. He was quiet as a church mouse after that.

Also proclaimed by the event photographer..." if you can ride that, I'll kiss your ass", he is now indebted to us.

Yes it was good weekend for us, especially the girl that rides on the back, I'm super proud of her and excited to let others know.

Our stokers all deserve a lot of credit for putting up with us at times.

Personal soapbox being dismantled now.

PK

" this is embarrassing, I've been passed by a tandem"

We've heard that one on the road and off-road...

The other variation is, "I'll never live this down..."

We've heard that one on the road and off-road...

The other variation is, "I'll never live this down..."

That's like the heckling I get from my racing buddies when I show up on a low-racer recumbent... Just more proof that it's really about the engine and not the bike.

We've heard that one on the road and off-road...

The other variation is, "I'll never live this down..."

We've heard while climbing.. "Hey, I thought you're supposed to pass us on the downhill!"

"Oh look, a handicapped bike" We ride a recumbent tandem

Finally heard a new one (for us)..."Be careful. She is following you way too close".

But other types of people just haven't asked, despite often showing interest in the bike. I think people in Europe don't discuss financial matters as openly as N. Americans.

I've been asked more about the cost during our European trips than I have at home in the USA.

Most awkward was when some teenagers in a rural village in the Czech Republic asked. Given their likely standard of living at the time, I made up some low price in euros (like 800 euros or something) and left it at that. Even that price seemed to amaze them.

What I jokingly used to say to roadies on our normal route, when they would pass us on one particular hill: "There's no glory in passing a tandem with a baby trailer going uphill!"

I used to do a ride before I got the Tandem on a solo. 100 miles offroad and 10,000ft of climbing. Probably the hardest 1 day ride offroad in the UK. Then in 2003 we did it on the Tandem. It was pointed out by the organisor that although many Tandems had started in previous years- no tandem had ever completed the ride. Nothing like boosting your confidence. And we did finish the ride by the way- First Tandem to complete the organised 100 miler.

But that first year and on the second to last climb-We caught a group of riders going up. They looked shattered but the pilot started talking to the last rider as he drew along side him. The other rider was moaning that it was about time he gave up these long rides- he was getting too old. Then he mentioned- Did you see those old riders on the tandem. They have no chance of finishing so he could not see why they entered. He reckoned the two riders were over 40 and the old one on the back must have been 50 at least. I then piped up that the Tandem was still going and the stoker was 55. He then realised another rider was there and looked back to see the Tandem. Red faced did not come into it--but we could not stop laughing.

We were climbing Glendora Mountain Road in southern California shortly after a mountain lion sighting in the local news.

Another rider in the group joked about how excited a mountain lion must get when it sees a tandem... "Shish kebob!"

along with "oh it's easier on a tandem".


It is a lot easier on a tandem!! Like night and day between it and my single bicycle!!

Finally heard a new one (for us)..."Be careful. She is following you way too close".

We've had "Pedal harder! She's about to pass you!"