Tandem Cycling - Where DON'T you ride your tandem?

I know there are folks who will ride anywhere its legal (we're a bit road shy), but are there places that you wouldn't ride a tandem, that you might otherwise ride a single?

Still looking for our first tandem...

I think some MTB trails are too technical, but I wouldn't think twice about tandeming on any road that I would single on...

I hate putting my wife at risk on certain two lane roads with no shoulders, high traffic and posted speeds of 50 or more. I will do some of that on a single but just won't do those on our tandem if there is any possible way to avoid 'em.

Bill J.

Severe down hills. I only have rim brakes and if there is a long hill that needs a lot of braking then I will not go there with the tandem. I have read too many stories and I do not want to share that experience. Although we have hit 50mph on hills where I know the risks.

Mountain descents. The 10-20% grades with bumps and turns. I would not take the tandem there; I would not like it (I am not too bold on the single on these things, either), and my wife would insist we walk it.

Ditto the hill thing, after unpleasant experience I am leary of unknown
longish downhills with blind curves, especially in mobs of other tandem
naive cyclists. For example, the 3 States, 3 Mtn century in May in
Chattanooga is a nice ride but 2500 riders and twisty downhills with a
few hairpins thrown in scare the crap out of me. I can roll 45+ on a
singleton on some of those; way too much risk on a tandem.

I...., but are there places that you wouldn't ride a tandem, that you might otherwise ride a single?

No.

Looong hills. I'm talking about 3+ miles with no place to catch your breath. On a single I can grind it. On the tandem my wife quits after a mile or so, lol. But we are getting better at it.

No.

Same here. (for on-road... We don't have a MTB tandem)

We avoid narrow two lane roads with heavy traffic.

Yes. Multi-Use-Paths (MUPs). I hate ridings on MUPs. I think they are dangerous because of the unpredictable users.

Even though I'm comfortable just about anywhere on my single and used to ride in center city Philadelphia, I'm a little uncomfortable in congested areas on the tandem. Some bike paths are a drag as well. I can think of the big path in Milwaukee(forgot the name) and the Burke-Gilman in Seattle as 2 examples.

Frank

Those of you that commented about descending, I can see your point about long downhills if your braking isn't adequate, but with a good drag brake such as the arai drum, it really isn't a concern. It's true that a tandem can't dart around things - especially at low speed - the way a single can, but I find that my tandem is much more stable and predictable than my single. It always feels very stable even at quite high speeds, it tracks very true. I suppose there's a lot of room for preference, but I stand by the taking my tandem anywhere (on the road) that I would take my single. Mediterranean cities in Italy in France were probably the trickiest places I've ridden - fully loaded for touring. I think a single would have been interesting there though as well...

Basically, the only place I won't ride the tandem is: on the right side of a two lane road. On my single bike, I am sometimes inclined to ride on the ride side of traffic and do just a little bit of careful maneuvering around slow traffic, etc.

On the tandem, however, I take the lane and ride with the traffic. Its a lot harder to weave on an 11 foot triplet. Our triplet also can't really do single track. I have put wider tires on for some wider trails and gravel MUP, but the long turning radius and absence of any shock absorption would make single track undoable.

Also, I should clarify that I will ride in traffic on my own and with my stokette (7 yo), but when my rear stoker (wife) is riding, we try to stay clear of heavy traffic roads. Being in the back, and having much more fear than I have, I will get yelled at if the traffic becomes a problem.

.....I won't ride the tandem inside my house, like I've done with my singles, (even then I got scolded by the missus), :notamused: :D

no.


same here. (for on-road... We don't have a mtb tandem)

+1 but no MTB tandem.

I an road shy myself. So, i don't do any riding out on the open road on a tandem or single unless it is with a group. I am somewhat lucky that i have a large rural industrial area (park) near my home.
I have a 10 mile loop that is mixed rolling hills. It is void of through traffic so i maybe get passed by 5 cars per lap? I have done as much as 70 miles at a stretch.

We only ride road. I was careful to ease my stoker into dealing with high speed traffic passing situations and she got over it pretty quick.

Almost all of my single bike experience was on flat roads, so I struggled with going uphill when we first started doing tandem events outside our area & of course, passed my struggles along to my stoker. We've long gotten over it now that we've learned to pace ourselves based on effort & ignoring speed. So far, we've only walked one time for a short stretch of 20% grade and think we've gotten much better since then.

Downhill, I usually start to push it a little as we start tilting down, see how she feels, then we compromise. She's almost always fine up into the mid 30's unless it's too twisty. Then I either slow down or tell her what I'm seeing and road conditions to get 40 or a little +. She's got her own GPS so I can't lie. We don't have enough hills near us or a lot of hill experience to risk much more.

I only ride road and will ride the tandem anywhere I would ride a single.
My stoker does not ride bikes and is very comfortable wherever we go. I have earned that 100% trust thing after 20+ years touring on motorcycles and bikes.

Just keep doing it!

Same here. (for on-road... We don't have a MTB tandem)

Likewise for us.

In fact, we've taken the tandem on some roads we have yet to take our singles on.

Off road on the tandem we'll ride about anything. The few things that may cause a hesitation or walk the bike are going over logpiles or roots that will smash the front chainring or frames lower tube, the other is elevated narrow bridges. These for two reason one is falling off the other is my wifes extreme fear of even the smallest heights.

As for on road, my wife's entire road riding has been just recently on the road tandem. Without a doubt, there are some local roads we will not ride at certain times of day and will use the alternative sidewalk. These roads are posted as 50mph but do have bike lanes. The idea of motorists speeding at more like 70mph past you and only 3 or 4 feet away, while cell phoning or deciding which strip mall or restaurant to stop at along the road side is a bit much. Metal bridges are not a go either.

Terrain wise we try to almost anything. Speedwise, not sure about 50mph downhill yet, but a few runs at 40 may get her comfy enough to head towards 50.

Regardless it's always about being able to ride again tomorrow. I'm not here to scare her or hurt her, we both are doing this to have fun and enjoy the ride.

PK

+1 but no MTB tandem.


Likewise for us.

In fact, we've taken the tandem on some roads we have yet to take our singles on.


We haven't taken the tandem up Bohlman-On Orbit YET.

But we will eventually!

I fear the downhill more than the uphill :p

We have a flat Bar Santana and I put MTB tires on it when we camp near a trail system. So I will ride it both on and off road. The only place I avoid are overly technical off road trails with real tight turns. I really enjoy these on my single MTB but don't like worrying about my stoker hitting trees, rocks etc.

The neighborhood bike routes often have cut-thrus with mazes at the end that I can ride a single through but could not imagine trying to get the tandem through, even at a walk. So those routes/MUPs with the mazes were not on our tandem agenda.

One other place I will not ride is up the hill where I live in Kent [James street]. There are sidewalks [I know, but if you know James you would use the sidewalks too] with root damage and my pedals will bottom out because of the length of the bike. Single is OK. Sucks when you are riding hard and then have to walk the 'bump' and start on a hill.

Anywhere I'd ride a single road bike, (which includes doubletrack trails, and even some non technical single track)

We've taken it up and down Brasstown, Hogpen, the Sierras, dirt roads with 10% grade.

Fortunately I have a very trusting stoker.

We haven't taken the tandem up Bohlman-On Orbit YET.

But we will eventually!

I fear the downhill more than the uphill :p

If you don't mind a little dirt Bohlman connects to Montevina which would be a more reasonable downhill then Bohlman. Montevina is a great uphill, switchbacks along side a wide open valley, great views and little traffic since it dead ends to cars at the dirt rode.

We`re pretty new to tandems and there are still a lot of places I`ll ride with a single but am leary of with the tandem. Some are due to the power/weight ratio (much lower with our team than alone on my single), some due to being unsure about the tandem`s handling on technical routes and my dread of dumping my wife, and some because of traffic or frequent starts and stops.

I read some references above to a tandem`s added stability over a single and it makes sense to me. The long wheelbase and a lot more inertia ought to help a lot in maintaining a nice straight line, but it doesn`t in our case. We still weave a lot and (in my opinion) have no business riding a narrow road with limited bike space next to fast traffic. I think more practice is what we need- are most of you in agreement that tandems are generally "straighter" rides than singles? FWIW, we got our double near the end of last Summer and I`ve been off all bikes for a few months with a knee injury, so our total tandem ride time is probably about 30 hours. We`re going to keep at it whether we ever get "straight" or not, but does it seem reasonable to expect we`ll learn to keep it in line as well as I (the captain) can manage on a single?

EDIT: OP, sorry if this comes off as a hijack- I got started and led myself off track. Guess I need more practice keeping my thoughts in a straight line too! Well, at least it`s related.

are most of you in agreement that tandems are generally "straighter" rides than singles?
Yes. In fact, one of the complaints about tandem driving from new captains is the "truck like" or "sluggish" feel of the tandem. Generally speaking, they are more stable. I think you need practice, and a steady stoker makes a hell of a difference. I took my 16-year old son out and really had a handful. He was full of power, but it was all over the place.

If you don't mind a little dirt Bohlman connects to Montevina which would be a more reasonable downhill then Bohlman. Montevina is a great uphill, switchbacks along side a wide open valley, great views and little traffic since it dead ends to cars at the dirt rode.

I was considering doing that. But someone told me Montevina was just as bad to go down. Maybe they were mistaken.

But no, we don't mind a little dirt :thumb:

I know there are folks who will ride anywhere its legal (we're a bit road shy), but are there places that you wouldn't ride a tandem, that you might otherwise ride a single?

Still looking for our first tandem...

I tend to be bolder on the tandem. I always figure my stoker will be the voice of reason if we end up somewhere too dangerous. Unless it's a descent with lots of switchbacks, she never complains.

I refuse to ride on roads around beach resorts or beach towns. To many people unfamiliar with where they are going and to much beer flowing all day.

I look at it in the opposite direction: where DON'T I ride my half-bike where I do my tandem. And the answer is: lots of places, as it turns out.

On my half-bike I am pretty much in the get-miles-in-for-training-purposes and the best way for that was familiar loops or sponsored events, like centuries. Then there are the commutes where I rack up the vast majority of my miles. Needless to say they're quite repetitive.

But since getting the tandem I find myself going places and doing things I never considered or, more truthfully, probably never would have done because, well, I was just too damned busy hammering away. Moreover, the ride characteristics of the tandem (heavier and slower, given our particular combined power-to-weight) affords me excellent training for hills, etc., so I'm not missing anything from that perspective.

With the tandem I find it's more about the journey and the destination.

Andy

We avoid MUPs and dirt trails/roads. However, have ridden them when necessary.

I think some MTB trails are too technical, but I wouldn't think twice about tandeming on any road that I would single on...

Ditto. One of the more fun rides we had was through the streets of Chicago after a Cubs game. We rode like messengers! It was awesome!

rodar y rodar - as to wobbling, one thing you might try is adjusting your timing chain so you pedal 180 degrees out of phase with each other. Some people like it, some don't, but it's like the difference between a 2 cylinder engine and a 4 cylinder. Someone is on a power stroke 2x as often as before. It can feel kind of weird though. I never grew to like it, but some people do, and it does make it easier to keep straight if that is an issue.

rodar y rodar - as to wobbling, one thing you might try is adjusting your timing chain so you pedal 180 degrees out of phase with each other. Some people like it, some don't, but it's like the difference between a 2 cylinder engine and a 4 cylinder. Someone is on a power stroke 2x as often as before. It can feel kind of weird though. I never grew to like it, but some people do, and it does make it easier to keep straight if that is an issue.

You do mean 90 degrees, yes?

Anywhere except dirt.

Yeah - 90 degrees - oopse! 180 would be REALLY wierd!

90 degrees OOP . . . been doing it that-a-way for 200,000+ miles. Works great for us!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

I don't know if this has been suggested before, but I think a drag chute deployed on a long steep downhill would slow the bike down very well (the stoker would have to wear it, though). The bike wheels wouldn't even be involved with the braking!:P

I don't know if this has been suggested before, but I think a drag chute deployed on a long steep downhill would slow the bike down very well (the stoker would have to wear it, though). The bike wheels wouldn't even be involved with the braking!:PDepending on how strong your stoker's grip is it could be an instant stoker ejection device.