Tandem Cycling - Newbie question/help...

A tandem noob here, with an apprehensive wife/stoker.

My wife wants to start riding bikes together again. But we have the typical problem of difference in pace/conditioning/strength. This makes riding singles together a exercise in patience for me.

So I bring the tandem idea up. A LBS even has a Co-Motion Primera left-over on sale in our size. But she's against the idea on the grounds that she 'won't get any exercise' if she is just in the stoker position going thru the motions on the peddles.

How do I convince her that tandem riding IS exercise for both the captain & stoker? (And I realize that might just be part of her reasoning, maybe giving up control I'm sure is part of it).

Will the LBS let you take out the Co-Motion for an extended testride? I possible, first ride it in a parkinglot, getting used to peculiarities of tandeming (starting, stopping, turning). Once familiar, you could take it out on a bike path or trail or such and put a number of miles on it

That may give you and your stoker a good idea whether her concerns are valid.
Good luck
Duppie

I think that the situation you describe is exactly where tandems shine.

It's hard for two people of dissimilar physical abilities to bicycle together on singles. You may have the best of intentions about riding slowly so you can stay with her. At some point, however, you are going to arrive at the top of a hill and she'll be nowhere in sight. A tandem solves that. Each rider can contribute whatever they're able and you'll always arrive at the lunch stop at the same time. Her lack of experience actually becomes an asset because she won't have a preconcieved opinion of the proper cadence.

My wife was essentially a non-rider before we got our first tandem. As such she found it easier to relinquish control of the bike to me. She says that on curves she tries to align her torso with mine. On downhills, if she thinks we are going too fast, she closes her eyes. One common misconception is that the stoker's view never changes. My focus is generally on a strip of road ahead that's about 3 feet wide. Typically my view is the one that doesn't change very much. Whenever there are interesting views off to either side, however, my wife tells me to look up so I won't miss it.

We're into our 3rd decade of tandeming together. Many of our closest friends are other tandem couples. Tandeming has certainly been a lifestyle changing experience for us. It's impossible to tell if your experience will be similar but I'd certainly recommend giving it a chance before rejecting it out of hand.

If she's still in doubt, PM me or something and I'll put my Mrs. in touch with your Mrs.

Grouch is right on! When I brought up the idea of tandeming, my wife's first response was, "But I can't keep up with you!" Honest. Now she's saying "Can we take the tandem out this evening?"

Yeah, just take a test ride that includes a decent hill. That'll fix that idea of her not getting any exercise! But do be careful with that test ride. Make sure you have an OK fit that feels familiar to you. Best thing is for new stoker to take a ride with experienced captain, then new captain to stoke for experienced captain, new captain with experienced stoker, then the two newbies together. Don't want a first unpleasant experience!

We did OK, but we did crash in the first 20' on a friend's tandem, then almost hit a car trying to get out of the parking lot while test riding a Primera. Tandems do not steer like singles, and a stoker can hurl you right across the lane.

My stoker also closes her eyes. Her eye closed speed is up to 42 now.

Will the LBS let you take out the Co-Motion for an extended testride? I possible, first ride it in a parkinglot, getting used to peculiarities of tandeming (starting, stopping, turning). Once familiar, you could take it out on a bike path or trail or such and put a number of miles on it

That may give you and your stoker a good idea whether her concerns are valid.
Good luck
Duppie

Not sure that they'll let us out on the Primera (not completely set-up, no peddles & the stem not cut to length) but they have a rental Periscope that we can test ride or rent for a day if we want a longer ride.

My plan was to rent it for a day & ask that they reimburse us if we buy the Primera.

Great Idea but they ought to let you test ride the Primera if they expect you to buy it. In any event, test ride some tandem for an extended ride and your wife will either love it or not. Better to know before you spend the money.

My wife was terrified the first time we rode a tandem... first time for her in clip ins... etc... we started on a hill and wobbled up it....etc

Now that we have matured as a team she LOVES it. We've taken it touring in Washington, New Zealand and Canada and generally go out for about 75 miles a weekend...its plenty of exercise!

Good advice above---start in a parking lot with an experienced tandem couple if possible. Experienced captain with new captain as stoker first, then new captain and experienced stoker or experienced captain as stoker, then new captain and stoker. Do a number of starts and stops. Then go out and ride some distance. The trickiest part for most new tandem couples is starting... and one of the keys is what you do when you stop. Put the bike in the gear you want to start in BEFORE you stop... and maybe even one easier gear than the one you think. You want to be able to rotate the crank easily when you start so you can get momentum. If you are still to slow and wobbly while you have one foot unclipped, just make sure your stoker understands the command...one more time, or around again...or whatever you want to say to let the stoker know they need to go a complete another revolution to get the bike moving before stopping/slowing pedalling to let you clip in. You can help by pulling up on the one foot you have clipped in and pushing down as it goes over the top...

Good luck

Get her a heart rate monitor that shows calories burned. 3500 calories equals one pound. You won't have to convince her, she can see for herself. This helped Michelle, my stoker, to greatly improve her own performance without any pushing (typically a counterproductive technique) from me. Michelle burns 20 - 25 calories per mile.

+1 on the good advice. My wife and I are new to tandeming, but if anything I'm finding that my wife and I probably are working harder than on our singles so as to not let the other down. You'll have to compromise cadence and gearing. If your efficient cadences don't have much overlap you'll have times in the beginning when you struggle to be efficient. The stronger rider, I would think, will need to compromise. I find myself having to be very mindful of picking the right gear for my wife who is not as strong a climber as I am (and neither of use is a strong climber!). If you take a tandem out on a test ride with any climbing I would definitely err on the side of a lower gear during a climb.

I know my wife and I are enjoying the tandem tremendously. The time we spend together is much higher quality than when we're riding our singles. Good luck!

So, test rent the Periscope for few days and then when they get the Primera assembled take a ride on that.
There is a bit of a learning curve riding a tandem and one ride will not sufficiently impress you. A few days of riding will give better feedback.
Good luck!

I hate to "me too" but in the interest of giving you more incentive to try it, I agree completely with Retro Grouch. My wife was basically a non-biker and is really happy not having to brake, shift, steer.

Trust me, she can get all the workout she needs on the back of the tandem.

Good luck.

Be carefull what you wish for. It cracks me up when Husbands purchase a tandem to introduce the wife to there sport. After a few rides the wife is hooked and wants to ride all the time. The poor husband forgot that the whole reason he rides is to get away from the wife. OOOps