Tandem Cycling - Maiden "voyage" tomorrow

My wife is out of town so I thought I would try adding a supercharger to the tandem. My 34 y/o son is a pretty strong cyclist, but never been on a tandem so we're meeting tomorrow am to go on a 61 mile club ride. I had bought a 410mm Thomson seatpost for just such a possibility. I've got all of 1500 miles under my belt so any good thoughts would be appreciated. As long as we're upright we ought to be going pretty fast:D Gonna put a bit of extra air in the old tires (He's 190+).

Better look way out ahead. You will be going by everyone else like a rocket. Give them a lot of space. Can't wait to hear about how big your smile is :thumb:

1500 miles experience should be enough. We - the four in our family - went touring this summer. I started out with about as much experience as you have now. When my son and I did side trips, did we move... he's only 22, six and a half feet, probably about 190 pounds.

With two strong guys you might be out of sync and fight each other and the bike will squirm.
Try to go with the flow to maximize your power.

The ride went fine. My son had ridden 90 miles the day before and somewhat depleted his motor, but we did 70 miles at a reasonable pace. The really strange thing is that he never bothered to sync up on our Davinci and for the most part I couldn't tell the difference; must be something about his having a very good pedal stroke. He's obviously much more powerful than my wife and yet I can feel in an instant when she is out of sync. I think our ride is good testament to the torsional stiffness of the Davinci frame - this is a large/small frame, but I used a 410mm seatpost on the rear. Felt no whip at all.

BTW - had 3 flats in 15 minutes at one point.

BTW - had 3 flats in 15 minutes at one point.

Not to hijack your thread, but sounds like "flat resistant" tires are called for unless these were the "snake eyes" punctures of pinch flats. The front runners appear to be Conti Gatorskins, Bontrager Hardcase and Specialized Armadillos (in no particular order).

Sounds like a great ride!

28 cm Bontrager Hardcases on our Santana - on the 2nd pair now, no punctures so far

(Having stated this, I fully expect lots of popping pretty soon!)

I'm running Conti GP 4 Seasons. One of the flats was a small thorn, the source of the others is unknown (not a pinch flat). This is a heavily traveled road with a lot of small debris on the shoulder. My wife and I average about one flat per 100 miles - thron here, piece of glass there, etc.

My wife and I average about one flat per 100 miles - thorn here, piece of glass there, etc.

My wife and I used to do a little better, averaging one every 200 or so miles. We also used to have those days occasionally with multiple flats in the same ride.

Since changing to "flat resistant" tires, however, I'm truly surprised when we get a flat! Flats are not even on the radar anymore ..... have long since lost track ..... MAYBE one every 1500 to 2000 miles?

RDT & Son overtook my wife and I while we were out riding in the same area yesterday, at 60 miles into thier ride they looked plenty strong. Maybe changing flats was chance to recharge?

We run the conti GP 4's also and have only had a few flats while riding in the San Jose area did have 8 or 9 flats in New Zealand though.

I'm running Conti GP 4 Seasons. One of the flats was a small thorn.

Goatheads! (http://healthyhomegardening.com/Pests.php?pid=44&ptype=pest&im=MrFlores/goat_head_burrs.jpg) (Tribulus terrestris (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulus_terrestris)) The bane of cyclists. Conti GP 4 Seasons are no match for these, I don't even think Gatorskins or even Armadillo's can withstand their malevolence.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Trte_003_lhp.jpg/800px-Trte_003_lhp.jpg

It is helpful to be able to identify this noxious weed, and steer clear of it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Puncture_Vine_%28Tribulus_terrestris%29_in_Hyderabad%2C_AP_W_IMG_7935.jpg

One of my barn carts has foam-filled tires just to counter that evil weed. These darn things will grow in the cracks along the shoulder of the road and deposit their evil seed.

George, that was only a show. My son, unbeknownst to me, had ridden 90 miles the day before. Next time I'm wanting a rested stoker which is what I paid for when I housed and fed he and his brother for 19 years. You and your wife are very smooth on the tandem and it's impressive to see the stoker stand at a higher cadence.

I once had a buddy of mine stoking for a decent length ride. My wife is much younger than him, but he was a stronger rider. It was a bunch of fun.