Tandem Cycling - Getting all matchy-matchy when riding your tandem?

So I've browsed the pictures here and got some ideas but I couldn't find much text commentary about dressing in matching clothing when riding your tandems. I understand that there are certain times that you would almost certainly dress alike (such as a team ride wearing team jerseys). I'm not interested in the situations where rules/customs dictate wearing a certain outfit, only what you wear when you get to choose your own outfit for casual/just-for-fun riding.

My wife wants to match when we ride our tandem on the local MUP. I have no strong feelings about it one way or the other so we're reverting back to the first rule of tandems- do whatever the stoker wants. So far our best "matching outfit" will consist of bike shorts and matching t-shirts as we've yet to agree on a jersey that is affordable and available in our size(s).

How about you- Do you and your stoker intentionally wear matching outfits when riding 'just for fun'?

For normal fun/training rides we wear whatever comes to hand. For proper organised rides we usually make an attempt to be in matching outfits.

I understand that there are certain times that you would almost certainly dress alike (such as a team ride wearing team jerseys).

We are a "team" every time we go out and matching jerseys reinforces that fact, both to ourselves and to others. We likes `em!

If you are not wearing matching kits the fashion police will get you! :lol:

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd35/Homey-B/Pictures7-14-09090.jpg

If you are not wearing matching kits the fashion police will get you!

Again!!?!! http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/RNCpolice.jpg

Weather permitting. I have a long-sleeved merino jersey and she doesn't, so we can only match when it's warm enough for our short sleeved, matching jerseys. But we also have non-matching jerseys, which we wear when the matching ones are in the wash.

The matching ones are higher visibility, so they're first choice for safety reasons.

We always match as much as possible. But during the busy riding season, and I'm out on the single training too, sometime we runn out of clean matching gear! Depending on what it is, sometimes will dictate which outfits. I like wearing our Team Hill Slug jerseys when in NH or one of the club rides. Our extra stoker on the triplet is upset when he doesn't match us. He is very excited to have shoes that "Click" this year like ours.

We always where matching outfits for organized rides and we match 99% of the time on our regular training rides as well. Over the years on our tandem, we've made a point to both buy jersey's on Organized Rides that support worthwhile charities and from events that have particularly brightly colored jerseys. As a result, despite out growing some and using up others, we can make sure we match anytime we ride.

Bill J.

We are too new at this to have matching jerseys and the ones available on the internet are not all that exciting. Generally, I wear an essentially solid color that is similar to the background color of my stoker's jersey. This is the best we can do until some interesting matching jerseys come along.

I suppose we are more the exception than the rule, but we have not joined the "matching jersey club". There have been a few occasions that we match, but the general rule for us is to NOT match.

I'm sure you all can give us some good reasons to reconsider...

I just thought I'd add my .02 cents even though it seems to be out of favor with many tandem teams.

After tandeming TWOgether for 35 years we've got lots of matching stuff . . . and wore out a lot of it too!
Lots of matching jerseys, shorts, sox and well over a hundred T-shirts.

I suppose we are more the exception than the rule, but we have not joined the "matching jersey club". There have been a few occasions that we match, but the general rule for us is to NOT match.

I'm sure you all can give us some good reasons to reconsider...

I just thought I'd add my .02 cents even though it seems to be out of favor with many tandem teams.

Funny, but I wasn't going to post on this thread for the fear of getting slammed....:lol:. In our 25 years of tandeming, I don't ever recall a time when my wife and I have worn matching apparel. It's really been quite the contrary. Our primary objective has always been to come home from work, change into our bike shorts and whatever feels comfortable, and then hop on the bike and ride to our heart's delight. I would suppose we might look at things differently if we were to be part of club rides more frequently, but we're quite content with riding the rural and quiet country roads in our local area. About the only thing we'll seriously consider when riding is the notion of wearing colorful clothing so that we'll easily be seen by the occasional passing motorist.

It makes the wife / stoker smile, what can I say, she dresses me funny. Yes we get remarks praising and poking fun about matching. Regardless of how well we match or not, when dressed funny, the coolest comments are ones that are based on having someone that rides with me. Followed many times by the typical comments and jokes about not pedaling, or how come she has no brakes, that's crazy.

If I ask the ones that find matching gear dumb, anything about their wife riding, most have little to say. Somewhat of a reality check for them as they ride alone.

PK

Funny, but I wasn't going to post on this thread for the fear of getting slammed....:lol:. In our 25 years of tandeming, I don't ever recall a time when my wife and I have worn matching apparel.

You are not alone, we have yet to wear anything that matches. For reasons I won't go into I can not wear a normal cycling jersey, but some day we'll end up with matching tee-shirts I'm sure.

Yup. We match. And sometimes it's not easy to find matching in both Adult and Youth sizes.

You are not alone, we have yet to wear anything that matches. For reasons I won't go into I can not wear a normal cycling jersey, but some day we'll end up with matching tee-shirts I'm sure.


ohhhh, you guys are going to be in trouble!!!:innocent:

Ok....ok....I'll let my stoker(s) match clothing, but I have to draw the line at that, ok? I just don't care to be wearing their green jerseys very much.

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh293/jpridx/2009-10-16-twins.jpg

Seriously, though, does it really matter what we wear when riding a tandem? Isn't the true joy of riding a tandem about the notion of being with and sharing quality time with someone we love? Of course, those who race may not think of tandeming in these terms but, for the most part, my wife and I ride a tandem for the sheer joy of being together while sharing the wonders of nature in doing so. Not only is it a great activity for a relationship for those who enjoy cycling, it's a healthy thing to do, too. Really, how much better can it be than that? At the end of the day, whether we match clothing apparel or we don't, it'll never take away from the freedom I feel when pedaling a tandem bicycle.

From a previous poll conducted mostly of Tandem@Hobbes, Double_Forte & BF readers...

This is a pretty poor quality screen shot, but you can find a better image here (http://www.opinionpower.com/results.cgi?id=159051851); just scroll down to question #7.

Nope, we just ride! And I can't afford that fancy stuff!:D



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf2UIbgMmeM

Huh, I could never get my captain to wear matching jerseys. Then again, he was a big guy and even women's XXL jerseys wouldn't fit him. Though he would have looked sweet in pink with kittens...

99% of the time we match. In fact my son had a jersey he bought probably 5-6 years ago when he was much smaller, he wore a small. It fits my wife perfect, so I went on line and found the exact jersey in a large for just $20. The jersey look brand new, it could not have been worn more than 10 times by the original owner. We probably now have 7-8 matching jerseys. I have a couple others but wear them most often when I ride alone.

The only exception is a jersey my son bought 6-7 years ago and I bought two years ago. It is from a bike shop in Plymouth, NH. Basically very similar in design, different color scheme, though red, black and gray.

Got to match on the bike!

99% of the time we match. In fact my son had a jersey he bought probably 5-6 years ago when he was much smaller, he wore a small. It fits my wife perfect, so I went on line and found the exact jersey in a large for just $20. The jersey look brand new, it could not have been worn more than 10 times by the original owner. We probably now have 7-8 matching jerseys. I have a couple others but wear them most often when I ride alone.

The only exception is a jersey my son bought 6-7 years ago and I bought two years ago. It is from a bike shop in Plymouth, NH. Basically very similar in design, different color scheme, though red, black and gray.

Got to match on the bike!

Must be from Rhino. I know that place!

A little twist.

We make an effort not to match, however, the fashionable stoker does make an effort to coordinate. The color blind captain is clueless.

We only match on club jersey days at organized rides.

I think this approach is driven by a captain at our first organized ride (we were impressionable) who said he wanted to compliment us on not having matching jerseys, and on not having any @#$% hanging from our bike.

If we don't look too good then I guess we have to ride strong.

Does anyone have a range of matching jerseys for male and female? We can obviously both wear mens jerseys but they don't fit my lovely stoker :love: that well and I don't fit womens jerseys very well either
(vive la difference).

As has been mentioned before on this topic, an easy way to match is to join a cycling team (that has both men and women) and for both of you to wear your team's kit (team uniform including at least shorts and jersey).

A kit is a great thing even without tandeming, as both jersey and shorts are graphically coordinated, so too is the vest, jacket, etc. So, no trying to match up colors. All you have to do is put on enough of the kit for whatever temperature it is, and you are good. They generally look better too than a jersey with black shorts.

A team will make an order, usually in the fall, for the next year's kit. There will be sizes for both men and women. You can get an idea of how this works at the Voler (http://www.voler.com/customCyclingProducts.aspx#Grp-SS) site. If you aren't keen on joining a team, you can use the Hammer kit (http://www.hammernutrition.com/clothing/cycling/), which is fairly inexpensive and very complete in its offerings. You can also get a kit from a pro team, such as from Probikekit (http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?cat=Mens%20Clothing), however since you aren't really a member of Astana, that might look funny. That is why the Hammer kit is popular, as it doesn't represent membership in any particular team.

Of course, the kit is but one benefit of joining a team, but the rest would be OT.

The United States Cycling Federation has lists and links to clubs (http://www.usacycling.org/clubs/), to make it easy to find a club in your local area.

Looking for a good resource to buy matching apparel .. just getting ramped up with tandem gear. Don't have a strong desire to do the 100% match thing but have interest. Thoughts or suggestions?

Does anyone have a range of matching jerseys for male and female? We can obviously both wear mens jerseys but they don't fit my lovely stoker :love: that well and I don't fit womens jerseys very well either
(vive la difference).I sometimes order their Jersey of the month and they have gender specific sizing.
http://www.velowear.com/jom.aspx

Looking for a good resource to buy matching apparel .. just getting ramped up with tandem gear. Don't have a strong desire to do the 100% match thing but have interest. Thoughts or suggestions?

Another way to do this is to use a line with both men's and women's, and obtain their equivalent clothes. Assos men's (http://www.assos.com/#/collections/assos-series/men/jerseys/ss.13/) and women's (http://www.assos.com/#/collections/assos-series/women/jerseys/ss.13-lady/) are matching, but not identical. Assos isn't particularly cheap, but there may be similar look-alikes in less expensive lines.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4358406954_f4d28ec32d.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4358440832_d489946e93.jpg

I sometimes order their Jersey of the month and they have gender specific sizing.
http://www.velowear.com/jom.aspx

They seem to have a good range at a reasonable price, but they won't ship overseas.

Matching jerseys very rarely. Matching socks a little less rarely.

Kucharik's has jerseys in a wide range of sizes.

http://www.kucharikclothing.com/-c-21.html?osCsid=00be5b11b516d2126053d828958d58aa

we have a pair of their tandem hats but not any of their jerseys yet.

Just bought our first jerseys:
http://shop.redhook.com/StoreFront/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=100299

Raglan sleeves, made by Castelli, fit us both nicely. Light, stretchy fabric. I think we'll be fairly visible.

My wife and I have been single bike riders for a LONG time and have a lot of Jerseys... some even match.

When we have done tandem rallies... we make sure not to match... just because. :innocent:

I like to be different.. and love the comments....blah blah blah...

we have ridden cross country and the many other thousands of miles with out matching ....then to have someone who rides one or two times a week critique our clothes... I just smile :roflmao2:

We try to match all the time, Including helmets, shoes, gloves, and socks.
Getting hard with two little ones in a trialer, but we do have a few sets of four matching jerseys and that looks really cool.

....then to have someone who rides one or two times a week critique our clothes... I just smile :roflmao2:

+1 What can you say?

Having said that, we do have several matching jerseys from events that we have ridden together so we do match jerseys most of the time, but certainly not all.

We try to match all the time, Including helmets, shoes, gloves, and socks.
Getting hard with two little ones in a trialer, but we do have a few sets of four matching jerseys and that looks really cool. With the 4 of you look a likes, it's probably awesome looking.

It's when teams start matching off the bike it gets crazy.

We match most every time. Now we do have the exceptions where the "Theme" though still matches. As an example with our cereal jerseys. She wear Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes - Bright Orange) and I wear Fruit Loops (more of a Red jersey). With so few tandems up this way in NH we standout not just as tandem riders but also with the matching jerseys. Now we have started a biking club at my work so this year we should all match on our rides. Now that will be most interesting.

MY son has a spongebob jersey (he rides a tandem with my husband) and gets so many comments. So off to ebay we went. Our first orgamized ride Is April 25 - we will all 3 be decked out in our SpongeBob jerseys. Gotta admit, husband just goes with the flow - this is definitely more my and my son's doing....

Matchy matchy - it's a team thing
(and we hope we don't upset anyone who has actually earned the right to wear their national kit)

139307

We occasionally wore matching colorful t-shirts for captain, stoker, and our daughter in the burley. We enjoyed it.

Dressing alike on the tandem been a long time thing for us . . .

Santa Ana River Trail ....... Cool footage.