O.K., what to you do to keep your stoker comfortable? We pretty much average 100 miles every time we ride our tandem. Miss m reports having sore hands from not moving around as much as on her singles. I do make a point of standing every few miles to change our position on the bike.

Any suggestions?

The regular butt breaks have always been our best hedge against discomfort. I set my Timex Tri. watch's countdown/return to a 10 (summer) or 15 (winter) minute cycle that I use to remind me/us to drink and to take a butt break.

However, sore hands usually means poor position/too much weight resting on the hands or bull-horn bars. Traditional fixes: make sure her riding position on the tandem is exactly the same as her single (seat set-back, handlebar to seat rise, seat nose to crank) and if all else fails consider gel gloves or different handlebars that offer more positions.

Just what comes to mind....


Mark

We seldom go more than 15-20 miles on the tandem without stopping and getting off the bike for a few minutes. On a single I stop about every 30. As you say there just isn't as much moving around on a tandem so soreness sets in a quicker.

Dear MB,
I think we're aquainted thru RoadBikeReview...
Kathy and I trade off captaining on the long rides. I think for the Davis Double we might switch more than once. This really helps as captaining and stoking use really different muscles.

My experience dictates that even with the tandem set up identically to a single bike the stress factors are different. Like Mark, I do stretches as frequently as possible.

You know it is funny how things change. This last Saturday (after I posted this thread) we did a wet, windy, hilly 130 mile ride. Miss M didn't complain about her position at all.

So the answer must be ride in appalling conditions and everything will be fine???

Could be as simple as the saddle. If the nose of the saddle is even slightly down then lots more weight on the hands. Level saddle or saddle with nose "very slightly" up may be the fix. My stoker likes the bullhorns as she feels it gives multiple hand positions.

Saddle position can vary greatly between riders and still be most comfy. My stoker personally prefers a slight nose-down tilt. Without it she's not a happy camper. She hated the softride beam also since the effective seat angle was in constant motion.

Miss M only has problems with her hands. I'm thinking the reason she didn't have a problem last Saturday in the wind and rain was because we were working harder than usual and she was pulling on the bars a lot more and resting on them a lot less. We sure didn't do much cruising.

This Saturday (if the weather holds) 175 miles. We'll see how it goes....