Google sponsored links
HELLO!
We've been riding a Cannondale road tandem for about 2 years, and although I feel the tandem is slightly big for us, we've been able to achieve a decent fit by changing stems, shifter/brake location, etc. Our longest rides have been between 60 and 70 miles and have a total of 2,000 miles ridden and have not experienced any major issues related to comfort. We have about 1 inch of standover clearance when we straddle the bike.
In the beginning, I've felt we were just riding great, but recently, I'm feeling we're not riding as efficiently as we could be. I've looked at the smaller size Cannondale and it felt much lighter and the wheelbase is also 2 1/2 inches shorter. Any thoughts on what we may be missing in terms of performance, handling and control?
LuisB
This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content
here.
Ready to buy? Check out these two online bike stores:
-
http://www.nashbar.com (you can find the latest bike nashbar coupons in
this thread)
-
http://www.performancebike.com (you can find the latest performance bike coupons in
this thread)
Cya on the forums,
- The BikeForums Team
-
http://www.bikeforums.net
Sounds like something other than the bike to me unless the bike is out of tune or has a worn drive train. Are you getting enough sleep????
Any thoughts on what we may be missing in terms of performance, handling and control?
Did you do a lot of single bike riding before acquiring the tandem and now find that you spend most of your riding time on the tandem?
I do about 50/50 single and tandem riding. The tandem is in great mechanical condition. I find out that acceleration is sluggish and I'm missing some zip when riding the tandem which I presumed is attributable to the heavier weight and the long wheelbase.
LuisB
When I had my Santana I somewhat felt that sluggishness. My stoker, my wife, was not a regular cyclist until I put her on the tandem, but still I felt as if I was doing 90% of the work up front. I also did my weekly group training rides on my single bike and felt a tremendous boost on the single. Anyway, I asked one of my group ride buddies if he wanted to stoke for me on the tandem. Wow!.....what a difference... most of that sluggishness with my new partner dissappeared and it almost felt like I was on a completely different bike. I was putting alot less effort moving that tandem. I suggested my wife take up Salsa dancing instead which she did.
George
I do about 50/50 single and tandem riding. The tandem is in great mechanical condition. I find out that acceleration is sluggish and I'm missing some zip when riding the tandem which I presumed is attributable to the heavier weight and the long wheelbase.
I don't have any scientific data to back this up, so take it for what it's worth. But, these are my observations relative to my own fitness and others with whom we ride.
There is definitely an initial performance hit for many folks who ride tandems when it comes to rapid acceleration, climbing, and stopping. But, your comments suggest your performance has degraded on the tandem over time. Therefore, I suspect what you may be experiencing is a personal performance hit.
Captaining a tandem after many years of riding only a single bike can slowly but surely degrade your fitness and performance unless you: a) have a stoker who doesn't contribute much to the riding effort thereby increasing your workload for a given ride, b) continue to sustain the same level of effort while captaining the tandem as you do on your single bike so that you don't have a net loss of "quality" training which should put you out in front of your peers IF your stoker is carrying their own share of the workload or, c) increase the level of effort you put into your single bike training rides to compensate for the time you spend on a tandem.
Put another way, it's easy for a captain to get lazy on a tandem, and not even know it. A lot of tandem riding can end up being "junk mileage" relative to maintaining peak fitness since rolling along on the flats and even moderate terrain at your "normal" training speeds will take less individual effort on the tandem that it would on your single bike. In general, if your stoker is making great contributions and you're not climbing lots of hills or doing most of your tandem miles by chasing the "racer boys & girls" and pulling them on the flats, you'll find your single bike performance will not be what it was when you return to the single after prolonged tandem riding.
George & Mark,
You have both answered my questions! All the while I was thinking it was the tandem bike but in reality it is a stoker issue and captain issue. I ride a single bike in addition to riding the tandem with my wife. We only ride tandem about once a week and go for rides of 25-30 miles and I ride 2 additional days on my own doing moderate mileage. This weekend, we completed a metric century and I didn't feel the sluggishness until the last 15 miles of the ride. I just realized that she probably tired and I was left exerting more effort than I should, which eventually made me tired. I guess the answer is to train properly for the distance next time.
Oh well! There goes the justification for buying a new tandem.
LuisB
I ride as stoker to a very fit Pilot, and we do the enduro offroad events. As I said, My pilot is fitter than me, but we both put in our own level of power, up to our fitness and strength levels, and it works. I have ridden with pilots and stokers that are far fitter than my regular pilot, and it has not worked. Problem is that these other riders put in so much power, that they are knackered halfway up the first hill. They feel that they have to carry me, as I am older than them, not as strong as them and not as powerful. As soon as I can get them to realise that they are on a Marathon ride, so conserve a bit of energy, instead of the 200 metres that they think they are on, they don't wear me out too soon and it works. We not only do the Marathon, but a lot more aswell.
Incidentally, My regular Pilot says the same. It does not matter how fit the other rider is, until they gauge each others power, and start working together, it is hard work.
I don't have any scientific data to back this up, so take it for what it's worth. But, these are my observations relative to my own fitness and others with whom we ride.
There is definitely an initial performance hit for many folks who ride tandems when it comes to rapid acceleration, climbing, and stopping. But, your comments suggest your performance has degraded on the tandem over time. Therefore, I suspect what you may be experiencing is a personal performance hit.
Captaining a tandem after many years of riding only a single bike can slowly but surely degrade your fitness and performance unless you: a) have a stoker who doesn't contribute much to the riding effort thereby increasing your workload for a given ride, b) continue to sustain the same level of effort while captaining the tandem as you do on your single bike so that you don't have a net loss of "quality" training which should put you out in front of your peers IF your stoker is carrying their own share of the workload or, c) increase the level of effort you put into your single bike training rides to compensate for the time you spend on a tandem.
Put another way, it's easy for a captain to get lazy on a tandem, and not even know it. A lot of tandem riding can end up being "junk mileage" relative to maintaining peak fitness since rolling along on the flats and even moderate terrain at your "normal" training speeds will take less individual effort on the tandem that it would on your single bike. In general, if your stoker is making great contributions and you're not climbing lots of hills or doing most of your tandem miles by chasing the "racer boys & girls" and pulling them on the flats, you'll find your single bike performance will not be what it was when you return to the single after prolonged tandem riding.
I do not have near the experience of Mark on a tandem, never the less, I find this statement to be true. Unless you are an extremely fit as well as tuned-together team, a tandem just cannot be ridden with the aplomb of a single. You can’t just stand up and flail the bike up a hill in a huge gear. Standing is more refined, with a lot of energy going to working together and riding a strait line, something you don’t even think of on a single.
On the flats, it is easy to go fast at a moderate effort. I try to make a conscious effort to work hard on the tandem, especially climbing. So far, I have not noticed a fitness decline, but I do a lot of single riding too.
You could always switch stokers and see how you do….!
Perhaps the newness/novelty is wearing off a bit!
But riding 'in tandem' is teamwork and both riders must share the labor/fun.
Institute some novelty in your riding to get the juices flowing again. Do sprints to roads signs, accelerate up a hill, alter your regular routine/route.
Or if you two are constantly doing the 'performance thing', try a 'lets just go for coffee and a sticky bun' ride instead of continuously hammering.
After many decades of riding as a duo, we are not as performance oriented any more. Used to be if we missed a day of riding, we would double our miles the next day. Now riding with some other folks at a conversational pace happens to suit us more.
Lack of variety can create boredom/inefficiency.
It's the motor...and your goals.
Most women aren't as strong as most men on a per-pound basis. So your power-to-weight ratio will drop on a tandem, unless you put two men on. Then, watch out--you may very well have the fastest bike on the ride. Just be sure you are prepared for the corner entry speeds--they are going to be higher.
If you don't both desire absolute success, you won't have it. You've got to WANT to go until you drop, full-throttle the whole way. Heart rate monitors can keep you honest, at least with yourself. If you are out with a pack of racer guys, on terrain that includes some hills, you are going to have to push right to the wall to stay with the pack and avoid being permanently dropped, with a mixed pair on a tandem. And it will helpful to consider your tactics very carefully. Piling up a lead on the downhill prior to a climb can keep you with the pack at the top of the climb. You have to look ahead and think about what will be best: staying with the draft or piling up a lead. And you had better be prepared to turn up the speed and hop right back on the back when the pack comes by. Of course, there are variations on this where a strong guy who isn't getting enough work just pulling the pack around can take up a harder task by trying to keep the tandem with the pack by helping.
I like this lifestyle because it gives you so much capability off the bike. I'm light and fast on my feet, even at nearly 190 lbs. I go up stairs and hills fast. I lift and carry heavy loads fairly easily. I can go to altitude and ride and hike pretty well. It keeps me far away from the stainless steel table and quadruple bypass (I hope).
Of course, you have to look pretty hard to find the motivation to keep going at 187 bpm up a steep hill when others are pulling away, but many of us will chase the merest wisp of memory of the next person in front of us, and run hard to stay away from any of the chasers who do not deserve to catch us.
Previous -
Top -
Next
Copyright 1999 - 2007
BikeForums.Net - All rights reserved.
Common bike forum topics in clue bicycles, cycling, mountain biking,
cycling jerseys, shorts, socks, shoes and bike equiptment selection.