New Tandem Riding looking for Advice

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xray

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ben rabin

For what is is worth, my wife and I, a team of 350lbs, recently purchase an Axiom 007 Ti Seven Cycles Tandem. In an effort to assist stoker wife's comfort, among other things, we switched from a Bontrager Lite Wheelset to a wheelset we had made by Peter White, Phil Wood Hubs and Velocity Deep V Rims. Without question, we both feel more stable and find them, at least to our speed, acumen, etc.. totally satisfying. Only other tandem experience prior to this bike and wheels, was a Cannondale Alum with smaller wheelset....so nothing to compare it to.

ben rabin

sorry, previous reply posted to wrong thread.gotta get the hang of this

stapfam

Main advice in the early days is to make certain that the bike is set up for the riders, but just get out and ride until you find a problem. New bikes means a certain amount of "Newness" will wear parts in so keep the cables chain and braKe blocks adjusted until they settle down and look out for loose nuts and bolts.

TandemGeek

My wife has gone for one 7 mile ride and said she enjoyed it, but I am concerned she will always have something else to do, rather than go for a ride. Any advice for a newbie?

Exotic destinations as an enticement? Seriously, if you're looking to foster your wife's interest in spending more time together on the tandem you'll need to figure out if she'd be more inclined to ride for the social aspects, for fitness, or if it's just not something that will ever trip her trigger.

To do this, you might want to look for ways to test the waters on combining "quality time" with "ride time" by proposing a short ride to local breakfast or lunch stop. You could also target a local point of interest as the destination. If she enjoys those types of rides, look for the more scenic loops where you can "smell the roses" on your rides and then explore the existence of local tandem clubs with an eye towards participating in a tandem-only group ride; the social dynamics are quite different compared to a single bike group ride.

If she suggests that she'd just rather get some exercise, lay out a nice loop ride near home that you can use to build up her saddle time. Make sure you let her have input into decisions regarding plans for the distance and solicit her feedback while riding to make sure the level of effort is appropriate. You don't want her to feel these early rides are too easy or too hard; remember, you're trying to make cycling and tandeming something that she'll want to do, not something she feels pressured to do.

Finally, you might want to send off for one of Santana's catalogs and leave it laying in a strategic location where your wife will find it. http://www.santanainc.com/catalog.html While I'm not advocating the purchase of a Santana tandem, I must say that Santana does a great job of showing real people out riding tandems in beautiful settings that are routinely found on their tours (which is where these pictures come from). And, speaking of their tours, the back 1/3d of the catalog is dedicated to descriptions of their upcoming tours and rallies. Hey, it may turn out that the lure of tandeming in exotic locations could be the key to unlocking her enthusiasm for the tandem. Once you're on Santana's mailing list you'll forever receive their catalog. You'll want to read the "technical comments" with a wary eye as they are often times a bit over the top and self-serving; after all, it is a sales catalog and marketing device. Santana makes a fine product but, despite the impression you may get from reading their literature, the other major tandem builders are all offering products that are of equivalent quality and value; the differences between similar models produced by different builders are often times subtle nuances at best.

As for any other information you might need as a tandem newbie, let me suggest that a visit to our Web site may yield some useful information: http://www.TheTandemLink.com You'll want to visit the "Learning Center" pages where you'll find a whole series of links to articles on tandem tips for newbies.

bentbaggerlen

Yep, Marks right on the money. If she enjoys riding the tandem with you she will.
Don't take her on what you think is a nice little 30 mile ride, until she thinks shes ready for it. To her 30 miles may be a death march ride.
Going fast is fun but if she says your going to fast , you are.
Take her on a picnic ride to a local park, or out for Ice cream.

Also check out the TCA (Tandem Club of America) their newsletter Doubletalk. Has lot of great stories and lists of tandem rides hosted by other members. http://www.tandemclub.org/ The Santana Catalog is nice once you get past the sales pitch. Their tours and rallies get rave reviews, But keep in mind the prices are shown in the catalog, $2995.00 to $9595.00. She may think you have lost it if she looks at the prices. :) I have people ask me if any tandem can be worth that much, I can only tell them that every tandem I've ever owned has been worth twice the price in time spent with my S.O. But if the Santana rally in Hawaii doesn't win her over I don't know what will...I'm going to have to look at that one myself, Jan would love it.

xray

Thanks for your comments all. I will check the various links you have provided. I really appreciate the effort you took to provide me with some usefull information.

RB

zonatandem

Howdy from Tucson, X-ray!

Welcome to the tandem world!
We've been tandeming for 3 decades and the way to justify a tandem is that it is an investment in your continued good health!
TWOgetherness is a key issue, as is exercise and the social angle, as well as travel.
Don't be too pushy about riding; short easy rides to start and listen to your stoker . . .
Enjoy the ride!

Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/Zona tandem

Brian

Mark and Rudy already offered up their 2 cents, so here's mine. I built my tandem so I could get my wife to ride with me. I had already built her a nice bike, but due to the disparity between our interests in cycling, we rarely rode together. We started out with short rides to the beach and little cafe's. We may have only ridden 20k for a 2 hour outing, but it was quality time. I also got her a better seat and suspension post, for a bit more comfort after she advised it wasn't as comfy as her full suspension bike. I got her a pink jersey and some pink Lin socks, and she started to get into it more. Now she rides clipped into her pedals, and we take off into the bush with heaps of water, some snacks, and a GPS to get us home (just in case). It's not just my toy, it's our toy. She has her own gear, and it's become a big part of our free time. We can talk and ride together, and never worry about the pace anymore. She usually chooses the route and destination, and off we go. Make it more enjoyable for your wife. Get a rack and trunk bag, and pack a picnic. Rudy and Kay are our inspiration, we can only hope to rack up as many happy miles as them.

OldShacker

Our famiuly just got a new Raleigh Pursuit tandem for Christmas. This is a relatively inexpesive tandem, but comes with Shimano 105 STI shifters & derailuers, Aluminum frame, Truvativ crankes and ITM stems and handlebars. Brakes are Tecktro Mini-V linear. No frame lug to attach a drum brake for decents.

Last year I rode 5,800 miles on my other bikes, so I am not new to cycling, but thus far I only have 28 miles on the new tandem.

I ride with my 11 year old daughter and my 10 year old son who both are very excited about the new bike. My wife has gone for one 7 mile ride and said she enjoyed it, but I am concerned she will always have something else to do, rather than go for a ride.

Any advice for a newbie?

Thanks, RB
xray My wife and I have been riding a tandem for about 11-years now. At first she felt safe because she can put her foot down and got used to riding in the back. To make a long story short. Now we enjoy some team rides and organized along with our hourly weekend ride on our Cannondale RT1000. I get my workout and she can come along for the ride. We do a lot of valued communication when we are alone and enjoying the sights together. We have a lot to do and family life is very important to us so on the weekends we just do about an hour or so of riding in the early morning or late evening.
she even took to the shoes and clips just last year and loves them. We go now where I would be going alone

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