faster?
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Posts: 40
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
faster?
is tandem biking faster than single biking? bcuz two people would be stronger but more weight, i think the weight wouldnt effect that much of the speed compared to the strength of two riders?
#2
Super Modest
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 23,466
Bikes: Trek Emonda, Giant Propel, Colnago V3, Co-Motion Supremo, ICE VTX WC
Mentioned: 107 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10963 Post(s)
Liked 4,620 Times
in
2,123 Posts
Originally posted by Omalley21145
is tandem biking faster than single biking? bcuz two people would be stronger but more weight, i think the weight wouldnt effect that much of the speed compared to the strength of two riders?
is tandem biking faster than single biking? bcuz two people would be stronger but more weight, i think the weight wouldnt effect that much of the speed compared to the strength of two riders?
#4
World Relay Tour Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Belgium
Posts: 41
Bikes: 2003 Koga Miyata TwinTraveller, 2004 Koga Miyata RoadWinner, 2005 Koga Miyata X-RunnerAlloy
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
There is one exception to the rule:
Riding uphill is usually slower with a tandem, although practise helps.
TwinTraveller
Riding uphill is usually slower with a tandem, although practise helps.
TwinTraveller
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 108
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
A tandem is like taking two riders on regular bikes, combining their power and reducing the total air resistance. So a tandem should go faster than the same two riders on regular bikes. I don't see it being any slower up a hill because there is more weight but also more power. Any thoughts on this?
#6
Super Modest
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 23,466
Bikes: Trek Emonda, Giant Propel, Colnago V3, Co-Motion Supremo, ICE VTX WC
Mentioned: 107 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10963 Post(s)
Liked 4,620 Times
in
2,123 Posts
I can only give anecdotal testimony and here goes:
My wife and I have both ridden singles and tandems since 1982. My wife is an accomplished rider who can hold her own in most groups of riders. We were both USCF racers in the 80s.
Now, we do climb some hills faster on a tandem than we do on singles but many hills, we do not. It seems to depend upon the grade and length. Longer hills seem to eventually wear us down and we end up in lower and lower gears and boy, tandems have some lowwwww gears. Also, very steep hills can cause us to come to a near stand-still.
There are many hills that seem to be made for tandems, though, and I guess those are the ones that keep a team coming back. Roller type hills are excellent on a tandem as are some long light grades, say 3-4%.
Lastly, that single rider wind resistance factor on a tandem doesn't mean much at lower speeds, however the double weight is a real killer.
My wife and I have both ridden singles and tandems since 1982. My wife is an accomplished rider who can hold her own in most groups of riders. We were both USCF racers in the 80s.
Now, we do climb some hills faster on a tandem than we do on singles but many hills, we do not. It seems to depend upon the grade and length. Longer hills seem to eventually wear us down and we end up in lower and lower gears and boy, tandems have some lowwwww gears. Also, very steep hills can cause us to come to a near stand-still.
There are many hills that seem to be made for tandems, though, and I guess those are the ones that keep a team coming back. Roller type hills are excellent on a tandem as are some long light grades, say 3-4%.
Lastly, that single rider wind resistance factor on a tandem doesn't mean much at lower speeds, however the double weight is a real killer.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Dallas Texas
Posts: 123
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Yes, I'd have to say we're WAY FASTER on our tandem than we are on our singles. The first "real" tour we did that also had a USCF race we hung with the pack that would have dropped us in like 2 miles on singles. The leaders drafted off us for like the first 25 miles. Then we hit the hills, can you say, SEE YA!! We got blown way off the back on the very first climb. We're getting better at climbing but, we still get passed by fit singles on steep climbs.