HandsomeRyan

If this topic already has its own thread I apologize but the 'search' I did was fruitless.

Tell us about how you got started in tandem riding...

• When did you start?

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?

• What was your first bike?

• Who was your first stoker?

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?

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Although since I'm new to this my answers will be a lot less interesting, I'll go first-

When did you start?
My wife and I played around on her boss's 70's era heavy steel tandem road bike a few weeks ago and although it didn't fit us very well, I suppose that was my first tandem experience [at age 24].

What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?
Honestly, because they look cool. I wish I had a deeper or more meaningful answer but I don't. I liked the way they make people smile when they see you ride by. I also felt it would be a way for my wife, who is not as strong a rider as I am, to share cycling.

What was your first tandem bike?
First bike we rode was a heavy steel framed road tandem from the 70's that belonged to Mrs. HandsomeRyan's boss. We recently purchased a 1999 Cignal Melbourne Express as our own first tandem.



Who was your first stoker?
My wife, Mrs. HandsomeRyan. We have been married for a little over two years and she is a pretty good sport about indulging me in things like riding a tandem even though I know she doesn't consider herself a 'cyclist'. I'm trying to get my younger brother to come ride with me but he is hesitant (maybe if I let him be the captain?) and my mom has already told me if I can transport the bike to Knoxville, TN where she lives that she wants to ride it.

Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?
I suppose I've been riding them continuously since I started but that only counts for a couple weeks since I first threw a leg over a tandem.

Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?
Tandem cycling is as much fun as I hoped it would be. Unlike many folks here who do it for the joy of the ride; I would say my top two sources of enjoyment stemming from my tandem are 1) being able to ride it with my wife and 2) seeing the smiles on the faces of others who see us ride by. To me, a great tandem ride is as simple as pedaling a few miles up the greenway with my wife on a sunny afternoon.

masiman

• Rented a gosh awful tandem in Canada in '89, test rode a Gitane, and two Burley's in 93/94, finally bought our own in 2006
• Wanted to ride more with the wife and kids
• Da Vinci
• Wife
• Continuous
• I wish it weren't so expensive to acquire nice multi-seaters.

rdtompki

• When did you start?
'Bout 7 months and 2000 miles ago

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?
Just came to me. We had only been riding since Aug 2008 and did a 100K in the spring on our singles. I'm a somewhat stronger rider than my Wife so riding side-by-side didn't make a lot of sense.

• What was your first bike?
daVinci Joint Venture.

• Who was your first stoker?
Wife. I've had one of my grown sons on the back, a good cyclist, but he had ridden 90 hard miles the day before and wasn't the motor I expected.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?
Tandems are 90% of our riding. I'll ride my single a bit more in the Spring when the LBS resumes evening rides.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?
Lots of trust involved. I'm surprised at how we've both adapted; my Wife is more than willing to push as long as food is involved at some point. Our goal next year is to ride a century every couple of weeks starting in March (Solvang). The only downside is that we enjoy riding with groups, but don't fit well with too many club rides. Our preference would be rides in the 16-18 mph avg, 50 mile range without killer climbs. Rides tend to cluster on either side of this: shorter/slower or killer hills. Finally, don't every ask your stoker "What's happening back there?"

Retro Grouch 

We started during a period in our lives in which we had a lot of kids and not much money. Essentially, my only recreation was bicycling with my neighbor. An attempt to include my wife nearly ended in disaster. About that time a friend who was moving offered to give me a Schwinn Twinn coaster brake bike. It had been left out in the weather and most of the parts were unusable. While searching for a pair of replacement wheels, the very first person I talked to offered to sell me almost everything that I needed to build it into a 5-speed tandem for $30.00.

That was in 1976. Riding that crummy old Twinn Schwinn bike was definitely a life-changing experience for us.

pablopsd

My Wife and I started in 1998. I had been riding for a long time, and could never get her interested in road riding. She started to mountain bike in 98 some, and I had finally gotten her to go on a local club ride. It was a very easy route, and we talked with a few tandem teams that were at that ride. The rest, so they say is history. We went and tried a Burley tandem , then a Cannondale, which we liked better. Ultimately, I like to say you buy your first tandem so you know what you want in the second. For my stoker, the want was a Softride Beam. We now have a Softride equipped Co Motion, which we love. We used to ride pretty regularly all year long. (We are in MA). Then our son arrived, so the last few years, the mileage was down. However, now my Mom lives with us, and our son is older, so for the last 3 seasons we have been able to get out more and more each year. We actually went out for another night ride last night. Balmy 36 degrees at the finish. Very peaceful. We also still ride with 2 of the teams that we met on that very first day. They are great people, and we enjoy riding together. We now have a triplet for the 3 of us. Just moved DAniel from the middle to the back, and gave him crank shorteners instead of the child stoker kit. He is very excited for next season. He also is going to have shoes that "click" like Mommy and Daddy. He enjoyed running with a few fast teams as best we could at this past ETR. We have a lot of plans for next season including some competitive stuff. What else to share? Love riding with my wife and family. It can be difficult to balance the time of tandem, triplet, and race training on the single, but we do the best we can. That is why next year is going to be more of a tandem focus.

bikeriderdave

I started riding tandem with my ex-wife in 1978.
I was an active Cat2 racer at the time. I wanted to share my passion with my honey.
We borrowed a Motobecane of the era, then bought a custom Schwinn Paramount. Not _so_ expensive, as I was working at a Schwinn dealer at the time.
I took a forced break between the demise of my first marriage (1984) and 1993, when I started "courting" again.
Have been riding with my second (and last, 'til death do us part) wife since 1994, and on a triple with our daughter since 2002.
The only thing better than riding a single bike is riding a tandem as part of a well-coordinated team. We have just enough tandems: One for my wife and me, one for my daughter and me, a triple for the family, and a travel tandem just in case. Our triple gets the most use, but the two-fer that my wife and I ride is the most fun.

Welcome to the world of tandem cycling. May you derive half as much joy from tandeming as I have.

TandemGeek

I'd refer you to the archives via the search engine, but it seems like the search engine has systemically been made useless since Joe Gardner sold Bike Forums to Internet Brands back in May '07. Darn shame as there is a lot of good information in the archives that is now nearly impossible to recover.

• When did you start? For real, August 1997

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two? I had a deep fondness for cycling, was and remain madly in love with my wife so it made sense to combine the two so we could do what we both enjoy doing: spending quality time together and having fun. It was that or having her join me on the back of my motorcycle... which was merely delayed not deferred.

• What was your first bike? '96 Santana Arriva

• Who was your first stoker? My wife Debbie.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them? Continuously

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling? Not that I haven't already shared in those nearly 5,600 often very long postings lost in the archives here at BF, perhaps another 8,000 on Tandem@Hobbes or in numerous articles on my Website: https://www.thetandemlink.com.

Mr. Beanz

Started 1998
Figured wife would enjoy it!
First tandem, 1998 Burley Duet
Wife Gina, first and last stoker
For 2 years, mostly tandem, this year maybe 1000 of my 6500 miles, and her 3500 yearly mileage.
She likes to ride the tandem on WINDY days!

bike00

We started riding a tandem in 1998.

My wife and I had been doing various rides on single bikes for a number of years. At one ride a local shop had a tandem (don't remember the make). We tried it out and it seemed like fun. However, after a bad experience on a longer test ride, with no preperation we decided we were not ready as a team.

When my 6 year old son outgrew his trail-a-bike, I decided to look for a tandem for the two of us. On the return trip from a Florida vacation, we made a stop at Nashbar's outlet store in Youngstown, OH. There they had a "Twee Tee" full cro-mo tandem at half price. It was a little small for me as captain, but with crank arm shorteners, worked perfect for my son. It also fit my daughter. I bought it.

Although it was a "low end" tandem by most standards, it worked out well. I became a better captain while experimenting on my kids.

Little by little, my wife and I started riding as a team. Every year we rode more until it was time for our own bike since she is 5’10” and, like me, needed a bigger bike.

So, last year we bought a used Trek.

By the way, I still have the Twee Tee and still ride it with my autistic daughter.

specbill

1. • When did you start with Tandems?
   ..... 1990
   • What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?
   .....had been heavy into Cycling, Biathlons and Tri's in the late 80's and wanted my new girlfriend (now wife) to be involved. Got her a road bike to start riding in '89 but she never got comfortable on it and then she had an early bad crash that ruined the cycling deal for her... but after a few months she was willing to try a Tandem and leave the captains job to me.
   So in mid 1990 I had a quality Tandem shop custom build a Cannondale for us with all of the state of the art goodies of the day, more importantly the shop owner spent the time to teach us what is now called the "Proper Method" of riding a Tandem as a team. I give that shop owner almost complete credit for our years of enjoyment on Tandems. He made sure we had the right equipment for how we intended to ride, that it was properly fitted and then he invested his time insuring we could ride safely and correctly from day one...as a result, my wife took to the Tandem immediately and to this day it is our favorite form of entertainment excluding one.
   • What was your first Tandem bike?
   1990 Cannondale Tandem. ....and....after a complete upgrading of that bike in '07 to DA/XTR level components, it remains our favorite tandem for climbing and fast descending because it is super stable and provides a confidence inspiring ride. As we have ridden more we have added a new'ish '06/'07 Trek T2000 to our Tandem fun. The T2000 is a very nice package for the money that we enjoy as our flat-land go fast bike when we leave these mountains.
   • Who was your first stoker?
   Patti my wife.
   
   • Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?
   Continuous from 1990 until 2000...then mostly off until late 2006, then continual since that time. We ride more now than ever since retiring a few years back.

Bill J.

Butcher

My son and I started riding our tandem a couple of years ago. I got back into riding my bike after a 30 year absence, since my wife wanted to teach my autistic son how to ride a bike. After a year of teaching [he has muscle control issues, overweight, balance issues, and a multiple mental issues] he finally got it. After a few 20 mile rides it was apparent that he would never keep up with me. That is when the tandem idea came up. I always wanted a tandem and now I had the wifes OK. We bought a used Kuwahara and rode it for about three months. During that winter the tandem was totally disassembled. Items were brazed on and removed. All the parts were pitched and a new drivetrain was installed. The only thing left from the original tandem is the frame. I am a mechanic by trade so I would have most likely did the same with a new tandem. The good thing is that we lost 12 lbs. during the rebuild. My first stoker is my son, second my daughter [wife says heck no]. We have ridden for two years with only a break in the winter. The Seattle to Portland ride [STP] is our longest one day ride [205 miles]. We have had many others training for the ride and just for fun. 50 miles is about the time my son gets annoyed and wants to stop. The best time I had with the tandem is when we finished the STP. After 12.5 hours of riding we crossed the finish line and when my wife was walking up, my son was crying with tears of joy in completing the longest ride of our lives. That small moment of time made all the past issues with autism and my son worth it. My daughter now wants to do the STP and I am looking forward to it. My son weights 230lbs and is 16 years old and my daughter is 15 at 120lbs. Should be much easier going up hills [but not as fun going down].

zonatandem

Rode our first tandem in the Fall of 1974, a test ride at local bike shop. Presented that tanden as a surprise 20th wedding anniversary Jan. 29, 1975.

Got into tandeming as we had been riding quite extensively on single bikes, including many centuries, etc. Due to our different pace we were not always comfortable riding together on longer events and would see each other at the beginning of a ride, food/lunch stops and at end of the event. A tandem changed everything and we rode TWOgether.

First tandem was an imported French Follis 'real' 10 speed.

Wife Kay was my first stoker . . .

Continuouusly. It's now 225,000+ miles later and 35 years since thtat first tandem ride. Think we're hooked?

Tandem cycling has been a great way to exercise, meet people, travel and see lots of this country (and a few other places).
We are now on our 5th tandem. After that first one, the Follis, we got 4 custom tandems: Assenmacher; Colin Laing; Co-Motion. All those bikes were steel.
We now have a custom carbon fiber Zona tandem that just rolled over its 25,000th mile in '09.
The Follis taught us what we liked (riding together) and what we didn't like about that tandem (almost everything: improper stoker fit, heavy, handled like a truck, spoke issues, etc).
Due to Kay being 'height impaired', at under 4'11", nothing really fit her and have designed our own tandems from then on.
Would you wear shoes that are too small or too large? Same with a tandem: proper fit for both riders is paramount!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Hermes

• When did you start?

1980

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?

I was running and cycling and my wife was running and sort of cycling. I thought the tandem would allow us to ride together.

• What was your first bike?

Santana Sovereign

• Who was your first stoker?

My wife.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?

We have stopped cycling for various reasons but when we returned, we also ride tandem.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?

My wife has become an excellent cyclist and it is fun to ride together on singles. The tandem is yet but another way to enjoy riding together.

colotandem

• When did you start? My wife and I started in 2004

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two? It looked like fun. My wife likes cycling but is a self proclaimed "poor bike handler". The idea of not having to steer or brake is great for her and she trusts me in the driver's seat more than herself (makes for a great mix!). We actually rented a tandem while on a short vacation in Crested Butte Colorado and within a month of that first ride we bought a used cruiser tandem.

• What was your first bike? Cheap 7 speed cruiser. It was not long before we needed to upgrade. DaVinci Global Venture.

Who was your first stoker? My wife is my one and only stoker.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them? Yes, been riding virtually non-stop since. I don't think we have ridden the tandem(s) less than 2000 miles in any of the past 5 years.

We are hooked on tandems now, some would say obsessed (we now own 4, yes overkiill, but they all have a purpose and get used).
DaVinci Global Venture is coupled and have taken it to Spain and annually we do a multi-day loaded creditcard tour here in the Colorado moutains.
Calfee Dragonfly - just an indulgence, we do like to go fast and do a few time trials just for fun.
Ventana El Conquistador de Montanas - full suspension mountain tandem (this may be our new favorite bike) - we completed the Leadville 100 on it this year. Training for and riding Leadville with my wife was one of the greatest experiences in my life.
Cruiser tandem (forget the brand)- it gets the least ride time and is actually on loan to another aspiring tandem couple.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling? I believe that getting a tandem(s) was one of the best things that we could have done. We spend a significant amount of quality time together while being active.

I understand that we are on the extreme end of the spectrum when it comes the number of bikes that we own, but I would rather have toys that we enjoy (and promote fitness) than some fancy sports car or other indulgence. We have found that riding on a tandem bike is just plain fun. People are more friendly to you when you are on a tandem compared to riding bikes individually.

Rick - welcome to the world of tandems, I hope you and your wife get to enjoy lots of miles together!

PMK

When did you start?
May 2007, rented a tandem and self toured Washington DC for a couple of hours. Officially for us owning our own would be early spring 2008.

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?
Wifes asthma and allergy stuff getting worse with time.

• What was your first bike?
1998 Cannondale MT3000, still in our "collection" abused and not babied on all sorts of trails

• Who was your first stoker?
My wife, Jeanne

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?
Pretty much constant since early 2008

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?
If you are gonna ride it, plan to buy a few sets of tires...

Homeyba

• When did you start?
About three years ago?

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two? A friend of mine owned a tandem and we talked about doing the Furnace Creek 508 on it, so...we did. Our first ride on the tandem together was the Auburn Century, 140 miles with 15, 000ft of climbing.

• What was your first bike? The first bike I rode was her's, an aluminum Santana. I don't remember the model. I have since purchased a Calfee of my own.

• Who was your first stoker? The aforementioned friend of mine.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them? Off and on, whenever the occasion allows.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling? Since I started riding the tandem I've done three Furnace Creek 508's and one RAAM on it. I'll will be doing RAAM again this June on the tandem. I love it.

DCwom

• When did you start?
2008 - The decision maker ride; thanks to team Troike who took us out on a cold fall afternoon test ride.
2009 - Gave up on the used search and bought a new Burley from Mel at Tandems East.

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?
We road our single hybrids mainly on rail-trails and were looking for a "faster" solution for road riding.

• What was your first bike?
Burely Tamburello

• Who was your first stoker?
Wife.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?
Yes, the only time I've touched the singles was to move them around in the garage.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?
I wish we had an opportunity to ride one earlier.

Stray8

• When did you start? June 2008

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?

I've ridden single roadbikes for many years, and after transitioning to a sport motorcycle and having loads of fun carrying passengers on that (many for the first time on a motorcycle...), I idly wondered about tandem bicycles as a way to carry a pillion while cycling.

I saw an inexpensive entry level tandem which I thought would be great to experiment on. Initially my wife wasn't so sure (she'd rather ride her own single bike than stoke), but since it wasn't a large investment (three tandem rentals would have exceeded the cost) I went ahead and bought one. It turned out to be a whole lot of fun for us. The kids and their friends also love riding on it.

• What was your first bike? My first tandem bike is the Pacific Dualie.

• Who was your first stoker? My wife.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?

I rode exclusively on the tandem for awhile for grocery shopping, Starbucks and McD runs and picking up a child from dance school. I then started to alternate between single bikes and the tandem depending on the circumstances (e.g. no stoker) and whenever I am not on the sportbike, which is a completely different type of thrill.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?

I think it's really fun and unique to ride a tandem bike. Just as in motorcycling I enjoy telling people who are interested in looking at it (and possibly even getting one themselves) about my experiences riding it. Cycling is an "Earth friendly" activity and tandem bikes offer the ideal way to carry a passenger who contributes.

I feel that essentially we are all tandem bike "ambassadors" more than enthusiasts because by our riding them we can help to make the use of tandem bikes less of a mere oddity (e.g. like unicycles) and more of an accepted mode of public transportation. When fuel prices inevitably skyrocket again, hopefully tandem bikes will emerge as a small but viable mass transportation alternative.


.

hhitgitw

• When did you start?
About 2 years ago.

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?
Riding singles, it seemed like we always wanted to ride at different paces and didn't stay together. I figured the tandem would force us to ride together.


• What was your first bike?
I built up a Cannondale Mountain Tandem.

• Who was your first stoker?
My only stoker is my wife.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?
When we ride together, we are on the tandem 90%.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?I wish we had more time to ride. I want to do a century with 7000+ ft of climbing with her but we don't have the time to train lately. I also need to get my mountain biking skills better. I have not taken the bike off road yet.

la2sei

• When did you start?

We first rode a tandem around 1998.

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?

I actually lost track of my girlfriend, now wife and stoker on a large group ride when I was talking with another rider. We ride at different speeds. On a tandem, it would be hard to lose track of her, and we could ride faster.

• What was your first bike?

We borrowed a friends Burley duet for our first rides. We Demo'd some tandems. She wanted the Softride beam, and it happened to be purple that year, her favorite color, so we got the1999 Burley Softride Samba.

• Who was your first stoker?

My wife has been my stoker. The only time anyone else has tried to stoke, was this type A gal, and she was not happy at all at with not having any control, and that was a short straight 100 yards.

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?

If we're both riding, we're riding our tandem.

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?

We haven't been riding the Burley as much since getting the Screamer. Just wish it was easier to transport. Looking to get some S & S couplers installed. We're slow, but we have fun. If it isn't fun why bother?

Murf524

How did you get started in tandem riding?
If this topic already has its own thread I apologize but the 'search' I did was fruitless.

Tell us about how you got started in tandem riding...

• When did you start? 2004

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two? I wanted to include our daughter on bike rides so we borrowed a Santana Sovereign from the local shop and put crank arm shortners on it.

• What was your first bike? Burley Rumba


• Who was your first stoker? my daughter

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them? yes

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling? Started out with a tandem so our daughter could ride with us on the weekends and MS150s. My daughter is now 15 years old and has raised over $4,000. Nearly 3 years ago we sold the Burley and bought a Comotion Speedster for two reasons. The first reason was that my daughter is now 5'-8" and the Burley no longer fit. The second reason was that my wife has good and bad days with her MS. On a bad day her balance is a little suspect. The tandem lets us ride with her having to worry about balance or whether or not she has enough energy for the ride. She knows that I will always get her back.

This is a great thread

Trsnrtr

• When did you start? 1983

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two? Friends

• What was your first bike? Borrowed Motebecane

• Who was your first stoker? My wife

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them? Yes

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling? We've had four more tandems since the borrowed one in 1982.

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WebsterBikeMan

• When did you start?
Roughly 15 years ago we rented one to ride from Banff to Jasper (credit card touring, four days).
• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?
It seemed like a neat idea at the time.
• What was your first bike?
Some cheap Canadian Tire special - or did you mean my first Tandem? That would be the Bilenky we got this last March.
• Who was your first stoker?
My wife
• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?
We test rode a Santana between last summer before ordering the Bilenky. Other than that, didn't touch a tandem since the Jasper trip.
• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?
The Bilenky was built to serve our needs in a planned long self-contained tour. We've had amazingly much fun riding it around town when not touring. Fortunately we're almost equally crazy when it comes to our willingness to ride in low temperatures.

merlinextraligh

1994, Burley Duet. We got the tandem so we could ride together, with different fitness levels. Now, 2/3rds or more of our mileage is on the Tandem.

We've gone from 25 mile rides pulling a trailer with our daughter to racing, doing Everest Challenge on the tandem, Co-Motion Classic Stage Race, and Florida State Time Trial champions.

Next goal is Master's Nationals.

jnbrown

• When did you start? 1981

• What made you want to try a bicycle built for two?

I had seen a few tandems around and it looked like fun

• What was your first bike?

I tried to order a tandem from Mercian but it never came, so I ordered one from Andy Gilmour

• Who was your first stoker?

My wife

• Have you been riding tandems continuously since you started or did you ever take a break from them?

Continuously

• Anything else you want to share about your tandem cycling?

We have gone on many fun adventures in different places which wouldn't have been possible on single bikes due to the difference in our ability levels.