Originally Posted by
Ritterview
Differing abilities of the captain and stoker are the reason to get a tandem, not a contraindication.
I decided to get a tandem last year after coaxing Mrs. Ritterview through the 2009 Solvang Half-Century.
Average speed 12.9 mph.
Our maiden voyage on our new tandem was the 2010 Solvang Half-Century.
Average speed 17.1 mph.
Your results may vary (Mrs. R is actually pretty fit, and was held back mainly by lack of confidence). But if she was an accomplished cyclist we could probably have ridden together on half-bikes (with me pulling), and kept up a good pace. It was
because we had differing abilities that the tandem experience was positive and transformative.
RV, did you guys really hit 53 mph last year? And was your average cad really only 45 rpm? I noticed no cad this year, and your top speed was only 34, but overall a much faster ride.
We were supposed to do a quarter century but a stoker sore hip and time pressure cut us to 17 mi. It was a great day non the less.