I start just about always seated in the saddle, whether single or tandem. It overcomes any problems of getting up on the seat within the first pedal stroke, gives me instant control of the bike, and I don't have to scoot so I am applying power from the get-go.

It took a while to persuade Machka to be seated, too, with her right foot on the ground and to take off like that, and it goes against the usual tandem principle of having the stoker seated and both feet on pedals. But it works for us, although the "one, two, three, go" count is important.

One issue, however, is seat height which is related to crank length. Of course, the longer the crank, the lower the seat, so that makes starting off seated a little easier. If the cranks are short, thank means seat height might become a barrier to using this method effectively.