A tandem is a compromise, its going to be different. We've pretty much become exclusive tandem riders, after a while you don't need verbal communication, you communicate through the pedals. What's really funny is that my single now feels weird when I ride it. Touring on a tandem can be tricky, twice the riders with the same pannier space! We just do CC touring in warm months to keep the load small, although I have seem tandem pulling a BOB, talk about a long bike!