Originally Posted by IPassGas

I understand the reluctance. Some questions that in my opinion are important in this context.

-Does your wife ride a bike often?

Yes, daily, as do I.

-When you ride together, do you not tend to stick together due to different strengths?

Haha! Some days are different. We don't ride together as if we were a pack of roadies, but we do ride single-file a few bike-lengths apart. Sometimes when she's had a tough day at work, she'll come home and attack the ride like her hair is on fire. Other days she lags behind me. There is rarely a time when we lose sight of each other. Very rarely. I always wait for her if she falls behind.

-If you were to ride a tandem, you would not be concerned about the relative energy you are both willing to put in?

Not sure I understand this question, but I think we'd have to learn how to cooperate and coexist on the bike as we have in the 43 years of our marriage. Communication, I think, is key.

-If she is significantly shorter, might she warm up to the idea that although see can't see around you, she will no longer need to pay attention to the road and now has the freedom to see everything around you in much greater detail? Don't forget to listen and adjust to her concerns however minor they may seem. Good luck.

Dear Wife is 5'7", and I'm 5'11", so not a lot of difference. Our biggest obstacle is that she's had reconstructive spine surgery to her C4 and C5 cervical vertabrae. The bone had grafts installed and was fused. She's fine, but now has somewhat limited motion of turning her head side-to-side. When riding, she needs a helmet mirror, but otherwise she's fine. My concern with all of this is that I don't want her spine to be bumped and jostled any more than necessary, so I'll be installing a Thudbuster in the stoker position.