Originally Posted by
bikerkim
next question: what kind of power IS generated on these bikes? i'm accustomed to the numbers i produce, on easy rides, climbing, sprinting and all that. but what can i espect with a tandem? it can't be just a simple additive matter, can it?
if you are familiar with this, i'd love to know: will i regularly be seeing readings in excess of XXXX watts climbing?
It pretty much is a matter of adding the power of the two riders.
There have been studies that indicate that only about 93% of the Captain's power reaches the road, whearas the figure is around 98% for the Stoker, (the same as a single bike rider)
And depending how well the team works together, the riders may not be capable of putting out the same maximums on the tandem that they can put out on a single bike.
With those caveots the total power on a tandem should be the sum of the two rider's power.
And the W/kg should be (P1+P2) / (W1+W2)