Mr. Beanz

Another 42 tandem miles on SART today. The wider bars are so much more comfy compared to the bars I had. Now riding a 46 vs the 42 stock bars. Pretty quiet day on the trail today. Is it the cool air? Not that it was cold but there weren't nearly as many riders on the trail today. Hey, I'm not complaining cause it's very nice not having to worry about too many riders.

We ran into Marcello and George at the coast. A short visit then they were on their way. Nice guys, always cool chatting with them. Alex2 made a brief visit then headed on his way to complete his 100 I'm sure!

TrojanHorse

SO for the wider bars... is that measurement from the outside to the outside?

My bars are 44cm (if we're talking O-O and not C-C) but the drop is a little more than I'd like so I'm mulling over getting a different bar.

rdtompki

Nice pics as usual. We have 46cm (c-c) bars on our tandem. I'd probably go with 44cm to better match my single, but I change position fairly frequently so np. Most of our club rides around here are either too short/slow or feature too much climbing for the tandem, but we do enjoy getting out with others when we get the chance.

Mr. Beanz

o to o. I wanted c to c but they were hard to find.

Mr. Beanz

Thanks!

I never had a problem with the bars till I went wider on one of my roaides. Then wider on the next roadie I purchased. I found it to be comfy so going back to the narrow really made me feel the difference.

Not to mention the new bars are OS 31.8 vs the 26 diameter. So easier to grip.

From 42 to 44 then 46 on my Lemond (c-c). Wish I could have found a 46 c-c for the tandem.

magohn

Great pics. Ive always wondered about the husband/wife team scenario on a tandem. How does that work? I went MTB'ing yesterday with my wife and as she's approx 110lbs and Im 280lbs, she rides a whole lot faster than I do - especially uphill. Are you guys closely matched in fitness or do you have a pre-agreement on speed etc? If one person is tiring, can they slacken off and the second rider takes up the slack? Does the other person know? Can you ride 'twice as fast'? You guys seem to be cranking along on the video.

As usual, jealous of your summery 'winters'

P.S The new goPro vids are great.

Here is my wife leaving me in the dust - again (yesterday - 37 degrees).

Homeyba

Don't you run the same bars on your single and tandem or do you have the narrow bars on the single too? I always have both set up with exactly the same bars (46cm c-c).

Antelope 70cm

Hey Mr. Beanz, check these bars out. I have the 48cm on my bike.

https://bigandtallbike.3dcartstores....8cm_p_169.html

rdtompki

The efforts are independent, but each can tell if the other is tiring (or just goofing off). A tandem would insure that you can keep up with your wife on the climbs, but you're going to be slower uphill, normally an average speed sort of thing, but given your relative weights climbing speed is going to be closer to what you can do on your single. Your wife, if she trusts you, will enjoy the downhills.

You will be faster on the flats than either one of you. Should be a lot of fun. Give it a try!

Mr. Beanz

What happen was the bars were equal with my first roadie so I thought nothing about it. We rode the tandem almost exclusively for 2 years. Then my second roadie had slightly wider bars. Not much of a difference. My third roadie had wide bars so I was worried that I might not like them. Turns out I like them more.

For a few years we didn't ride the tandem much so it was not a big deal doing a 40 here and there. recently Gina said she wated to ride the tandem more often so I figured I'd widen the bars and I LIKE it!

Now they are the same.

Mr. Beanz

WOW!

Nice but they are back order. When I went to the shop I had them order what was available and even the 46 was hard to find in aluminum.

Mr. Beanz

Thanks!

It would be tough to explain exactly what goes on IMO. I'm a stronger rider, far faster climber but the key is time on the tandem and synchronization. I havea bud that is stronger than Gina, we tried the tandem and we sucked. Our ride times are far better with Gina and I.

I climb faster but my time will be slower on the tandem, Ginas will be faster. Once I learned to accept it and be patient, the tandem was much more fun. Knowing you "will catch backup" on the flats with friends that dropped you on the climbs makes it easier to accept.


Our tandem rides used to be much faster than Gina's single times. But once she started riding more often, her single bike speeds are nearly identical to our tandem times is she rides my wheel. Riding my wheel, she has posted an 18.2 average for our 42 mile trail ride at her best. Which as mentioned is nearly identical to our tandem speed on this ride.

I know other couples that say their wives are much slower on singles but they don't ride the singles nearly as much as Gina, some don't ride singles at all.

On a short section I'm sure we could get rolling faster than Gina can on her single but overall, it evens out. Maybe a bit faster than myself on a single but not much over a short section. On a long ride, I'd do better on my single.

But synch is the key IMO. Once on an organized 50 mile ride, I pooped out on a 3 mile 7% climb and just couldn't push anymore. We were dong well on the ride but I was just wasted at that point. In my mind I was blaming Gina. I said, "that's it, I just can't push anymore". I gave up and figured we'd crawl the last 100 yards to the crest. Just then Gina shouted, "HOLD ON!" and BAM! I felt her put the power to the pedals and she literally freakin' pushed me over the hill.

I still laugh and talk about it cause I swear to God I never felt power like that on a bike before.

I told her about it and swore that I would never again underestimate what my stoker could do or was doing. If anything the practice and synch goes further than what your partner can or can't do. Learn to accept it and deal with it, you'll have a good time on the tandem!

magohn

Ha! Sounds a lot like marriage in all respects. The whole getting in sync thing and knowing what you can do as a team I would imagine is priceless. Thanks for the info. My wife and I have casually looked at tandems and they do look like a lot of fun. We looked at one last year but the cost was big for us at the time. Around $3k if i remember correctly but it was a nice looking and spec'ed out bike.

Its a true testament to how in tune you are with your partner. Sounds like you have a perfect 'stoker' with Gina and the tandem is a true metaphor for any relationship. I love to ride with my wife. We have a 9yr old so we snatch the time together when we can. Our MTB escapade over the weekend was just great. Its great to have a similar interest with her.

Imagine the memories you are building for when we all hit that age where its all we have. Nice job to both of you.

Thanks again.

Mr. Beanz

Oh yeah! My main concern at one time was kick the sheot out of all my friends, ride partners and anybody else who was around. After I was done doing all that, I saw Gina sitting home on Sat and Sun mornings watching "I Love Lucy" re runs while I went out to play. I got her a bike and started her riding.

Funny, my buds and I had a stretch of trail that took us 55 minutes to complete for our first year of riding. First time Gina got on a bike, she did it in 50 minutes!

From that point on, I knew she was do well. Was a long patient journey but she's exceeded my expectations. She's still riding and 90% of my buds aren't.

One thing though, a tandem takes time to get in synch. First month was a "did we waste our money?" type deal. It took a couple for things to click. THen we rode tandem only for about 2 years. We had some big arguments first couple of months so you have to give it time. Don't expect it to be a magical experience first time out.

Not sure if you'e noticed but even nearing the age of 50, I've got a story for everything and plenty to tell the grandkids. And Gina can back me on all of them!

Mr. Beanz

She must have really liked the tandem ride, I got treated very well tonight. I'm kind of scared she's going to hurt me.

Homeyba

dang Beanz, I don't know how you keep your girlish figure eating like that. I'd need a doggy bag, maybe two!

Mr. Beanz

I do it more on the behalf of "go green". I do better than recycle, I make sure I don't waste good styrofoam or a paper bags.