CGinOhio

As outlined in many previous posts (thanks to all) its clear that as we try to increase the length of our rides we need more saddle breaks. You would think something this basic would not require a "how to" thread, but (no pun intended) we are at odds how best to do this. The issue is that my stoker prefers the pedals in the 3 and 9 o’clock position for breaks so she can rise completely out of the saddle into almost a standing position. I find this awkward at the end of a long ride as it forces me to try to keep my rear in the saddle for control while her weight is up high. Even then the bike feels a little squirrely. Also, since my legs are then in the bent position and fatigued most of my weight ends up on my butt greatly increasing my discomfort. It seems with the 3 & 9 position only one of us can break at a time. I prefer breaks with pedals in 6 and 12 positions where I rise partially off the saddle (with weight mostly on one leg) without raising our center of gravity too high on the bike. I would think both of us could do this at the same time without loss of control. Curious what others are doing. Do you each break at the same time or separately? Stokers: Am I missing something from my Captains view of this?

MB1

Can't you just stand and pedal every chance you get?

TandemGeek

We take advantage of short climbs, will occassionally just get up and sprint, or will stand and coast together with our down feet in alternately the 6/12 O'clock positions, usually on Debbie's request, e.g.,

She: Can we stand?

He: Sure... usually starting out with the right foot down and noting we intuitively know how to stand together these days; however, early on I'd call out ready to stand? and then we'd stand/

She: Other leg... and we simply turn the cranks over one 1/2 stroke while still standing.

She: OK... and we both sit down and resume pedalling.

Note: The stand and coast thing is best done on a slight downward grade.

oldacura

Over time, I have just learned that when I need a butt break, I just shift up several gears, rise out of the saddle & pedal for a while standing up. If the stoker needs to do the same, she requests an upshift & I let her stand for a while. Once you get comfortable standing independently, each can take a butt break when they need - pedaling or coasting.

CGinOhio

Good points. I made the assumption we both would not be pedalling. We have recently become somewhat comfortable with both of us being out of saddle for short bursts to push over the top of small/medium rollers. Will give this a try on flats for a break. Thanks.

72andsunny

How about going out of phase? If I'm visualizing this correctly, putting the stoker 90 degrees ahead of you would provide you both with your ideal resting positions...my guess is you could go 90 degrees either way, as there is not much difference between 3/9 and 9/3 [6/12 and 12/6 is a pretty big difference, at least for me.]

As TandemGeek alluded to: standing/coasting on a downhill works better (than standing/coasting uphill). Start doing this early in a ride, before your butts start hurting. I usually remind my stoker at the top of every hill: "Butt break"...fewer complaints later=more riding.

twilkins9076

We use the three techniques already mentioned above.

1) Stand and coast (We're out of phase...I put her pedals at the 3:00 and 9:00 positions. That puts me in a slightly awkward position, but it's not a big deal).

2) Upshift, stand and climb over the crest of a hill (both of us...I just stand and she follows).

3) Upshift and stand on a flat. We do this one at a time...Usually me first, then Pam.

Oh...there is a fourth one. We rarely pass by a convenience store without finding some excuse to stop. We have the advantage of several small towns 10-15 miles from home that are usually our destinations, so it's a natural thing to take a break before turning back.

chichi

We did our first major climb this weekend with no breaks(7 miles at 7%). I think butt break became more of an issue then legs or lungs. Because the grade did not allow coasting our technique was shift up 1 gear if one person was going to stand, 2 gears if we both stood. If I only shifted up 1 gear with both of us standing and pedaling the bike was a difficult to control.

PS how do you do spell check when posting?

TandemGeek

Actually, it's been my experience that "we" don't need butt breaks when we're riding in the mountains or hilly terrain. Instead, it's when we find ourselves riding on relatively flat terrain for prolonged periods of time.

72andsunny

chichi is lying to all of you. On the San Juan Islands (which are not at all flat) Bill McCready offered a quarter to anyone who could pedal up the world's steepest driveway; this weird sculpture gallery was at the top. I'd call it a >15% grade on very loose gravel. Bill only had to pay out one quarter: to the chichi express.

RE spell checking: there's an "ABC" icon to the upper right of where you type (above the happy faces). It requires a software installation which I can't install at work, so I usually just cut and paste into a word document to spell check.

chichi

Interesting the spell check icon apears on home computer but i do not think I have seen it my office computer

geranimo57

Wow. I am taking notes.. as the "just get over it" is wearing thin on my stoker/wife! Luckily we live in south Jersey where everything is quite flat.

oldacura

Even when riding at 25+ mph on the flats, I can still shift up & stand up. Take a butt break whenever you want.

Onegun

I too generally prefer the 3/9 position for saddle breaks, and so does my stoker. This allows us to stretch both legs at once by dropping both heels down, more or less "hanging" by your cleats, and even bouncing some. Feels great during a long ride.

But the issue you bring up is a valid one. Most people don't realize how much we actually steer our bikes with our butt, which is how one is able to ride "no handed" in the first place. (NOTE TO STOKERS: Bikes being steered by butts is NOT an invitation to start telling captain jokes!)

Maggi and I are forced to stand and coast a lot when we ride our local MUP, as every overpass has a half-dozen short, flat spots to allow for wheelchair folks to be able to rest on the climb. The flat spots are fine on the way up, but on the way down at speed they're almost like steps .... they'll really pound you if you don't stand. So we ran into the same problem you're describing. The bike felt squirrelly.

I solved the problem by keeping the nose of the nose of the saddle between my thighs when standing and coasting. That means I'm leaning further forward, which puts my butt a little further back in that situation than you're probably accustomed to doing, but it only takes a minute to get used to, and gives you 90% of your control back. Try it!

BloomingCyclist

Hi CG - thought we might see you as STR - you would have enjoyed it. ...anyway - I don't disagree with anything already posted but but we have some variations which are significant for us.

When we do just coast, we stand with feet at 6:00 and 12:00 and then switch.

On level ground, when either one of us calls a stand, I shift to a higher gear - usually in the highest gear. Linda then stands when she wants and then I stand. If I stand first or stand by myself, the bike does not feel good to me because I rock back and forth too much. Linda doesn't rock much and she can stand any time she wants without calling it. She does this frequently on hills. She could do it on level ground but neither of us like to stand with a high cadence.

So...we're in the highest gear on level ground and we're pedaling. We'll pedal along for a few strokes and I will soon start to count pedal strokes outloud 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. On "7" we stop and coast with one leg down. Shortly I will say "ready" and either start counting to seven immediately and stop again (with the other leg down now) or pedal for a bit before counting to seven.

The whole counting to seven thing started for us when we were learning to stand and pedal together and stop together and coast for a bit and we still use it. We tried shorter and longer and settled on seven.

For the teams that can have either the captain or the stoker stand separately at will then I could see not having to count. However, we do like to just coast at times which allows some stretching of legs and buttocks that is not the same as pedaling and standing to just give the butt a break.

I don't think either of us like the feel of the tandem coasting with our feet at 9:00 and 3:00 (WHILE STANDING) but it's clear from the other posts that many are comfortable with that. My stoker doesn't like that postion even on her single WHILE STANDING (which we've been riding some in the last month to ride with a new single rider). When we are seated and coasting either on tandem or single we have our feet at 3:00 and 9:00

Good luck

Bloomington, IN

Carbonfiberboy 

I dunno. Maybe a difference in bike feel? We find it very easy to coast standing with pedals at 9 and 3. We always grip the top tube with our knees during descents anyway, so it's natural for both of us to grab the saddle horn between our legs when we rise. Bike doesn't seem to notice it (CoMo Speedster). If we coast with pedals at 6 and 12, we can't grab the horn like that. We also coast in this same manner (but sitting) on our singles because it's faster and more stable - you can weight both pedals evenly, which gets the weight off your butt and moves it forward, also stabilizing the front wheel.

CGinOhio

Hi BC,
Wish we could have done STR, but we ran out of vacation Too many hobbies, not enough time and money. Hope you had a good rally. We used our vacation up hiking and backpacking in Rocky Mountain NP. It was an awesome trip!

Looks like everyone has their own preferences on saddle breaks. We will try a few of the suggestions and see what works for us. We don't seem to do real well individually pedaling out of the saddle, so we may try shifting up and both get up pedaling together once in a while.

I suggested trying OoP earlier in the season, Stoker said she is willing...just not quite yet. Maybe next year.

The suggestion of coasting in the 3-9 position and grabbing the saddle with the knees makes sense as I do it all the time on the single. For some reason is seems unnatural on the tandem....I will take a look if the positioning and difference in bike fit single vs tandem is the reason.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

zonatandem

Stoker occasionally asks for a coast 'butt break'; however when in city traffic, stopping at lights/stop streets gives ample opportunity for pilot to get butt off bike while stoker stays clipped in/seated, although she's been known to lift her derriere at such stops.
On more rural rides pilot seldom, if ever, needs a butt break.
After al these miles/years of tandeming our butts have gotten pretty tough!