HandsomeRyan

So I've browsed the pictures here and got some ideas but I couldn't find much text commentary about dressing in matching clothing when riding your tandems. I understand that there are certain times that you would almost certainly dress alike (such as a team ride wearing team jerseys). I'm not interested in the situations where rules/customs dictate wearing a certain outfit, only what you wear when you get to choose your own outfit for casual/just-for-fun riding.

My wife wants to match when we ride our tandem on the local MUP. I have no strong feelings about it one way or the other so we're reverting back to the first rule of tandems- do whatever the stoker wants. So far our best "matching outfit" will consist of bike shorts and matching t-shirts as we've yet to agree on a jersey that is affordable and available in our size(s).

How about you- Do you and your stoker intentionally wear matching outfits when riding 'just for fun'?

Dean V

For normal fun/training rides we wear whatever comes to hand. For proper organised rides we usually make an attempt to be in matching outfits.

Onegun

We are a "team" every time we go out and matching jerseys reinforces that fact, both to ourselves and to others. We likes `em!

Homeyba

If you are not wearing matching kits the fashion police will get you!

HandsomeRyan

Again!!?!!

WebsterBikeMan

Weather permitting. I have a long-sleeved merino jersey and she doesn't, so we can only match when it's warm enough for our short sleeved, matching jerseys. But we also have non-matching jerseys, which we wear when the matching ones are in the wash.

The matching ones are higher visibility, so they're first choice for safety reasons.

pablopsd

We always match as much as possible. But during the busy riding season, and I'm out on the single training too, sometime we runn out of clean matching gear! Depending on what it is, sometimes will dictate which outfits. I like wearing our Team Hill Slug jerseys when in NH or one of the club rides. Our extra stoker on the triplet is upset when he doesn't match us. He is very excited to have shoes that "Click" this year like ours.

specbill

We always where matching outfits for organized rides and we match 99% of the time on our regular training rides as well. Over the years on our tandem, we've made a point to both buy jersey's on Organized Rides that support worthwhile charities and from events that have particularly brightly colored jerseys. As a result, despite out growing some and using up others, we can make sure we match anytime we ride.

Bill J.

rdtompki

We are too new at this to have matching jerseys and the ones available on the internet are not all that exciting. Generally, I wear an essentially solid color that is similar to the background color of my stoker's jersey. This is the best we can do until some interesting matching jerseys come along.

colotandem

I suppose we are more the exception than the rule, but we have not joined the "matching jersey club". There have been a few occasions that we match, but the general rule for us is to NOT match.

I'm sure you all can give us some good reasons to reconsider...

I just thought I'd add my .02 cents even though it seems to be out of favor with many tandem teams.

zonatandem

After tandeming TWOgether for 35 years we've got lots of matching stuff . . . and wore out a lot of it too!
Lots of matching jerseys, shorts, sox and well over a hundred T-shirts.

jim_pridx

Funny, but I wasn't going to post on this thread for the fear of getting slammed..... In our 25 years of tandeming, I don't ever recall a time when my wife and I have worn matching apparel. It's really been quite the contrary. Our primary objective has always been to come home from work, change into our bike shorts and whatever feels comfortable, and then hop on the bike and ride to our heart's delight. I would suppose we might look at things differently if we were to be part of club rides more frequently, but we're quite content with riding the rural and quiet country roads in our local area. About the only thing we'll seriously consider when riding is the notion of wearing colorful clothing so that we'll easily be seen by the occasional passing motorist.

PMK

It makes the wife / stoker smile, what can I say, she dresses me funny. Yes we get remarks praising and poking fun about matching. Regardless of how well we match or not, when dressed funny, the coolest comments are ones that are based on having someone that rides with me. Followed many times by the typical comments and jokes about not pedaling, or how come she has no brakes, that's crazy.

If I ask the ones that find matching gear dumb, anything about their wife riding, most have little to say. Somewhat of a reality check for them as they ride alone.

PK

DCwom

You are not alone, we have yet to wear anything that matches. For reasons I won't go into I can not wear a normal cycling jersey, but some day we'll end up with matching tee-shirts I'm sure.

Eurastus

Yup. We match. And sometimes it's not easy to find matching in both Adult and Youth sizes.

Homeyba

ohhhh, you guys are going to be in trouble!!!

jim_pridx

Ok....ok....I'll let my stoker(s) match clothing, but I have to draw the line at that, ok? I just don't care to be wearing their green jerseys very much.

jim_pridx

Seriously, though, does it really matter what we wear when riding a tandem? Isn't the true joy of riding a tandem about the notion of being with and sharing quality time with someone we love? Of course, those who race may not think of tandeming in these terms but, for the most part, my wife and I ride a tandem for the sheer joy of being together while sharing the wonders of nature in doing so. Not only is it a great activity for a relationship for those who enjoy cycling, it's a healthy thing to do, too. Really, how much better can it be than that? At the end of the day, whether we match clothing apparel or we don't, it'll never take away from the freedom I feel when pedaling a tandem bicycle.

TandemGeek

From a previous poll conducted mostly of Tandem@Hobbes, Double_Forte & BF readers...

This is a pretty poor quality screen shot, but you can find a better image here; just scroll down to question #7.

Mr. Beanz

Nope, we just ride! And I can't afford that fancy stuff!

charmed

Huh, I could never get my captain to wear matching jerseys. Then again, he was a big guy and even women's XXL jerseys wouldn't fit him. Though he would have looked sweet in pink with kittens...

tandemnh

99% of the time we match. In fact my son had a jersey he bought probably 5-6 years ago when he was much smaller, he wore a small. It fits my wife perfect, so I went on line and found the exact jersey in a large for just $20. The jersey look brand new, it could not have been worn more than 10 times by the original owner. We probably now have 7-8 matching jerseys. I have a couple others but wear them most often when I ride alone.

The only exception is a jersey my son bought 6-7 years ago and I bought two years ago. It is from a bike shop in Plymouth, NH. Basically very similar in design, different color scheme, though red, black and gray.

Got to match on the bike!

pablopsd

Must be from Rhino. I know that place!

mclelands

A little twist.

We make an effort not to match, however, the fashionable stoker does make an effort to coordinate. The color blind captain is clueless.

We only match on club jersey days at organized rides.

I think this approach is driven by a captain at our first organized ride (we were impressionable) who said he wanted to compliment us on not having matching jerseys, and on not having any @#$% hanging from our bike.

If we don't look too good then I guess we have to ride strong.

Dean V

Does anyone have a range of matching jerseys for male and female? We can obviously both wear mens jerseys but they don't fit my lovely stoker that well and I don't fit womens jerseys very well either
(vive la difference).