What with there being some sort of bike race thing in Leeds this weekend, I’ve somehow been “volunteered” to do something tomorrow to support the #yellowyorkshire thing (helping the air ambulance, so all good).

The “something” is riding round 20 – 25 miles to each of the sites we operate out of, mostly in Leeds. No problem so far. Except I’m now doing it on a tandem. Neither me nor my fellow rider have any experience of riding a tandem.

What do I / we need to know about in order to ride a tandem and not die?

Person on the front stands over the bike. Person at the back gets on and clips in/puts feet on pedals. They then leave them there at all times until you have both feet back on the ground – ie. they don’t try and take one foot off to stop at lights etc

and yes you will die 🙂 but you will have a great time doing so.

Starting and stopping are the key:
Starting – captain climbs on the bike and stands with feet splayed wide.
Stoker gets on and sits in the saddle.
Stoker sets up the pedals at the “ten past” position.
Captain puts starting foot on top pedal, counts 3-2-1 push! and away you go.

Stopping:
Stop pedalling.
As the captain brings bike to a halt, he stands on the pedals with the RH pedal at the 6 o clock position. When the bike stops, he steps off with the left foot to keep the bike upright.

The stoker does nothing except pedal or sit there like a piece of luggage as required. Do not steer. Do not try to brake. Do not waste time seeking a sound proof shelter.

Communication is good, especially about gear changes. The stoker needs to know, especially when moving up to the big ring. Ease off the power. This avoids broken chain misery.

Tandems are great when moving along but top-heavy when stationary.

You’ll be fine. Rode a tandem for the first time when we started out on a Land end to JG ride.

Took a couple of minutes to get used to it.

Brilliant, thanks peeps.

As the heavy one at the front, I particularly like being referred to as the “captain” – wish I’d known this before we got the t-shirts done…

One specific question about going up hills – do we stay in the saddle at all times or is it possible to stand up and “mash” two up (without crashing, ideally)?

You need to be very, *VERY* good to stand up and mash the pedals on a tandem

http://www.gtgtandems.com/tech/propmethod.html

for the first few minutes, try getting the stoker to rest his/her hands on the small of the captain’s back – this gets them used to riding without going for gears/brakes

As captain, your job is to ensure the stoker is safe. That means remembering about the increased wheelbase and hence turning time, the extra momentum you will generate, the fact that the stoker cannot see obstacles so will need to be warned about bumps or gear changes and so on

As stoker, your job is to pedal and provide witty repartee.

your arms will hurt after a day on the front of a tandem, even more so than after a day on SS.

One specific question about going up hills – do we stay in the saddle at all times or is it possible to stand up and “mash” two up (without crashing, ideally)?

Die-o-meter just went off the red end of the scale.

It will be fun, just don’t get (too) carried away.

Oh, and try to persuade the stoker not to put full power on going through corners – that can make cornering interesting

Riding a tandem tomorrow – Will I die

Depends.

If Boltonjon of this parish is in charge of the front of it, death is least of your worries. Maiming is far more likely, although it may be rib maiming as a result of laughing so much. His line choices are ‘interesting’ at times.

PS: the fact he’d bought the tandem for £80 off gumtree or out of a charity shop or something, and was then intent on offroading it over the same sort of tracks that he regularly breaks his Liteville over, just added to the entertainment.

PS2: I was not the stoker. I was watching on. I’m many things but i’m not clinically insane (or suicidal)

never ever miss an opportunity to stand on the pedals

As stoker, your job is to pedal and provide witty repartee.

Lol.

The captain has all the responsibility. The stoker can admire the views, eat a full English breakfast with both hands and nod off as long as he/she keeps pedalling.

You will be very slow on the ups and super fast on the downs, so check those brakes.

Die – that’s without doubt.

Loved that link nbt, cheers, I’ve printed a copy for my “stoker” as well..

Sounds like we’ll be okay, apart from possibly on corners. And maybe hills.

it’s worth reading the other tech tips, especially the Advice for New Riders of tandems

http://www.gtgtandems.com/tech/newriders.html

Enjoy it.

This…

for the first few minutes, try getting the stoker to rest his/her hands on the small of the captain’s back – this gets them used to riding without going for gears/brakes

It will also stop them trying to turn their handlebars, which are those handlebars that are attached to your seatpost! Don’t ask me how I know this!

Talk to each other. A lot. The stoker needs to know about changing cadence, changing gear, coasting, braking, obstacles, coming to a stop, everything!

However, it will be amazing fun. I promise!

Also, make sure you are both clipped in, it will make life a lot easier.

Excellent thread and as a 20yrs+ tandem rider I’d agree with all of it. Great description of starting and stopping by neil the wheel – so much so that I’ve copied it so that I can send it to other new teams.

Hills just take practise, and teamwork. Oh, and communication so that when the stoker is dying and you’re still feeling OK don’t shout “push more” but change down (assuming you can!).

That’s a road tandem users view – but hoping to be out off road tomorrow trying a new machine 😀

And – have fun. It can be a scream, especially the downhill bits.

As captain, match your pedaling effort to that of the stoker. Don’t fight each other through the transmission, you’ll feel the sweet spot.

No steering at the back! No steering at the back!… Stoker never puts their feet down unless they are taller than you.

CALL BUMPS IN THE ROAD. The stoker gets a pretty hard hit due to the length of the wheel base and needs time to unseat.

Speed will come through smoothness not brute strength. You already have twice the power for the same wind resistance. 25 mph on the flat will never feel so easy. 10 mph uphill will never feel so hard 😉

Well, it’s been two or three days since the OP thought he might die riding a tandem – Has he been back to tell us that he didn’t die? Or that he did?!

Maybe if we all join hands and try and get the weejee* board linked to WiFi we could try and contact him?

*you know what I mean

*ouija

one of our Bristol bretherin brings his good lady along for some tandem
off road tomfoolery … There’s me thinking “right if he can get through
then so can i ….”

Oh how wrong can I be … 3 crashes (all mine) later … 🙂

Watching those 2 from tailend charlie position was an real education

That’s a road tandem users view – but hoping to be out off road tomorrow trying a new machine

Or my old machine…………….hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Ventana should be shipped this week 😀

Well, it’s been two or three days since the OP thought he might die riding a tandem – Has he been back to tell us that he didn’t die? Or that he did?!

Sorry, been a bit preoccupied with things (like the TdF and a badly timed motorhome mechanical cataclysm). Reporting back as follows:

1) We didn’t die
2) It was ridiculously good fun
3) Setting off was a “interesting” the first few times but we soon got the hang of it
4) Stopping was not so bad
5) Heavy!! Going for a sudden acceleration to get through traffic lights etc, we quickly learned, was not a good plan.
6) We only got called **** once, by the driver of a liveried lorry. Sarcastically written email on its way to the Co-op for that.
7) The one we had was pretty low geared – getting up hills didn’t present any problems, even steep ones.
8) Did I mention that it was ridiculously good fun?

I might get some pics up if I can figure out how

Thanks everyone for your advice and support.

I know I’m a bit late, but just to add to all the good advice above, the Captain should always start and stop pedaling gently.
That was our, or rather my, most common mistake when we started.
I’m a fair bit bigger and stronger than my Stoker, so when we approached a corner or crested a hill, I’d simply stop pedaling with no warning and her legs would suddenly have to go from spinning to stopping dead.
Then, when we got round the corner or down the hill, I’d start pedaling again and she’d have her legs dragged round whether she was ready or not.

I’m getting better now though and will back off gently or spin the pedals slowly a couple of turns before putting the power on.

Or my old machine…………….hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Yes, especially riding yesterday with my son. Couldn’t stop smiling all afternoon. One off – where he jumped off the back quickly, like he used to years ago, and I took the full force on my knee. Just misjudged a tight turn -but learnt from that and managed the rest of the twisty section called Stickler.

Bit of GoPro video here – Swinley blue Carnage Hill section http://youtu.be/VhlKqqM9ZsA – looks a lot slower here than it did in real life.

Stipulations before we rode – I don’t want to die, and don’t damage the bike.