Sandy has been reading & giggling.
Would you trust a person with your health and safety when they have been receiving the full benefits of last night's curry in their face for the last 10 miles?
Sounds familiar.
I get a good firm punch in the ribs if i let rip with the after effects of a chicken madass.
Sandy has an alternative, she pulls my shorts down!
In terms of stoker control, their weight movement is plenty control. If they don't lean correctly then you're not going where you want to. Had a few times where I hadn't communicated which line I wanted. I (tried)to steer for one line, Sandy leant for a different one, and she won.
There's no way either of us would want to share gears & brakes. The stoker can't see enough to react quickly enough, and because an MTB tandem loses momentum so quickly uphill, you'd be forever in the wrong gear. We find having the stokers cranks 2 teeth behind the captain gives Sandy a chance to feel and react to changes in pedal pressure.
Sometimes we actually pedal technical sections while dragging the brakes. Seems odd but it can be easier to control the balance in tight turns (think the climbing switchbacks at Glentress) by dragging the brakes against the pedals, rather than stopping pedalling for a second. You'd never do it on a solo but we find it works well on the tandem. If you shared out the controls you'd be completely screwed.
If you're bored on the back of an offroad tandem you need a more adventurous captain…
Amen to that! We rode the Iron Keld descent in November, no time to get bored, too much screaming to be done!!
Rob