First tandem ride

[Bentley]

I rode one for a weekend with my brother on a charity ride, let’s just say we have some memories, that we have no intention of re-living.

Glad it worked out, and have some fun.

Ray

[NHAero]

Absolutely will do, Steve, when it's a bit more "finished"!

Originally Posted by steveandbarb1

Please both of your post some pictures. These 2 Bilenky's were special to me, and letting them go was hard. Acceptance I am old, and memories of the best family time together.

thx
Steve

[Hobine]

Originally Posted by steveandbarb1

Please both of your post some pictures. These 2 Bilenky's were special to me, and letting them go was hard. Acceptance I am old, and memories of the best family time together.



thx

Steve

Yes Steve, I’ll get some pics up soon. The bike is beautiful and rides wonderfully. Still sorting out a couple things.

First ride with my wife today went really well. Kept it pretty short and took advice from this thread. All good.

Great thing is my son wants to ride again, this coming from a kid that defines the Xbox generation.

[Turbozinke]

Riding a tandem is great marriage counseling. Take the time to serve her a put her needs first. Do keep the bike in tip top condition. Those long derailleur and brake cables will work much better in great condition. My favorite part about a tandem is that we can go ride and do it together. On single bikes I’m frustrated about going slow and she’s going to hard. On tandem we can both ride how we want. Forget the speed. It’s slower and there’s no doubt about it, but man is it fun to pilot the bike downhill like a lead sled.

[Turbozinke]

Also I think disc brakes are the biggest plus you can give a tandem. So when the budget allows do it

[NHAero]

Swapped the stoker seat for a wider Terry, and got some Origin8 bars with a bit of rise and sweep. Pretty impressive that with a mostly boneyard components build the bike is about 32 pounds before the accessories. We're definitely noobies but enjoying the learning process.

[buddybikes]

Looks like my baby is in good hands. Get some clipless pedals (adjustable to loosest)

Thing about tandeming is communication. Just simple gliding is a communication - think about that... Right foot out or left first? My wife and I were opposites, I won that battle being larger.

Had friends who played connect the dots when her captain took his shirt off, good use of dead time back then when there were no cell phones. Always iike the simpe "lets get em" to cruise up to friends further up. We didn't get to sprinting much, wife isn't a racer type.

Hope she rides nice. Certainly unique, I liked the forgiveness it had (vs Cannondale) much easier on the body. Not all flex is bad

[marciero]

Originally Posted by henrypretz

As you most likely are learning or have already discovered, if your stoker isn't content you are destined for an unpleasant ride.

Definitely. It's all about stoker comfort and peace of mind. Taking the time to set up position and get the right saddle and bars will pay off. If she is not savvy about fit she may not know which way to make an adjustment; for example, does she need bars tilted forward or back? Then you just have to fish around until it's right.

Originally Posted by zap

As captain, you need to up the game in terms of planning and anticipating whats going on up ahead. Speeds are a bit higher on tandems and as noted, tandems are longer.

Also definitely. Being deliberate and predictable is key. Swerving to miss bumps will really freak out your stoker. Practice turning 101 on descents. Looking down the road is the key to carving nice smooth turns, just like they tell you for driving. No mid-turn adjustments. There is nothing like carving smooth turns on the tandem. Its like a rocket ship on rails. Girlfriend describes it as sensual. Just like in a relationship, all of this will pay off in developing trust. When we started I resigned myself to going slow on descents, since my girlfriend was so conservative on her single bike. But now we descend pretty much as fast as the road allows- much faster than I do on my single bike. She is okay with aggressive leaning on turns as long as I am not diving into corners.

[Hobine]

Here’s the other one. We absolutely love it!
Still some work to do, but it’s riding great as it sits.
Weighed it today out of curiosity: 36.8 lbs. not bad at all.

Set up currently with Suntour shifters, in friction mode, Real “Love Levers” for brake levers and Shimano V’s for a bit more stopping power. Pedals are MKS Touring on the Topline crankset. Bars are VO Postino.

[NHAero]

Looks good! What tires did you pick, and what pressure are you running in them? 700x28 are as large as the Aermet will accept, and I've started at 100 psi.

[Hobine]

Mines a 26er so I went with Panaracer Pasela’s 26 x 1.5 at 65 psi.