CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
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CCE is 15years old!
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not resolvedWe got ours purely for kinder transport, but have used it as big people transport too. It priced very useful when my hand was in a splint and I couldn't cycle on my own. Also, when we had to go to a very traumatic funeral, I suggested we ride together for emotional support. Really couldn't face it on my own.
I have a colleague whose wife is a keen spokes member of long standing, but who never learned to ride a bike. So they used to go out on a tandem.
Tomorrow I'll cycle to the supermarket with seven-year-old Ellen. It's a 14 mile round trip so too much for her on her own bike (although it's probably more true to say that it's too much for my patience at her pace) but she's too big for a child seat or trailer and it's miles better than a tagalong.
Never tried it with two adults but the efficiency gains are obvious. I'm thinking we'll try the tandem with 11-year-old Ewan and Ellen. If they can manage without fighting (although I suspect the biggest danger is that they'd try to co-operate to race me) it might make longer runs a little faster and easier for them both.
Tandems are not common in Fife but a few months ago I passed one on the Dunfermline - Alloa path.
Two minutes later I passed another...
Then another, and another etc etc eventually totalling seven!
It turns out that there is an organisation in Fife that regularly takes blind and partially sighted people out for a cycle. All the stokers seemed to be enjoying themselves and the pilots were giving a full running commentary.
Their website is http://www.talkingtandems.org/
What are the benefits of the tandem? One word, aerodynamics. On the flat or downhill, a tandem is powered by twice the horsepower, but has effectively only the same frontal area (and aerodynamic drag) as a single.
The disadvantage is uphill, where is is not realistic for the pilot & stoker to sync pedalling out-of-the-saddle so there is no respite from in-the-saddle climbing.
The other advantages are social- easier to have a chat, also both riders arrive at destination at same time regardless of ability/
Sharing your cycling and not turning a potential race into a joint effort is of course the main benefit. Aero advantage is one good benefit but the social aspect also makes it very efficient. (All upright riders know that 'drafting' works but on a tandem that is built in!)
LB sells a few Circe Helios tandems over a year - family friendly and can adjust to almost anyone above 4 (albeit children need crank shorteners). This is a lightweight compact design and not much longer than solo bike so untypical of what people expect a tandem to be like.
Classic tandems are pretty huge though so I think that restricts the market - even for couples where a tandem would enable longer journeys. I suspect that the 'oddness' factor also still puts people off. Can tandems be fashionable? eg We rarely see Dutch and Danish people on tandems. Of course it's ok to share a car, boat or even motorbike but for many 'real' cycling is on a solo.
The OP mentioned the Talking Tandem group... we've quoted on a bike for them recently. Currently they have fleet of Orbits which I think are cheaper than our models. Helios though has more adjust and can transport more easily.
By co-incidence I had our first blind stoker on a tandem yesterday. He found being on the back of the Quetzal double recumbent (folding) tandem a lot of fun and much safer feeling than he would have expected (as usual). I think he's hooked - particularly as with double aero recumbent style we could do 18mph on level without much effort. The half upright and half laid back Pino / Morpehus tandem style is also a good way of making a bike for two and he tried that too.
LaidBackAlright by Uberuce, on Flickr
Dave has a point. It's the least mental effort of any bike I've been on, although admittedly having LaidBack as pilot does lend an instant sense of confidence that other riders might need to earn first.
I wonder if one reason why tandems aren't so common in Denmark and the NL is because side-by-side cycling is so easy there. I love riding and chatting but it's not easy in single file, so I can see the social advantages (no way you're getting me and my other half on a tandem though...)
As a tandemista I feel compelled to add my tuppence worth.
My fist experience of a tandem was with Mrs Hankchief on holiday, when we hired one on an island daytrip. I had visions of us eating up the miles chatting as we went.
Needless to say it didn't go that well. We couldn't get on with it - both wanting to be in charge etc - and didn't get out of the car park before we had exchanged it for 2 separate bikes.
The net result was a less satisfying day as we were limited to the lower of our differing power levels, which meant a headwind became a much bigger issue for one of us and the other couldn't do much about it.
Roll the clock forward to having kids and I now have the Helios, which solved my commuting with 2 kids problem.
Being able to travel together using differing leg strengths is a great combination. You do need to build up an understanding of when and how hard to pedal though.
One challenge is having other people's kids stoking for a short spin as they enevitably was to show how strong a pedaller they are...
So in certain circumstances tandems are ideal, but only work with one captain...
Mr SRD and I likewise exchanged our holiday tandem for two bikes under similar circs, but that was a long time ago.
The hire shop said that they got a lot of similar exchanges.
True that they're rare in Fife but every kid we passed on the way to the supermarket declared it to be cool. People looked from their cars and smiled. Far from creating conflict with our illegal cycling on footways not designated as shared paths, dog walkers walked on the grass and gave a cheery 'good afternoon' as we passed. My friend, passing in the opposite direction in his Land Rover Discovery, looked mildly surprised and jealous as he drove his lardy ass and his child a distance that could have easily been tandemed. And he knows his boy would have loved it.
Yes.. the 'we tried a tandem once' story is told many times. On our île de Ré holiday though we saw quite a few tandems though.
Of course anyone coming to try a tandem should always gets advice and encouragement to see that they can get to grips. Usually takes up to 15 mins. Reckon a lot of people give up too soon! Same goes for recumbent bikes.
If I made my money out of simple bike hire then it's much less work to just provide a solo bike at someone and tell them to get on with it. With tandems it is more work but worth it for those that really want to do it.
Quetzal - with Uberuce on the back it flew along! A real twin engined advantage.
"We", by which I mean my flatmate-cum-landlord at University had a tandem. He bought it as he thought it would help him meet the lady of his dreams, so he used to cycle it around town on his own looking for prospective she-stokists to go cycling with. He did eventually find one, but she wasn't really into pedaling but had the bottle to put her legs over the rear handlebars and read a book as he did all the work.
He was a keen cyclist and at the time I hadn't cycled in years. We used it a couple of times for beer transport down the hill into St. Andrews which was terrifying for me as I was not used to a bike with no control over cadence, brakes or turning and as he was into road cycling he was much more comfortable with high-speed descending. I could also never get used to the "tiller" steering effect where the bike is much more upright round corners so you don't lean into them like on a single bike.
he used to cycle it around town on his own looking for prospective she-stokists to go cycling with
I can't decide whether that is cute or creepy.
I am in the category of never wanting to get on a tandem with my husband ever again having tried it once. I am with Uberuce that Laidback is an excellent pilot though! I had no problem riding with Dave either.
Two tandeming anecdotes.
1) Sprinting on the MetaBike to keep up with a speeding tandem on the flat/downhill leg of LEL between Moffat and Edinburgh. They were going sufficiently gently for the stoker to turn round and take photos of me. I'm not exactly unaero on the recumbent...
2) A friend and I had no issues taking the morpheus tandem out without any prior tandeming experience. Took a bit longer to agree on a tactic for gear changes, but that was mainly down to the sticky hub gear. Apart from that, fun and games from the start.
In the sea kayaking circle we were in D is for Double and D is for Divorce. Mrs Paddy and I found a way of working and used doubles where necessary. Two singles was always preferable though.
Imagine the same applying to tandeming.
I've double-kayaked a lot, but always been stroke (in front) as lightest; same goes for canoe. On a tandem, I am always stoker (in back) very tricky. in a canoe the person at the back is responsible for steering, while the front person sets course /' warns of rocks etc. so it is more balanced. also, rear paddler can usually see what's going on!
I do think a lot of it has to do with your confidence - if you're in a very balanced sort of relationship to suddenly have to cede all control to the other person is a very odd feeling. I'm sure that's why we've always done best when I'v e been weak/fragile physically or emotionally.
I do think a lot of it has to do with your confidence - if you're in a very balanced sort of relationship to suddenly have to cede all control to the other person is a very odd feeling.
Especially when they are doing everything wrong!
can't decide whether that is cute or creepy.
Definitely the latter.
My two tandeming anecdotes:
1. When I worked in New Zealand for a while, a friend of mine had a home-made tandem cobbled together from two bikes. We used to use it as a pub bike which had the advantages that it was unlikely to be stolen; and that the most sober one could go on front. I remember easily hitting 30mph on the flat ground of Christchurch.
2. My girlfriend at the time and I once took a tandem to Arran and we left the car behind on the mainland. Unfortunately my dad had fitted the wrong size of inner tube to the front and the tyre blew out on the descent into Lochranza. It took all of my skill and about 500 metres to bring the bike to a halt and not crash, as I couldn't use the front brake much, the rear was fairly useless and the bike was wobbling about all over the place. Luckily the GF was fairly oblivious to the peril.
We walked down the hill into Lochranza and found accommodation for the night. The next day, the bike hire place in Lochranza refused to sell us an inner tube so we had to wait hours for the post bus to bring one from the main bike shop. Once the bike was finally back on the road, we decided to abandon the trip as it was pouring with incessant rain, and pedalled back over the hill to Brodick.
Unfortunately GF decided she was not able to stand up while stoking and also was not able to take control on the front. This meant we did not have the horses (nor the gearing) to get up the hill and ended up walking it in the pouring rain. Needless to say she was not a happy camper. It did not end in 'divorce' but it was close...
So, the advantage of two solo bikes is that if one breaks down, there is still another to go and get help (unless you crash into each other).
Link to Darkerside and said pal on said tandem:
Think there must have been some Tandem outing yesterday. I was out on a ride and coming back home over the FRB I passed four within a few minutes of each other!
Boyfriend and I tried a tandem once... it developed a mechanical and we were quite glad we had the excuse to replace it with two solos.
However, I would quite like to have another go, because althought I can keep with boyfriend I have to work quite hard and he does have to go slowly or wait.
I'd definitely have to get used to not being in control though - and descending would be a problem as boyfriend is a confident descender and I'm not (I think sometimes he has to wait longer for me at the bottom of a hill than the top) - although if I can manage not to scream in terror I might learn how to descend better...
Without any intent to buy, we hired a tandem for a day, and at the end of it, my wife declared that it made her feel 16 again.
Needless to say, that's the Pino we now own...
There's no way we would have attempted cycle tours on single bikes, but have now a few under our belts on the Pino - partially to justify the expense, it must be said!
I've heard them described as "relationship accelerators", which may be the reason for the mixed experiences...
One of the disadvantages is the lack of view for the stoker, and another that the theoretical communication benefits aren't realised (pilot can't really hear stoker due to wind noise), however the Pino overcomes both of these issues!
I'm happy to loan it out, although I need a new seatpost at the moment!
Robert
That's a generous offer from Roibeard ... this is one of the few titanium tandems in use. Also know that this style of tandem can be used to haul big loads. For a while now there's been attempts to make a practical easy to use carrier to make tandems into longtails or front load carriers in case of Pino/Morpheus.This seems sensible as I guess a lot of tandems aren't ridden daily or solo. Doing solo tandeming would mark you at as eccentric and we can't have that!
Circe's Titan rack is really heat and simply slips into the rear seat post with a front bracket resting on frame. This makes a superb load carrier which is faster than towing a trailer. People can do adapts to make a box - plus the rear bars give some ;ateral stability. only downside is that it's quite high up - hence bikes like the Bullit being superior for daily load use. As Helios owners know the tandem is light and as the pilot/captain is between the 20" wheels it is quite comfortable. The rear stoker though can benefit from a suspension seat post. Roibeards Hase Pino has front suspension to mitigate this.
Here's a 25kg box on way to get picked up at Bike Works. Full of personal effects for one time tandemista Amy G - now out in Durban. This won't offset the massive amount of carbon used to get there though. 0.5m 'green. 7500m via Dubai.
Helios with 'plug and play' Titan rear rack by LaidBackBikes, on Flickr
Tandems have a few advantages as means of riding with children and/or less confident cyclists.
Firstly, you can go further with less effort. I've found this very useful for longer 'challenge' rides with my son, e.g.. Edinburgh - St Andrews last year.
Secondly, you can confront a busier, riskier road environment with less likelihood of an incident involving a child or less confident rider on their own bike, without the skills or experience to avoid or deal with it.
Thirdly, it's fun and sociable, as long as you don't argue!
I nearly tried a tandem. It was hanging in the bike shelter when I started at a day centre in Leith. It was a red Italian racing tandem which someone had convinced the manager to buy so that people with learning disabilities could be taken out cycling (as stoker). This idea had apparently not worked out as, I was told, the stoker needs to be able to cycle or they make steering too difficult for the pilot. I dread to think how they found that out - is it even true? The bike sat out in the rain and rotted and was eventually skipped.
Q. Why a tandem?
A. Headwinds like today's
Amen to that.
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