— Comments —

Roger G. writes:

The tandem you’re showing is unconventional, with the stoker in front and recumbent. There are also fully recumbent tandems, etc., etc. A tandem crew consists of a captain and a stoker. The captain has to steer and balance the bicycle, and pedal hard enough to keep it upright and moving. The stoker can work as much or as little as he (she) wants, and can use one or both hands for taking pictures, waving, etc. However, the stoker has no control over steering or braking, and on a conventional tandem (captain in front), the stoker’s forward vision is limited, and he (she) can’t tell if bumps, dips, etc. are coming. It’s the captain’s duty to warn the stoker (“Bump! Ten feet!”) in enough time so that the stoker doesn’t get an unpleasant surprise.

Conventional tandems also are designed for the taller, heavier crew member to ride captain. I have seen tandems constructed so that the shorter, lighter rider is captain – e.g., for husband-wife teams where the husband is blind. Lots of people hate to surrender control. As a perennial offensive lineman/front row forward, I’m used to not being the boss, and in fact greatly prefer to ride stoker. However, it’s my tandem, and I’m the guy, so I usually have to captain. Speaking of which, some guys are antsy about riding with another guy. Silly. There’s nothing remotely homosexual about two people of the same sex riding the same bicycle.

However, bicycles are like clothes – they have to fit. And fit isn’t simply a matter of how much space there is between your crotch and the top tube when you’re straddling the bicycle. Also the distance from your knee to your foot, from your elbow to your middle finger tip, etc. etc. Though most of this stuff only matters if you’re on the bike for more than a half hour at a time.

I have also ridden as middle man – with a bike shop owner and his son, both bicycle racers – on a triplet. With three peddlers, all in shape, you’re a car! We were cruising, without strain, in heavy auto traffic, at 35 mph. But coming to a stop was like negotiating the GATT accords.

I named my tandem Eärrámë (the ship that bore Tuor and Idril into the West). Most people ignore me when I rhapsodize about the joys of tandeming, but the two couples who took me up on it now agree with me completely. Here are some testimonials from a tandem maker’s site.

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