# Wow, This Is So Different!



## MaddSkillz (Mar 13, 2007)

My wife and I found a reasonable tandem yesterday after seriously searching for a few weeks. I've attached a picture of it. It's a Trek Fast Trak something-rather... Not too sure the exact model. LOL I've been reading a lot of articles this morning regarding tandems and proper captain and stoker etiquette. Geez, so much to learn...

Last night we took it for a short spin around the neighborhood with me as the captain and her as the stoker. My wife kept complaining of a "wobbling" sensation in the back. I couldn't feel it up front. I know the wheels were tight and I do not believe this is a symptom of the bike... Maybe it was me? Not sure... I rode the bike around solo for a about 15 minutes to get the feel of it as all I've ever ridden is my road bike for the past 2 years. Wow, what a difference it is. There will definitely be an adjustment phase that may continue for a while. 

Currently, the bike doesn't have clipless and will probably stay that way until we get more comfortable with it and our skills improve. The stokers handlebars are flipped and I will be flipping these back over to normal position before our next ride. Is this a good first tandem? 

The reason for the purchase was that our "together" rides were very recreational for me and a workout for her. I do enjoy the together time but miss the workout. This seemed like the best and perfect solution. I hope this tandem thing is something we can both grow into and learn to enjoy together and I have high hopes that we will.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning more about the "tandem world." I think it's going to be a lot of fun!


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## HAL9000 (May 1, 2002)

What did you pay for it?


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## MaddSkillz (Mar 13, 2007)

$795


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

If you ride it, its a great first tandem.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

MaddSkillz said:


> $795


I'd say that was a darn good price, you got a deal.


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

*Big Lesson to learn:* If you think the ride was too slow and too short it was probably still too fast and too long for your wife. Take it REALLY easy on her at first (nothing more that 5-10 miles) and try to find some other tandem riders to ride with. As much as she likes you and as nice as your ass is she'll get bored of staring at it and if she's working too hard she'll lose interest rather quickly.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

That weird wobbling sensation that your wife is feeling is from your bike having a wheelbase that's 20-30 inches longer than her regular bike- the center of turning effort is somewhere behind you and in front of her instead of being somewhere under her chest like she's used to. Any twitch or turn feels weird for a while.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Hi, MaddSkills. Your reasoning for buying a tandem sounds a lot like ours- we just bought one too. You might have better luck with platform pedals than we did, but I think it`s a good idea to have the stoker`s feet stuck firmly to the pedals. When we rode with platform pedals, my stoker kept "losing" them, which wasn`t good because first the cranks would come around again and whack her feet and calves, then we`d have to coast while she got situated again. I found some surprisingly nice quill pedals (Ritchey, I think) that included clips and straps for $15 at my LBS. She was very wary of using them before she tried, but instantly got to like them and it solved that problem completely. Just wondering- how much does your wife ride now? My wife had ridden a little bit when she was a girl, but never had her own bike. When we were dating, about six years ago, was the first time she rode as an adult and it was almost like teaching her from scratch- we had to start out in empty parking lots so she could concentrate on steering and pedalling with no worries of hitting anything or running off the road. She`s progressed a lot since then, but still isn`t comfortable with a lot of stuff that our seven-year-old niece has no problem with.

Funny thing about the wobbling- our first tandem trial together had ME upset with the wobbling- she didn`t seem to notice. I`m glad I didn`t say anything because I later took a little ride as stoker with a buddy captaining and I could feel myself pulling the bike all over the place even though I was trying hard to be neutral. I must admit that my wife is quickly learning stoke and is undoubtedly better at it than I was on my brief experiment. I hope to try it some more, though. After our first longish (20 mi/4 hours) ride, we are comming together as a team better than I would have expected. Hope you have luck with it too- please keep us informed on how it`s going because I`m anxious to hear about your learning curve. Oh yeah- how much verbal communication do you guys have while tandeming? In our case, my stoker likes to hear EVERYTHING announced, so I give warniing before every shift, bump (when possible), turn, coast, or stop. Seems a little overboard to me, but she`s happy so I might as well keep at it. How much do you announce? Is your stoker content with that system?


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## MaddSkillz (Mar 13, 2007)

Hey all thanks for the input! 

rodar, my wife may ride 75 miles on a good week... But mostly it's around 50 to 60. I ride a lot more than that. She's a pretty good rider... She can climb hills standing so she's got some good handling skills and ability... 

The unfortunate thing is since I've posted this message, all we've had is rain here in Oklahoma. The skies are blue now, but we're both stuck at work. =( So, we've only had that one ride on the tandem so far! haha So as far as communication goes on the tandem we don't have that figured out yet. But I'd imagine she's going to want me to be very talkative... At least for awhile. I'll keep you all posted.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

MaddSkillz said:


> rodar, my wife may ride 75 miles on a good week... But mostly it's around 50 to 60. I ride a lot more than that. She's a pretty good rider... She can climb hills standing so she's got some good handling skills and ability...


Even if she only averages 50 miles per week, that`s over 3000 mile per year- probably more than I ride. Hope you get some nice riding weather soon.


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