# Tips For A New Captain



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

well, finally took teh plunge and found a used tandem (1993 cannondale mtb) for The Wife and me. yesterday we went on our first "shakedown" ride. only 2 miles, but it was the first time she had been on a bike in over a year (had a kid in the meantime). she had a tough time letting go of the "balance" thinsg. in fact, it took all i had to not dump us as she was throwing her weight left and right as we started out. i had to reiterate that she shouldnt worry about balance, and i had it under control. 

the second start was better, and the third start was golden. 

but she did make the following comments:
- i dont like the fact all i see is your back
- i dont like riding in street and only seeing your back
- so all i do is pedal?
- i dont know how you think you can get The Boy to ride on this (he is 4. looking for a child stoker kit now)
- i didnt like it, but it does make me realize how much i miss riding my bike

so, like, how should i address these issues? i thanked her for trying, and showed her how we could set the trailer up to the tandem to pull pull both kids together. and i thanked her again. and again.
i have read through tandemlinks, but was hoping for a few suggestions here. 

(will post pics once i get it fully setup. it is currently 7 speed thumbies. i dont particularly like the brakes. scott/pedersons. in fact, the rear brake doesnt springback and will be replaced with a vbrake once i get the levers. it is not disc-compatible.but i hope to oneday geta disccompatible front fork. i have a 26" disc-specific chromo fork, but i dont think its tandem rated)


----------



## wobblyRider (May 10, 2009)

Congrats on the new bike. 

It takes a while to get used to it. In fact I can tell you that my wife and I had exactly 80 miles on our tandem when we felt in sync with it. Since then it's been great. My stoker loves the fact that it's a lot easier to have a conversation on the tandem and she loves taking pictures while riding. 

It takes good communication to ride a tandem. I always announce when we are going to glide as we approach a stop or turn, or say something like feet down when we have to come to a stop, left foot up when getting ready to start again, ready when getting ready and GO!

My wife had surgery on her wrist this summer and the first bike she was cleared to ride was the tandem. She can ride her allez now and will be able to start riding the mountain bike around the end of December.

Sounds like you two have started out pretty good. Give it time, it gets better.


----------



## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Cool! The same one you were looking at a few weeks ago?

....but she did make the following comments:
- i dont like the fact all i see is your back
- i dont like riding in street and only seeing your back
- so all i do is pedal?....
In all honesty, those were exactly my thoughts the few times I`ve tried stoking. I have no idea how stokers manage without going bonkers, but I`m glad they do. No idea what to tell your wife. Did she really want the tandem from the begining, or did you talk her into it?

The balance thing was never a big issue for us (except those few times I mentioned above when I tried stoking). Ironically, I think that`s because my wife isn`t really used to cycling in the first place- she never even threw a leg over a bike until she was in her mid thirties and we were dating. Anyway, that will hopefully work itself out with a little practice. I was really surprised by how fast our initial progresion was.

We developed our starting method a little at a time and I think it`s pretty standard. I straddle the bike and lock up the brakes, wife gets on and gets her feet strapped in then puts the right pedal up when she`s ready, I clip in my right foot and give a "Ready, set, go" and we`re off. When it comes to stopping, things get a little more confused for some reason. Generally though, I unclip my left foot while the right one is up and plant the left, leaving the right foot clipped in for short stops. Unclipping the "down" foot still seems really weird to me, although it might be normal practice for most people. You guys didn`t have any trouble with stopping?

You have Pederson brakes front and rear? Before you write them off, be sure they`re working like they`re supposed to. The return spring tensions like on Dia Compe cantis, if you`re familiar with those. You loosen the mounting bolt and rotate the barrel thing with a cone wrench to put more or less pressure on either arm. On our Pedersons (front only), I found that if I torque the mount bolt down nice and tight it restricts the movement a little- not so much that you notice when you pull the lever, but enough that they don`t spring back like they do before cinching down the bolt. To solve that issue, I loc-tited the bolts and only tightened them until they stared to restrict the return. I`ve got other cantis with the same problem and never had any bolts come loose when I`ve done them that way.

Random drivel:
Many things that I didn`t expect mostly have to do with our feet being tied in sync, sometimes compounded by my wife`s inexperience. For example, when we get ready to turn, I often have to force the pedals to a stop because she doesn`t get the pedal strike thing. Or when we come to a big bump, the pedals used to stop turning because she stands up for the bump and she couldn`t get out of the saddle while pedalling at the same time. I think we finally got that one licked though- last week she managed it three times! Yay, Lupita! Oh yeah- when I coast, I usually keep my pedals level, right in front of left. She prefers one foot down and one up- sometimes I veto her feet and sometimes she wins on that one. To begin with, I announced everything that was going on- shifts, bumps, turns, coast or pedal... As we get more used to each other, I find myself announcing less all the time and we`re starting to develop that foot communication that you hear about. I`m betting you two be ahead of us in that respect very soon, since you`re both riders and probably more consistant than we are. I find my ability to judge how big a bump is ahead of time is not as good as I would have expected. We hit a lot of them that I don`t announce because I don`t see them or don`t think they`re worth mentioning until I find out I was wrong, other times I announce "bump" and you can`t even feel it. I have to pay a lot more attention to steering than I`m used to. My guess is that my solo technique isn`t really very good, but I get away with it on the solo bikes. Any rate, I have to be very concious of using pressure on the bars (counter steering?) because solo I usually just turn- really don`t pay attention to how it happens. Our tandem doesn`t seem to work on auto pilot. Jumping curbs is another thing that doesn`t work for us. Unless I`m doing it wrong, you can`t really pop the front wheel up on a tandem. You CAN run straight into a curb, stop dead, and fall over to the side.


----------



## DeLuz (Aug 1, 2008)

If she misses riding her her bike then why doesn't she start riding it again?
My wife stopped riding her bike and became dependent on the tandem.
Now after shoulder surgery we got her a new bike and she rides it more than the tandem.
I think its good to have a balance and ride both single and tandem.
You have to get some time and experience on the tandem to become more in sync and for your wife to trust you and the bike. But you have to earn her trust. I found to do that I had to stop doing stupid things like:

Running through stop signs and red lights.

Suddenly speeding up to catch somebody in front of us or somebody who passed us.

Latching onto a pack of riders we don't know and maybe they don't want us there or don't ride safely.

Not calling out potholes and bumps.

Stopping suddenly without warning.

Those are the main ones to avoid.


----------



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

thanks for the input. keep it coming.

on the short time out (only 2 miles) i pretty much relayed everything i was doing. "turning left," "slowing down," "coasting in 3-2-1," "slowing to a stop," etc. i think she just needs to get used to not having to worry about things so much. 

i bought the tandem witha few things in mind. hopefully she and i can head out on it, especially when The Boy starts riding without training wheels in the spring (if not sooner than that). we can pull The Girl in the Chariot while he rides.
i am also on the lookout for a child stoker kit for The Boy (if you know anyone selling...). i envision him on the back, The Girl in the cart, and The Wife on her own bike.

the reason The Wife hasnt been riding is we had The Girl in January and she did not get the neck strength to ride in the cart until recently. and even then, i have reservations about pulling a child uner one year. 

as far as the pederson brakes, I am going to keep the front for now, but ditch the rear brake. it is toasted. it doesnt spring back at all, and there is a torn rubber gasket coming hanging out from between brake and the boss. i also dont like the brake pad adjustment system. i had to tweak the front pads a bit, and they work fine. but the rear is gone and will be replaced witha V-brake and lever. hopefully this week.


----------



## Starliner (Mar 7, 2002)

Just keep on doing rides and be patient. During rides, talk to her a lot about things dealing with everyday life - it'll distract her from her psychological discomfort in not being in control of things. Continue to be communicative and be consistent with your communications - that'll build the trust she needs to become comfortable with letting you be 'in charge'. You'll know when it happens - she'll be pointing out things to look at over on the right side and the left side which you will begin to find annoying because it distracts you from your own responsibilities captaining a bike that doesn't react as quickly as a single in avoiding those chips of glass that pop up out of nowhere on the road in front of you.

One thing I've had to learn from my own riding experience is that MTB shoes and pedals are going to be far better (and safer) for the captain to use than road shoes and pedals.


----------



## adimiro (Jun 28, 2007)

Although I usually 'captain' the tandem, last year rode 'stoker' with a very strong, capable friend and I LOVED IT!! Here are some observations about stoking:

(1) Contrary to just looking at someone's back, as stoker, you can look around more since you don't have to pay attention to the road, steering, traffic, etc. 

(2) Nice to be able to let go the handlebars and give those hands and fingers more frequent stretching, changing positions, etc

(3) Riding tandems in general, let people of somewhat different abilities, speed, endurance ride together. THis is especially true in longer distances where riding single bikes might be frustrating to one or another rider of different levels.

(4) One of my favorite tandem accessories is an Ipod Shuffle with a speaker system (about $40) which let's us mutually enjoy music while riding (without the pitfalls of earphones)...check it out on photo below.












Enjoy!!!!


----------

