# Do you let your wife be the captain?



## schaubut

My wife and I have been riding tandem for 25 years. In the last four she has taken the captains seat many times and without incident. Though not the strongest, fastest she is agile. I believe to better team players it may help to experience both positions.

Have you ever been a stoker?


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## Bocephus Jones II

schaubut said:


> My wife and I have been riding tandem for 25 years. In the last four she has taken the captains seat many times and without incident. Though not the strongest, fastest she is agile. I believe to better team players it may help to experience both positions.
> 
> Have you ever been a stoker?


No...it would scare the crap out of me to be a stoker.


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## schaubut

I can understand exactly how that feels. But being a stoker allows me to see the problems not just hear about them. Certainly not all are suited for being a captain or a stoker.


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## onespeedbiker

First, my wife would never consider it; she simply feels she does not have the expertise to control the tandem. I have to admire your level of trust. Being an retired police officer I am a bit of a control freak (however I lean toward cajoling voluntary compliance over heavy handedness). I am simply much more experienced than my bride and she seems to feel a certain sense of comfort trusting my abilities TMI?


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## schaubut

In the last several training rides she captained our first tandem with a moderately trained and comparable capable woman friend. She's worked hard and complained a lot but she may get stronger in the process.


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## powhatan

I would have no trouble letting my wife be the captain, but I am 6' 4" and she is 5' 3" so there is a fit issue. Bottom line is she is the captain of our ride.


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## OneGear

Is there some sort of Tandem Code going on here?


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## Eddywanabe

powhatan said:


> I would have no trouble letting my wife be the captain, but I am 6' 4" and she is 5' 3" so there is a fit issue. Bottom line is she is the captain of our ride.


:thumbsup: And that's what it takes to be tandem partners for life!!!


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## schaubut

Yes 1+1=3. At least in binary, but on a tandem it means double fun


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## bradXism

My wife is not a serious rider I built our tandem so she could go ride with me. I would let one of my training partners captain as she is as strong as I am. Having done long rides with my brother on a tandem, I wouldn't consider doing the same with a woman because you should get off the bike every four hours and beat the crap out of each other and get it over with.

4 motivating factors modify human behaviour sex, pain, fear and ambition. try not confuse those buttons.


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## schaubut

Well I figure if the woman is upfront I might not have to look at her pained face in my mirror and I can talk directly in her ear.


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## butlerrider

Uhhh.....NO


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## terbennett

I recall going to the LA Bike Show years ago and the head of Santana was out explaining how they tend to put the woman on the front. the reason is that we as men (eventhough we love our other half) are conditioned to not really trust anyone but ourselves. He mentioned that men are usually shocked at this but it is actually a good thing. It teaches us to really trust our wives/girlfriends to be able to take care of things. Many customers started talking about how this actually improved their relationships. I hear you Schaubut.


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## My Own Private Idaho

My wife= 4'11", and 98 pounds.
Me= 6'7", and 300 pounds.

She couldn't physically captain a tandem with me on it.


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## schaubut

Last weekend was another first. We were riding down the Ocean avenue when I looked in my mirror and saw a few younger riders on singles. Being the stoker at the time and my wife the captain, I quickly told her about the hotshots approaching. We both put the hammer down and gave them a run for their money. Okay they did catch up at 30 MPH, but they look like they had a hard time. We may have as well and I know I felt like blowing my groceries. It was her first time on the front at a much higher speed. How's that for team building?


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## PMK

We have tried this on a bike path. 100 feet max. She gets to nervous, starts the bike swaying and then grabs brakes. I explain, get it rolling and it gets easier. She wants nothing to do with being the captain.

PK


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## Barts27

no no no


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## danl1

schaubut said:


> My wife and I have been riding tandem for 25 years. In the last four she has taken the captains seat many times and without incident. Though not the strongest, fastest she is agile. I believe to better team players it may help to experience both positions.
> 
> Have you ever been a stoker?


Honestly, I wish we could. But with her barely scraping 5' and me a 6'1", the geo doesn't work. 

If I could find even a cheap cruiser that'd let it happen, I'd do it. Not for the all-the-time, but just so we could each appreciate the other's situations better.


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## adimiro

The captain vs stoker role has much more to do with bike handling skill and power rather than gender,

I am speaking as a 5'1" 120 lb female with a custom tandem spec'ed for me to captain (or stoker). I've been in both places...as captain with a 170 lb stoker and as stoker with a 170 lb captain.

Size and weight issues notwithstanding, let's leave sexism out of tandem cycling.


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## schaubut

Maybe I should have asked the question "Are you ever a stoker". However the question is now change it's query. 

I thought my asking the question is very specific be it related to a husband's trust. it's not about the female capabilities but rather it's about the male trust here that I'm interested in learning about. I've got a few responses that prohibit switching positions and it good to here about that as well.


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## adimiro

Shaubut...just hoping to break the mold and stereotype of tandem teams. Very cool that you and your wife can switch out positions.


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## schaubut

*Tandem Vacation*

My wife and I just completed a 370 miles solo bike tour that took us from Atlanta -> Gadsden, AL -> Desoto State Park, Ft Payne -> Lookout Mt GA -> Rome GA -> Atlanta. Since we live in a flat terran area, hills aren't our strongest point. That includes up as well as down. The wife resigned to not taking the captain this time and I understood her reasons. I was also scared of them huge hills.

We installed a disc brake that is operated by the stoker, so she sort of had to control the bike. Something I forgot is that on the rolling as well as unexpected hills its great for the stoker to be able to call out the gears promptly and that she did. Who needs flight deck computers?

All in all, since this was our first multi day tour, I have to say it was the hardest thing I've ever done. The wife agrees but we are looking forward to doing another as soon as we can.


Sorry for not being exactly on topic. My point is again that we've become better tandem riders because we know the captain and the stoker issues first hand.


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## slowoldguy

*tandem therapy*

My wife and I have both been riders for decades, but we recently bought our first tandem. When I first took it to our LBS they informed me they refer to tandems as "divorce-makers", but we have found it to be the opposite and are really enjoying it. Since my wife and I have the same inseam measurement, we can easily swap back and forth from captain to stoker, but my wife has been reluctant to try the captain position. Maybe when we get a little more experience she will give it a try, but in the meantime, I think she is enjoying being able to take in the view occasionally.


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## SpicyMac

powhatan said:


> I would have no trouble letting my wife be the captain, but I am 6' 4" and she is 5' 3" so there is a fit issue. Bottom line is she is the captain of our ride.


Fit would also be an issue for us.


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## bjjoondo

I'd be happy to but my wife is "small and short" and she told me there's NO way she could hold up the bike and ME!:thumbsup:


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## vontress

Do you let your wife be the captain?

Only in bed.


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## tandemer

I would love to try the stoker position and fit would not be a big issue. But my wife just don't want beeing the captain. We ride a lot on solo bikes, but she also enjoys just feeling ones with the machine in the back.


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## miguel_angel

I have never seen a woman captain a tandem, but i would finf it pretty funny .


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## adimiro

miguel_angel said:


> I have never seen a woman captain a tandem, but i would finf it pretty funny .



Here you go Miguel-angel, a foto of an all-women's tandem team before completing the Death RIde aka Tour of Califormia Alps with approximately 125 miles and 14,000 ft of climbing. Still funny?

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/tandems/tandems-small-riders-206683.html


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## schaubut

*Yes here they are*

https://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb465/schaubut/35a8ccda.jpg


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## wvucyclist

There's a problem with the question, "let you wife"! I don't "let" my wife do anything, nor does she "let" me do anything. That assumes that I am in power over my wife, instead of in cooperation with. *rant off*

The problem as many have mentioned is the size differential. We can make the back fit a bit better for a taller rider, but not so much in the front. When I would ride the tandem with a team mate, I would always be in front, it was a trust issue to have anybody else drive!


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## Scriv

adimiro said:


> The captain vs stoker role has much more to do with bike handling skill and power rather than gender,
> 
> I am speaking as a 5'1" 120 lb female with a custom tandem spec'ed for me to captain (or stoker). I've been in both places...as captain with a 170 lb stoker and as stoker with a 170 lb captain.
> 
> Size and weight issues notwithstanding, let's leave sexism out of tandem cycling.


When researching at a local shop that sells quite a few tandems, they indicated that the larger, stronger rider should captain. If that happens to be the woman, fellas take the back seat.


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## iheartbenben

My Own Private Idaho said:


> My wife= 4'11", and 98 pounds.
> Me= 6'7", and 300 pounds.
> 
> She couldn't physically captain a tandem with me on it.


Is it because you tore her in half during intercourse?

I'd let my wife captain the tandem we don't own yet. It'd be fun to get a scar together plus it be her fault, rather than mine, for a night in the ER. : )

Still trying to get her to stand out of the saddle on her bike. : / It eludes her.


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## il sogno

terbennett said:


> I recall going to the LA Bike Show years ago and the head of Santana was out explaining how they tend to put the woman on the front. the reason is that we as men (eventhough we love our other half) are conditioned to not really trust anyone but ourselves. He mentioned that men are usually shocked at this but it is actually a good thing. It teaches us to really trust our wives/girlfriends to be able to take care of things. Many customers started talking about how this actually improved their relationships. I hear you Schaubut.


Makes sense, actually. Man on back puts more weight on the rear wheel.


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## tmf

She's never asked, but if she really wanted to we could try it around the neighborhood to see how it would go. The fit wouldn't be great due to size differences, but it would be alright for a short ride.

Thinking about it now - I believe it would actually be fun to try, and we would probably appreciate each other's position better.


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## The Bike Dude

Not a problem if she can fit the bike. My wife is too short. It's generally better if the captain is taller, man or woman.


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## schaubut

Why is it better that the taller rider be the captain?
Respectively curious.


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## Lastplayboy

hmmm


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## eddymerckxwannabe

*lady captain*

THe fact that I weight 50 lbs more would probably make the bike pretty hard for her to handle!


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## RevX

yay fun


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