A couple riding a tandem. As taking their photography I couldn’t help hear part of their conversation.
“compared to your daughter you…..”
And they cycled off into the distance, leaving us uncertain whether the tandem is an extension of marital bliss or an extension of a nagging wife.
Tandems are great fun. They can be a lot quicker, especially on descents and the flat. They are not necessarily slower up hills, but, it needs good technique between two riders, especially if of different ability.
A tandem has double the pedalling power with only slightly more frictional loss in the drivetrain.
It has about the same wind resistance as a single bike.
High performance tandems may weigh less than twice as much as a single bike, so the power to weight ratio can be slightly better than that of a single bike and rider. Tandems can reach relatively high speeds, especially downhill and on flat to rolling terrain.
I saw a tandem parked outside work today. I was left wondering if I’d missed out on a bike-pooling scheme, or maybe it’s some new kind of team-building exercise…
I can vouch for the performance of a tandem. I and my daughter have been riding tandems since she was a nine year old (she’s now nearly 18) and have had many enjoyable miles with it. Rides of over 70 miles in day were achieved; something probably not possible when she was so young. We’ve maintained 30mph on the flat (we’re not particularly fit) and hit nearly 50 downhill – scary! Only did that once. On club rides we took great glee in hanging back before a downhill, then giving it lots of welly down the hill, and then freewheeling past the bunch uphill! Fun.