Bicycle built for two

My sweetheart and I have a problem. We play at different speeds. On skis or a hiking trail, for example, I'll loaf along at a pace that feels positively catatonic, then stop and wait while she catches up. She, of course, sees it differently. 

In the name of love, we've learned to compensate. I deliberately overload my hiking pack while she goes lightly burdened. It helps. 

But bicycles are a challenge. We both enjoy biking moderate distances on quiet back roads on mountain bikes or hybrids. Neither of us wants to race. But, for Marilyn, who hadn't biked since childhood until she met me, the pace and distances I want to pedal are daunting. I feel the same way when I try to ride with some of my serious biker friends.

We considered not biking together. But we like each other's company. So we decided to go for a "bicycle built for two." That way, I can't possibly outdistance her.

Our tandem quest began as always, with research.

On the advice of a friend, we visited Belmont Wheelworks, probably the largest retailer of tandem bikes in New England. Tandem guru Doug McKenzie took us out and showed us the basics, starting with a lecture on how tandems work and who's responsible for what.

The "captain," who rides in front, has to stabilize the bike, handle all the shifting, braking and steering, and set the pace. The captain is also responsible for communicating all upcoming gear shifts, turns and bumps to the "stoker" on the back seat. The captain's number one priority is keeping the stoker happy.

The stoker watches for approaching cars, reads maps, signals turns, leans on corners, contributes his or her fair share to the pedaling and enjoys the ride. That division of labor obviously requires the stoker to relinquish control, which wouldn't work for some couples.

Doug had me ride stoker to his captain. Good lesson; one I'd highly recommend for any potential captain. He then took Marilyn for a ride. She loved riding with an experienced captain.

Then came "The Test." Could we ride together? That question remains unanswered, but if a few minutes in a large parking lot is any indication, the answer is probably "yes."  We didn't have any problem starting, which is one of the hard parts of tandem biking. We seemed to be able to communicate and work together. Most of all, we had fun. Maybe we have a biking future together after all.

Sticker shock

Tandems come in a variety of styles and price ranges -- from expensive to really expensive.

My advice for buying any bike is to visit several reputable specialty shops, test ride as many different bikes as possible and see what they feel like. Narrow your search down to specific models by reputable manufacturers. Then go shopping for price and service.

While looking for tandems, I found everything from ancient, rusted clunkers for $150, to super-light, hi-tech, carbon-fiber and titanium bikes retailing for $13,000. Zowee! Generally, though, good new tandems were selling from $1,300 to $6,000. Quality used tandems were $750 to $3,000.

That sounds like a lot of money until you realize that a quality bike can take 20 years of hard use. While we were shopping, we met a married couple replacing their 1991 Cannondale tandem with a new Santana carbon tandem as a retirement present. Last year they rode to North Carolina tandem.

Because Marilyn and I love dirt road and bike path riding, we looked mainly at "mountain bike" and "hybrid" style tandems. We finally found a gently-used Burley "Samba" hybrid that we could (barely) afford. 

Toting a tandem

Tandem bikes are longer and heavier than solo bikes. Alas, they don't fit on standard bike racks. Unless you always ride from home, you'll need to budget for a special tandem carrier to go on your vehicle's roof rack.

Yakima makes a nifty rig called the "Sidewinder" that fits on most vehicle roof racks. One person can load a tandem on top of a car almost effortlessly, with this model. It seems to hold the bike more securely than similar designs. Since my whole rack system for bikes, kayaks, boats, skis and luggage carrier is Yakima, and I can lock it all up with a single key, that's what I went with.

Both Thule and ATOC also make tandem racks. Check them out before you buy.

Tandem resources

Harris Cyclery has an excellent treatise on almost every aspect of tandem riding.

Not all bike shops stock tandems, but here's a list of some that have rentals and test rides:

Belmont Wheelworks, Belmont, MA.

Dave's Cycle, Cos Cob, CT.

Harris Cycles,West Newton, MA.

Landry's Bicycles, Natick, MA.

New Horizons, Westfield, MA.

Tandems East, Pittsgrove, NJ.

Organizations

T-Bone (Tandem Bicyclists Of New England) sponsors lots of fun club rides.

Tandem Club of America

Eastern Tandem Rally

Manufacturers

Burley Design Cooperative. Check out the tandems, cargo trailers and child trailers.

Cannondale, road and mountain tandems

Co-Motion Cycles, good technical discussion on tandem sizing, wheel sizes and general tandem info.

KHS Bicycles, road and hybrid tandems

Longbikes, recumbent tandems and bikes for up to six riders.

Santana Bicycles, good general information on tandem cycling, including a fun "compatibility" quiz.

Seven Cycles, road tandems

Trek Bicycles, road and "cruiser" tandems