Originally Posted by
Brandy
Hopefully we can get some time in on our tandem in the next couple of months...no need to discuss a no drop policy there. Of course, that brings up all kinds of other issues!
You know, it's really hard to go from controlling your own bike to being a stoker. I'm still in the minor freak out stages.
My wife and I tried a tandem. It was a spectacular failure. On the good side, she's a good stoker on steep inclines -- we were passing plenty of roadies while climbing around the SF area, and people were blown away by our climbing speed.
On the bad side, she can't stand high speeds. Even worse, if the stoker decides not to follow the captain's lead, it causes severe handling problems. She would hold her feet tight if she thought we were going too fast downhill. If she saw no need to turn (i.e. because she hadn't spotted the debris that I saw), she wouldn't follow my lead. One could suggest that she pilot the bike and I be the stoker, but she rides WAY too conservatively and I know I'd go crazy.
In the end, I decided that if we ride together, I should ride my slowest bike weighed down as much as possible, use the crappiest aero profile possible, and then cut the wind.