Originally Posted by
surak
Starting her off on a tandem may have the opposite effect. My stoker hasn't touched her bike since we bought our first of two tandems. We rented a hybrid tandem while on vacation and liked it enough to buy the entry-level Kent Dual-Drive. The Kent is definitely good enough for beginners.
I agree with this. We got started on tandems when our kids got too big for the trailer we pulled them in when they were babies. Now my kids are teenagers. We've done a fair bit of riding with them on back of tandems, but recently rode as a family with them on their own bikes and we were surprised by how much one of them struggled with basics like gearing, bike handling, and navigating roads. I don't need my kids to choose cycling as a lifelong love like I have, but I do need them to be prepared to get around town and get groceries on a bike in college, if necessary. So, we're going to do more family rides on our single bikes, even if they are short, to improve those skills.