We just got back from a hub-and-spoke bike tour. We've been doing weekly rides for many years with this group. At 148, we definitely don't climb like we used to, but our 24 X 40 gets us up the hills. That said, we can hold our own with 1 decade younger single riders in rolling terrain as long as the rollers aren't too huge and the single riders aren't in top shape.
After this tour out of Salem, OR, the group has pretty much decided that no one wants to climb big passes anymore. So far, so good, but we can see that an e-tandem will be in our future. Hard to say when, but certainly by 180, more likely 160. And no, never separate bikes, ever again. We enjoy each other's close company too much. We touch each other through our pedals all day long. It's nice.
We have a couple who ride single e-bikes in the group. They're a PITA because they don't ride a steady effort. If the paceline is accordioning, there's probably an e-bike on the front. We go up and take over. So that's a possible downside to it, though regular tandems have the same issue in rollers. We have to hit 35-40 dropping to be able to get over the following climb without getting into the granny. Most single riders are too cautious to hold our wheel while we do that.
We happen to enjoy group rides much more than solo, though of course we have to do a lot of solo work to be able to ride with the group. It's sort of like riders who race just so they have to train. We are very thankful that gyms are back in normal operation.
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