We've always used the Proper Method. Both of us have clipless pedals and thus Stoker is always clipped in, unless we are stopping for a longer period of time. In that case. Captain puts both feet down and says, Down!. Stoker then also unclips and puts both feet down (or not, it's her choice.) To start, Captain says, "Pedal" and Stoker presents Captain's left pedal at 10:00 and Captain clips in to that pedal. If we've come to a quick stop, Captain will put the right foot down with the left pedal at 6 o'clock. To quickly restart, Captain can either yank the left pedal into position, or more nicely, say "Pedal", and then both riders bring the left pedal to 10:00.
Yes, not remembering to downshift during a sudden stop will bring a remonstrance from Stoker because in the Proper Method it's Stoker who moves the bike almost alone until Captain clips in the second pedal, and Captain had better hit the clip perfectly every time.
The wonderful thing about all this is that, unlike on a single bike, it's easy to start a tandem on a 10% grade, IF stupid Captain has remembered to shift all the way down before stopping. If that's impossible, both riders dismount and Stoker holds up the rear wheel while Captain downshifts. Then the start proceeds normally.
We both love riding the tandem, partly because of the teamwork necessary, and partly because the thing will really move if we push. Our very favoritest thing is descending rollers. Tandems rule on descending rollers.
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