Wheels74

Quick question about suspension seatposts on tandems... bc i see them a lot. Is it standard on tandems? Maybe i am missing something, but it seems like it is not needed on a road tandem. And it seems to add unnecessary weight. I have never ridden as a stoker, so I am assuming it is rough back there and needed, maybe?

Keep in mind, I am new to tandems... if this is a silly question, forgive me.

Rick

The rear seat of your Tandem can be a very harsh to the stoker. Even more so than the seat on a single. There are more road specific suspension seats on the market.

reburns

Not a silly question. The primary reasons cited for a suspension seatpost for the stoker are 1) the fact that the stoker can’t see a bump coming and so is unable to prepare instinctively as would the captain or rider of a single bike. And 2) that the stoker saddle is positioned very close to directly above the rear axle and so will feel the full force of any bump encountered by the rear wheel, whereas the captain is roughly equidistant between the wheels and thus experiences roughly half the bump force encountered by either wheel.

Reason #1 can and should be mitigated by a diligent captain announcing bumps just before hitting them, but no captain is perfect in this regard, so many stokers, including mine, value the extra comfort gained by a suspension seatpost. Of the available designs, the parallelogram approach is usually more supple with less stiction, although telescopic designs can be useful in situations where there is not much exposed seatpost room available. Some designs also are more prone to activation from pedaling motion than others, and so may suffer some relative inefficiency. You will find some strong opinions on the internet about which particular seatpost is "the best" for stokers, although interestingly almost all of these endorsements are made by captains, not stokers.

fooferdoggie 

even small bumps can be a pain. my wife has a kineck post and it helps a lot. iahve to remove it the nI pull the granddaughters trailer and she sure feels it then. Now I tired mine that was all setup for my commuter on the tandem with the same seat and I was bouncing around like a pogo stick.

obrentharris 

Here are two previous discussions of the same topic that you may find useful:

https://www.bikeforums.net/tandem-cy...endations.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/tandem-cy...hat-works.html

Brent

alias5000

Try it as is with your stoker and then decide. My one stoker uses the kinekt and it was the best thing we could have done to improve ride quality (hence: distance). The other stoker uses a fixed seat post on the same tandem and is perfectly happy.

Darth Lefty 

Ever ride in the back of the school bus?

jnbrown

My stoker (wife) has always demanded one, its not even a discussion. YMMV

Hypno Toad

We are new to tandems too ... we've had fun with a '65 Schwinn Twinn, but that's just for short rides. We got our Co Motion Java last month and we plan to make it's first big adventure The Filthy 50 in a week. We got a Kinekt stoker post for gravel rides like the Filthy, but our training rides on paved trails have proved that the suspension helps on any surface. Paved routes will have potholes, road seams, curb ramps, and many other impacts that can cause the stoker discomfort. Frau Toad says a suspension stoker posts is a must!

sapporoguy

Our Santana and Co-Mo, bought used, both came with rear Tamer posts, and my stoker won't ride without them. The Tamer is less bouncy,I think, than some, because it acts more like a shock absorber: It's firm--almost locked at the top of its range--until you hit a certain threshold of bump, then it kind of "breaks," for lack of a better word, and goes into spring mode, then goes back up to firm when the bumping is done.
One seems to be wearing out, though, and I'm tempted to buy a Kinekt for stoker.

IPassGas

Our stoker started with a suspension seatpost. After a while she decided is was not useful. I am careful to call out bumps. After a couple 100K miles and we are much older now, it is still that way. Perhaps for some it is ok.