plasticookies

My boyfriend is suffering from a knee issue which has almost completely stopped him from riding since last fall. We used to ride a bunch together and tour, which I'm really missing. The recovery progress has been extremely slow and I don't foresee him getting back to his previous strength any time soon, unfortunately.

I started thinking that if we got a tandem, we could do longer rides and he could just spin lightly without aggravating the injury. Neither of us has actually ridden a tandem, so I'm wondering if this makes any sense. Could it be possible that the added challenge of having to compromise on cadence would be even more difficult? Anyone have similar experience to share?

scycheng

My first thoughts are not a bad idea but:

• He should consult his physiotherapist first. Depending on the nature of his knee injury and his current stage of recovery, this may or may not be a good idea. This could be part of his therapy.
• Try riding a properly fitted stationary bike first. That is a controlled environment where he can figure out whether his knees can handle the movement and stress.
• Ride his single bike next. Spin in low gear. Outdoor riding will introduce terrain and wind into the equation.
• After that, rent a tandem and use a low gear on flat decent paved surface. Go slow. This is more difficult than it sounds because as an experienced cyclist, he will want to go faster.

I always found captaining a tandem to be much more work than riding a single bike. My legs (and knees) can feel the difference between single bike and tandem. YMMV.

DangerousDanR

Knee injuries can really put a damper on the enjoyment of cycling. When we started riding a tandem Mrs. Dan and I had very different cadences.

I have had several knee surgeries, and after the last one was told by the surgeon who repaired my knee that he saw very little wear damage for a long term cyclist and that he believed it was probably due to keeping a faster cadence. I try to keep my cadence right around 90, but can go down as low as 75 for a short time. If I push too hard at too low a pace I have a sore knee.

Mrs. Dan on the other hand was formerly a 60-70 cadence rider. At about 60 years of age, we started out riding 80-90. After quite a few years Mrs. Dan is now quite comfortable at 90 and can go a lot faster for a short time. So, yes, people can develop a faster cadence. And riding a tandem has allowed us to ride together with two very different levels of strength.

I know that this is going to be a dirty word to some people, but has he considered an electrically assisted bicycle? We met a couple when we were touring the Isle of Skye (a fairly hilly route) and one of them was dealing with Ankylosing Spondylitis. She had a bike with an assist and they told us that it had given her back that part of her life.

plasticookies

Thanks for that! He does have the green light from his physio to cycle as within his limits, so he does ride a bit on his single bike. The problem is that the short slow rides are not super exciting for him so they're not happening very often. I was kind of hoping I could use the tandem to encourage more regular riding.

Interesting, we'll have to try it out. He is the bigger/heavier of the two of us, so he would likely be the captain.

jccaclimber

I also find that riding the tandem is a bit more work than being on a single. When I'm riding with a weaker stoker my entire body feels the extra effort, and when riding with a stronger stoker it's more an emphasis on my core and upper body. I suspect this is because the tandem takes a bit more work to move around than a single. It's not a lot, but I do notice it. It's entirely possible to captain as the smaller rider, so him being the larger rider does not necessarily mandate he captain if stoking turns out to be easier for his knees.

Countering that, while good communication can greatly reduce the issue, most of my stokers definitely let me know of their displeasure if I downshift without sufficient warning. Some stokers only care about a front ring change, others like knowing every time I'm about to shift the rear. My typical stoker (wife) ends up with assorted leg pains after the ride if I do too many unannounced shifts. This need goes away over time with some stokers who develop a feel for when I'm about to shift (talking through the pedals), but is always there with others. Where I'm going with this is that it may make sense to have you boyfriend captain because that comes with control over the shifting and would prevent him from experiencing an unexpected shift. As an added bonus, this lets him effectively set cadence. I've also found that a higher cadence is better on my knees, but I'm sure he'll get internal feedback on what works for him.

+1 to running a higher cadence. Pedal selection can also play in to this. I personally like my Speedplays, although some of my friends have found that any cleated shoes make their knees sore and prefer riding wide platforms.
There was a long period of time when I needed to transfer the orthotics from my daily walking shoes into my bike shoes to avoid knee pains when riding. For whatever reason that went away after a while.

Not that you want to do any hilly rides in the near future, but I find that while I personally appreciate the challenge and scenery of hills, they can be a lot less fun on a tandem compared to a single. On a flat surface without many stops a tandem has enough of an aero advantage that a team with a particularly weak stoker often goes as fast as the stronger rider on a single. On hills speed is closer to an average of the two riders' speeds. This can be frustrating for anyone used to having an easier time on their own.

scycheng

I think the biggest challenges for the 2 of you will be:

• Cadence - usually tandem riding require compromising your cadences (slower/faster). In this case, I assume you must adapt to his cadence since he has to spin to keep the force per stroke low. If you are a grinder and he is a spinner, you will have to learn to speed up. The reverse is not true since if he is a grinder, he has to learn to spin to reduce stress on the injured knee. This can be a challenge in a normal tandem team. In your case, this is even more important.

LV2TNDM

As others have said, tandeming usually involves more effort for both riders. It's been discussed here and consensus is basically that since a tandem team has much higher mass than a single rider, changes in inertia are much more difficult. A little more force on the pedals on a single results in immediate acceleration of the bike & rider. This is much less the case on a tandem. Since you're moving two bodies and a heavier bike, this effect is greatly diminished. One rider upping the pace is met with a lot more resistance. And I've come to realize that this probably explains why I'm more tired after a tandem ride than on my single. (Plus the additional upper body work, especially off road, add to more fatigue.)

If you live in a hilly area, then this idea is even worse. Tandems are notoriously slow on climbs, so what may be a breeze for him on a single, will most likely be more difficult. This could prove to be a knee killer if you find yourselves struggling up climbs you expected to breeze up.

If you're an inexperienced tandem couple, you'll experience all the usual SNAFUs of new riders. When to stop or slow pedaling is no longer an individual choice. If one suddenly stops, this can really affect the other rider. Shifting requires coordination and communication. Doing it wrong can be disruptive and worse - broken chain. And starting and stopping are usually a challenge for new riders, which often stresses the captain's knees holding up the bike and stoker. And then there's the dreaded, "back-spin into the knees" captains who forget to widen their stance experience! Ouch! Don't need to add insult to an injured knee!

And if you're using clipless pedals (I'd avoid them on the tandem for you), you risk even more. One tip-over and you and he may never mount a tandem again! And the risk of seriously injuring his knee would be too high in my opinion. Plus, any "miscommunication" pedaling-wise can apply some unintended forces to the other rider's feet & legs. I've done this to my stoker by suddenly having to stop pedaling without communicating first. It hasn't caused any injury, but we luckily enjoy healthy knees.

That said... the only time I've experienced knee pain happens to be on our road tandem. About 20 years ago I started getting iliotibial band pain on my right knee/leg. It was pretty painful and I had to unclip that foot to relieve it. It resolved itself on its own, but it was strange.

If I had knee issues, I'd want to be on a single bike where I controlled the my environment completely. No cadence constraints, ability to start and stop pedaling on a whim, and no extra mass to overcome and/or balance at stops.

My $0.02.

CliffordK

Not unexpected.

What is the weight difference?

It will get very old very quickly if a 100 lb person is doing 90% of the pedaling, and a 200 lb person is doing 10% of the pedaling

You might try an electric assist E-Bike. It still forces the person to do some pedaling, but the motor also does some of the work.

An option for 100% power could also help if pedaling becomes impossible.

You can also do an E-Tandem.

Clyde1820

I'm something in the same boat, though with old muscle injuries in the hip and leg on one side. My choice: much lower gearing, and remaining on a solo bike. Helps me still move forward, but with less force required through the leg to get 'er done.

Consider the 2x11spd or 1x12spd drive trains, for example. My own choice on the current bike: Shimano M8000 2x11spd 24/34T crankset, Shimano M8000/M8020-L 2x11spd derailleurs, 42T cassette. At 80RPM cadence, it yields about 15 gear-inches for the low, yet still supports almost 20mph on the high gear. (Some combinations of drive train get even lower.)

CliffordK

Da Vinci has an independent coasting system. Allowing either the Stoker or Captain to coast while the other is pedaling. Again, it might be difficult if the weight differences between riders are extreme, if one doesn't go with some kind of electric assist.

I thought it also allowed independent gearing, but apparently that is not the case.

PowerCranks has a unique feature allowing one legged pedaling. I'm not sure how easy it would be to adapted it to tandem use. It is hard to say how comfortable that is. By disconnecting the crankset from the bottom bracket, one loses the rotational momentum of 2 legged pedaling.

jccaclimber

The e-bike single is a decent idea. I’ve often used those when people who are only occasional cyclists visit me in hilly San Francisco. They can equalize things nicely depending on how they are configured.

kayakindude

E-assist would be perfect for your situation. Go with a lightweight, minimalist system. If you need it you will have some help, if you don't the bike will ride normal. Do what you can and use the tools out there to keep riding.

Buy a used tandem, usually good deals out there for Cannondales, throw on a hub system and you will be golden.

urbanknight

It might depend on if his knee will be bothered by the repetitive motion, or by the pressure. If the latter, I don't see why he can't just apply less pressure, whether he's on the front or back. If just the motion bothers him, then it might not matter how hard he's pushing.