JSNYC

Just got a T2 road tandem and want to do some indoor riding. I have an older Elite trainer that has a lever-style locking mechanism, and the rear axle width is too much for that style of clamp. Need something that has more width capacity for a tandem rear axle.

Anyone have specific experience & recommendations? Much appreciated if so.

Thanks.

TobyGadd

We used an old Saris trainer briefly to help fit our T2. But I'm not sure that it's a good idea to use a tandem on a trainer for long periods. The forces and leverage are pretty different on a trainer than they are while riding on the road, and I'd worry about fatiguing the chain stays and dropouts. But maybe I'm just being paranoid. My wife and I ride single bikes on our trainers.

merlinextraligh

Riding on a trainer to me is at least purgatory.

on the back of a tandem on a trainer would certainly be hell.

spaltzer

I have ridden a tandem on rollers both solo and with a stoker. You can link two sets of rollers for one tandem. Having them on a mat or carpet would prevent the frames from moving around. Any brand rollers should work. The relay drum will need a groove on each side, or some other means of keeping it on track.
youtube DOT com/watch?v=v0jV35klMgo

JSNYC

to be clear, the trainer is to help my stoker and i practice the basics of pedaling, etc. she's 100% new to tandem riding and riding in general. i'm generally new to tandem riding, although have ridden them in the past (and have a lot of road riding experience). we will only be doing 10-15 minute sessions to practice here & there, given our schedules. hopefully most practice will be on road.

the only thing i need to solve for is trainer width, since most fluid/mag trainers are set up for max width of an mtb spacing..

again, looking for specific recommendations if ya got 'em. thank you.

Artmo 

A number of tandem riders I know, including ourselves, learned to ride on quiet roads, but never on a trainer..

spaltzer

I would think a wheel off trainer would work if not right out of the box, then with some spacing adapters. Kinetic by Kurt Road Machine allows for some wider spacing.
The Feedback Sports Omnium Over-Drive Trainer would need an extension between the fork stand and the sled, but that should work too.

TobyGadd

I've ridden rollers on my single bike for years--but there's no way that I'd ever put a tandem on them. Crazy! Even if we could pull it off for a few minutes, I'm pretty sure that we'd eventually crash--and I hate crashing on rollers (been awhile, but my memory is good). That said, you guys did it right--being able to reach the ceiling and wall is brilliant. Thanks for sharing your adventure!

spaltzer

Thanks for the Feed Back TobyGadd. If we did it again, I would try it with two TruTrainer rollers. The single flywheel was enough to keep things going and a second flywheel would make it even better (harder to start, but easier to maintain). I could also do a comparison between the parabolic shaped Crown Rollers, and the standard shaped rollers.

Cheers,
Steve

JSNYC

Update: the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine has very wide adjustability for tandem rear axle width (or any bike in general). Highly recommended!

The tough part is finding a trainer skewer as long as req'd for a tandem, since trainer skewers have an almost cone-shaped steel end at the level and the driveside "nut." Kurt sells an adapter that will hopefully accommodate a wider lever on a regular skewer, such as the DT skewer that's on there now I ordered it, fingers crossed it works...

I have a Wahoo Kickr for my road bike and absolutely hate riding indoors, but sometimes, time constraints and life in general means ya gotta do what ya gotta do....

Leisesturm

When I met my now wife (blind), I had never even seen a tandem in real life. Our second date was to try out a rented tandem in Central Park. She didn't have tons of tandem experience but did have some. I, as mentioned, had absolutely none. We did at least two full laps (6 mi/lap) on the main loop and might have done more but the brakes on the Fuji Absolute (otherwise a perfectly good bike) were extremely worn down. The actual mounting and riding I had Googled (Proper Method) and my first posts ever, to BF, were in the Tandem Forum. It's kind of overthinking it, I think, to imagine that riding twogether requires any more than doing just that. A trainer will insulate Captain and Stoker alike from the very forces that are important to experience and get used to. Pedaling is the least of it. I call 'Stopping' (stopping pedaling, not necessarily coming to a stop) as a courtesy. Since we ride linked through the timing chain, I could simply stop pedaling and that would be that. I never announce the resumption of pedaling and it has never been an issue. So, this was just a preface to the TL;DR which is: I hope that trainer and/or the means of adapting it to tandem use is cheap, because it won't be money well spent.

JSNYC

Thanks to those folks who have offered responses specific to trainer setup, it's much appreciated.

My stoker and I have enjoyed the T2, it's a great bike and we hit 40 or so on first big downhill which was a hoot. Of course "downhill" being a bit of a misnomer (its the other side of a bridge here in SW FL)....haha.

Leisesturm, I spent many years living NYC and riding (and occasionally racing) those 6.2mi. loops, pre-dawn as well as late nights with some crazy locals. Been away from the city for a decade+ and can't fathom how nutty it is now to be a cyclist in gotham.

JSNYC

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine now set up and working, it's great. Plenty stable for stoker and I, we got the wattage up there for a couple of hard efforts during a 1 hour workout, and perfect as intended for setting positioning, practicing pedal stroke and other drills.

For reference, this is the skewer that works for wide axle tandem spacing and fitting optimally in the trainer metal "cups." This took at least a half dozen returns due to false advertising on axle width.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LD66GGZ...roduct_details

So...to answer my original question: Kurt Kinetic Road Machine is a go-to if you need a trainer for a Cannondale T2 tandem, and it will for sure fit any tandem. And order the above steel skewer to fit in any trainer in case you need one. My DT skewer would not fit the trainer cups, hence the long search. The Road Machine model requires electric outlet since it's bluetooth to the phone (or laptop) Kinetic app, fyi.

Yamato72

Good work getting it setup. A few years ago I got a trainer skewer for our T1 so that we could get our stoker fitted. I must've gotten it from my LBS because I looked but could find no purchase record. Otherwise I'd have posted the details.