This was an enjoyable read, and took me back to the years when I rode a 20” wheel tandem (a Circe Helios) with my young son. He was big for his age and had outgrown child seats and tagalongs but we didn’t yet feel comfortable letting him riding his own bike around town with us. Some internet forum reading later and we tumbled down the rabbit hole of tandems. It was great fun, as you say – super fast on the flat, and made chatting while riding easy. Ultimately, separate bikes are more practical for us now but I’ll always look back fondly at the tandem years.
That’s awesome! Yeah, I’ve wondered about how well a tandem might “smooth out” the difference in capability between two riders, or whether that would result in one person pushing the other too much.
There was a lot of communication about cadence required, but it worked pretty well. The Helios now comes with the option of a freewheel crankset for the stoker so the child doesn’t have to pedal. Not sure I approve of that ;)
This was an enjoyable read, and took me back to the years when I rode a 20” wheel tandem (a Circe Helios) with my young son. He was big for his age and had outgrown child seats and tagalongs but we didn’t yet feel comfortable letting him riding his own bike around town with us. Some internet forum reading later and we tumbled down the rabbit hole of tandems. It was great fun, as you say – super fast on the flat, and made chatting while riding easy. Ultimately, separate bikes are more practical for us now but I’ll always look back fondly at the tandem years.
That’s awesome! Yeah, I’ve wondered about how well a tandem might “smooth out” the difference in capability between two riders, or whether that would result in one person pushing the other too much.
Much easier to talk, though, no question.
There was a lot of communication about cadence required, but it worked pretty well. The Helios now comes with the option of a freewheel crankset for the stoker so the child doesn’t have to pedal. Not sure I approve of that ;)