Cycling UK Forum

There are some very good points raised here.
Certainly I did think of applying less pressure on the pedals myself and I may well give that a limited try on our next trip.
The handlebar/saddle relationship was mentioned. Certainly MrsD2B has complained about the rear handlebar, it's called a 'Steel riser' on the Dawes website and apart from a slight bending near the centre, is almost straight. I had to twist it round so that the bend was upwards, as reaching it is an issue. I shall be shopping around for another with a shape with a more pronounced bend to it. I did notice that her knee comes close to the bar end, but that does not explain why there are issues with kicking off with the pedal in the 2pm position, she prefers the 3pm position, I have tried to explain that this gives a less efficient kick-off.
As for the pedals, it came with these dual sided pedals that have an SDP clip on one side. These had to be replaced because the default position was SDP uppermost, which was uncomfortable on the feet. I put on an open frame pedal with plastic toeclips, yet when I took the clip off, they tended to go edge-up and caused difficulty. Now I am thinking of putting one toeclip back on, but without the strap. She does not want to be "fixed" to the pedal. I will also need to pick my moment to have a chat about the strain that low cadence has on the knees, I might consider turning my bike upside down to demonstrate what is happening; this can also connect with my first point, perhaps feeling greater effort may encourage a higher cadence?
Thanks for the support, much appreciated.

It's a classic case of trying to teach your wife to drive. She knows far more about it than you. Regarding starting off, if she's in the saddle with her feet on the pedals it shouldn't matter to her what position you start off from. You're the captain, that's the end of it.

Yours

Captain Bob

I've been thinking about this a bit more. We've all chipped in with what seems to us good advice, but I'm not sure your partner has been reading it, or even knows that you've been posting about the situation.

It seems to me that you need professional advice. Have you thought about going on something like a tandem experience day? I went on a similar sort of training day for recumbent riding and found it really helpful. The only thing I know about them is from reading their web sites. Perhaps someone who knows more about it or has been on one could chip in with their experiences.

I started riding a tandem with my 14 year old son. It was his idea to get one. We were both fairly experienced cyclists, but were very lucky to have ten minutes of advice and guidance from Shirley Quemby of the Cheam & Morden section. That ten minutes was invaluable and saved us a lot of grief. Guidance from someone outside the partnership is much better than from inside.

When I met my partner, she told me she was a cyclist and mainly did off-roading. The truth was she took the bike on the back of the car to a cycle path because she was afraid of traffic. She was inclined to try the tandem, but our first ride didn't go well. We went up to my son's flat - got the tandem out of the garage and off down the road. We hadn't got ten yards when her legs froze on the pedals and we nearly came off. We put the bike back in the garage and forgot about it.

A couple of years later we encountered a group from the tandem club. One couple had a newton conversion tandem. "That's what we need" said Polly. "A tricycle, it won't be so wobbly". She was so convinced by this idea that we even wended our way to a well known perveyor of tricycles and tried one out. I couln't ride it, despite her jeers. The jeers stopped after she had a go on the front. The guy at the shop, was very patient and very experienced. He took her for a spin on the back of a tandem bicycle and demonstrated that tandem riding didn't automatically mean instant death. He did in ten minutes something that I could not have done. It's galling, but my partner believed a complete stranger more than she believed me. That's human nature, and I think we've got to accept it.

That was about six years ago, and from a shaky (literally) start, we've now got three tours to the south of France under our belts.

Anyway, the point of this post is to say, in my view, a session with a professional instructor could well be the answer, it might be make or brake though.

but my partner believed a complete stranger more than she believed me.

Too right! Mrs E and I had a session at the Tandem Shop before settingout onthe road together for a trial run. Well worth it - from both our points of view.

Otherwise the general ryule of tandeming, I think, is that ;the co-pilot is always right' [I do hate the word 'stoker']. Even when s/he's wrong. So, for you it's a case of adapt or die, so to speak. If you go along with what she wants, sooner or later it will become apparent that what she wants ain't necessarily what she needs. Mrs E saw for herself, eventually, the need for SPDs and a higher cadence. Patience and 'show not tell' did the trick.