Tandem, recumbent
September 10, 2007 – 4:22 amLisa and I went to Fort Collins over labor day weekend to visit our good friends Suki and Greg. Not wanting to miss a training ride I decided to combine cycling with two new experiences: riding a recumbent and riding a tandem.
I’d heard that recumbent riding is quite different to riding an upright and requires an element of relearning. I’d heard the same thing about riding a tandem, so it seemed best to get both out of the way in a single event.
A quick Googling and I found a retailer of recumbent tandems, Angletech in Colorado Springs. I setup a test ride and arranged to rent a big SUV so we could collect the bike upon our arrival at Denver. The guys at Angletech were incredibly helpful and patient with us.
The recumbent tandem is long - very very long. In fact it only just fit in the full size SUV with all possible seats folded down, diagonally, with both wheels removed, and with the front sprocket shoved against the drivers headrest and the rear derailleur pressing against the closed tailgate. We scattered our suitcases around the frame and drove onward.
With the bike reassembled we set out on our first ride, around the neighborhood. We wobbled and struggled at first, but gradually got into the groove. A few notes comparing the experience to my regular, upright, single rider bike:
- It’s much more sensitive to steering input. In fact the handlebars should not be used much during riding, if possible. A slight steering input causes the bike to wobble and both riders to get uneasy. The bike is actually steered by leaning more than steering, requiring careful planning of every maneuver.
- My riding position was very definitely feet forward. Perhaps too much so - my feet actually went numb after 10 miles.
- Lisa was delighted with the comfort and the efficiency.
- We averaged about 16 MPH over 20 miles. Not great, but not bad either.
- People have told me recumbents are faster than upright, and tandems are faster than single. Neither was true in our case.
- Communication is crucial.
We returned the loaner to Angletech unsure what to do next. We loved the relaxed riding style, greatly enjoyed riding together and being able to chitchat as we pedalled through rural Colorado. Will we buy one? The problem is transporting it. There’s no way it could fit into any of the cars we own, even using a roof rack. We’re told an upright tandem with both wheels removed will fit onto a standard bike rack so I’m thinking we’ll try riding one of these next.
2 Responses to “Tandem, recumbent”
Hi, I’m investigating tandems and recumbents so I was interested in your experience. I assume that your trial was on a Rans Seavo which is expensive and big with a very big front wheel, the Rans Screamer has a smaller front wheel and might give you an easier posture. It seems to be the most popular and mature recumbent tandem.
However, given your transport problem you might want to look at the Barcroft Columbia which was where I was heading until recently because it’s very compact (even more so with the S&S couplings) You can Google both Rans and Barcroft.
But recently we’ve seen the Rans Feet forward bikes including their Dynamik Duo tandem and that opens up a completely new horizon. Our priority is comfort (especially in the hands and crotch) and equalising our strength rather than performance.
You have the good fortune to live in the USA where there is a good choice of such bikes, in Europe they are less common and less well developed.
best wishes from Sheffield England
Chris
By Chris Rust on Feb 4, 2008
Chris,
I think indeed it’s a Seavo.
Lisa and I have decided to try an upright tandem. We have upright road bikes and have no problems with comfort, so we’ll see how that goes.
BTW, I’m actually a Brit. Lived in California since ‘92
By jbm on Feb 5, 2008