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WARNING
TANDEMS ARE BIGGER, HEAVIER, AND LESS MANEUVERABLE THAN SINGLE RIDER
BIKES.
• Ride very cautiously as your team climbs the tandem learning curve.
• More time is needed to react and avoid ride hazards.
• Always think further ahead. Allow more time. Learn to anticipate hazards.
Tandem riding, like any bicycle riding carries a risk of serious injury, paralysis or death.
The Captain’s Responsibility
The captain’s primary job is to make the stoker happy. With an unhappy stoker, the captain won’t
have a riding partner! So you must reassure your partner with careful, methodical riding habits.
Anticipate maneuvers, beginning them far in advance. Be alert to shifting needs. A too-fast or
too-slow cadence is doubly annoying to the stoker because she/he can’t fix it. Watch the road or
trail ahead, and make your steering and braking corrections smoothly.
Ride slightly farther from the curb, or from parked cars, than you would on a single bike. Your
stoker doesn’t want to feel hemmed in. If you ride too far to the right, you may find your stoker
leaning to the left, trying to veer away from the curb.
When you conduct a maneuver, such as merging across traffic to make a left turn or steering
around a pothole, make your decision early. Signal your intentions clearly, proceed on a straight
path, and complete the maneuver. A decisive captain will ride smoother, and that will make the
stoker happier.
Most new tandemists find captaining exhausting, and they get sore shoulder muscles from
being tense. This too will pass. As you become accustomed to the requirements of captaining a
tandem, you’ll develop a light touch.
Don’t hot dog. If your stoker is nervous, ride slowly. In time, the stoker may become more
confident and ask for more speed. But if she/he wants to go slow, go slow! The more conservative
voice must prevail. That’s only fair. Remember, you’re the chauffeur, not the stunt pilot.
