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A Bicycle Made For Two
Have you ever ridden a tandem? It’s something I’d occasionally thought about, without ever taking the idea too seriously. I never expected I’d end up riding one with a 4-year-old!
Last year, we bought what’s known as a ‘family tandem’. It’s suitable for two adults to ride together but, because it has a very low step-over height at the back, it’s also possible for a small child to ride with you. We use it for the school run and just for getting around on those journeys when it’s either too far or too time-consuming to walk. The thing I like best about it is that it’s a great way of teaching James some road sense and we’re fortunate that there are lots of quiet lanes and a few cycle paths nearby.
This is so cool Mummy....stop wriggling
At first, we felt very wobbly, which was a little unnerving, and I couldn’t understand how James could throw his weight around so much. When we went out on a very sunny day, I watched his shadow very carefully and realized that he was standing up on the pedals because he thought this would help us go faster! Now we’ve got the hang of riding together, we are having great fun, and James absolutely loves going out. He still wriggles about a bit, but at least he keeps his bottom on the seat now!
The next step is to fit a child seat at the back so that little brother can join us too. If I’m feeling really brave, I might even try riding it with Daddy!
If you’re interested in trying a tandem, I can absolutely recommend a hub gear rather than a derailleur: not only are there fewer teeth to injure little legs, but you can change gear while stationary. Proper crank shorteners are also well worth the investment.
Comments (8)
I have never heard of anyone using a tandem for the school run, what a great idea! James looks really comfortable on it too, I think I'd be a little scared at first!
I love the look of your tandem! I'm trying to convince my husband that we should get one as I'm sure it would be easier than the bike-trailgator-bike combination we have at the moment! What make is yours? It looks great!
Hi Emma! They are so much better than a tag-a-long because you are properly joined together and it doesn't sway all over the place. Because it's quite compact, it's quite easy to ride solo too. Ours is a Circe - have a look at their website as there are quite a few configuration options. We got ours second-hand and made a considerable saving over a new one. Look out for companies that sell off their ex-rental tandems every year or so.
We have a tandem that we mostly used pre-kids, especially when I was too broken / unfit / lazy to cycle with my husband. I've not been brave enough to try it with any of my girls (6, 4 and 2) in the saddle, but you and James have inspired me to give it a go - he looks so happy in the back!
Hi Jay! Yes, James loves it on the back. For him, there is simply nothing cooler than going out on the tandem. As we go past, he will call out to passers-by, "Look at my bike!" and when we pass other children they often say "That bike's really cool!" It makes me cringe and giggle at the same time. James also thinks the tandem goes really fast and will whoop with excitement when we go down a hill. For me, the best thing is that I know he's enjoying cycling and is also about as safe as he can be on the roads.
Hehehe, what have you started, Helen! I caught my husband, Jon, checking out mini tandems online last night - he's now thinking we could get one for our eldest 2. I shudder to think of the Dastardly Duo let loose like that...
There's just something ... well, 'happy' I suppose, about tandems, isn't there? 1000 years ago we lived in Swindon and even the local 'cool' teenagers would stop spray painting our fence, and smile, point and wave at me at Jon pedalling past on the tandem.
Tandems are definitely very 'happy' things. Perhaps we all think of 'Daisy, Daisy...' Have a little search on the web and you'll find that some adventurous folks have taken them across Mongolia with 2 kids! We're working up to that... eventually!
I've never tried a tandem - I'm intrigued. We use a fixed tagalong as opposed to bike-trailgator-bike combo and love it. Harry is quite small, though, and looked a bit precarious so we swapped the pedal crank for a smaller one pulled out of a skip and used a scrap saddle which sits lower than the original and he's really steady now. Too steady apparently. After experiencing extreme wobbling coming from behind me, I discovered Harry was standing up on the pedals to power us along a bit faster so we had to have a bit of a discussion about that. Harry's reply was that it was fine and we didn't fall over, which frankly was a miracle - I just about held it. He's been well warned that if there's any more of that, he'll be getting off and walking! (but I'm sure it won't come to that - I hope - I'm having way too much fun!)