Tandem Bicycles

About Recumbent Tandem Bikes - History And Technology

Initially Tandem Bicycles were built by welding two bicycle frames jointly to form a two-person bike. Patents connected to tandem bicycles date from the late 1800s. Modern expertise has enhanced module and frame designs, and many modern recumbent tandem bikes are as well-built as modern high-end road and off-road bikes. While Tandem Bicycles have double the pedaling power with only somewhat more frictional loss in the drive train, it has about the same wind resistance as a single bike. High performance recumbent tandem bikes may weigh less than twice as much as a single bike, so the power to weight relation can be somewhat better than that of a single bike and rider. Tandems can reach comparatively high speeds, especially downhill and on flat to rolling terrain. They are not necessarily slower on climbs, but are perceived as such, in part due the need for a high level of coordination between the riders, especially if the physical abilities of the two riders are very different, requiring a compromise on cadence. On conventional tandems, the front rider steers the bicycle and is known as the captain, pilot, or steersman; the rear rider is the stoker, navigator, or rear admiral. On most recumbent tandem bikes the two sets of cranks are mechanically linked by the chain and turn at the same rate. Tandem bicycles are often used in competitions such as the Paralympics with blind and visually impaired cyclists riding as stokers with fully-sighted captains. Some designs such as the Da Vinci allow independent pedaling through the use of multiple freewheels. In another design, the rear rider steers and propels the rear wheel with pedals, and the front rider propels the front wheel with both hands and feet. Tandems are also available as tricycles; the conventional Tandem Bicycle has a small but devoted following in the United Kingdom, and is available in one-wheel and two-wheel drive designs. Recumbent tandem bikes can have more than 2 riders- tandem refers to the arrangement of the riders - one behind the other - rather than the number of riders. Bicycles for three, four, or five riders are referred to as "triples" or "triplets", "quads" or "quadruplets", and "quintuplets" respectively. Originally a 2-man tandem with an extra "dummy" seat attached, a full 3-man version was built for them by Raleigh. It is possible to add couplers either during manufacturing or as a retrofit so that the frame can be disassembled into smaller pieces to facilitate packing and travel. Santana manufactures a "triplet (or quad) that can be transformed into a recumbent tandem bike by simply removing the center section of the frame. Due to the additional stresses caused by multiple riders and higher weight, Tandem Bicycles typically require stronger components than ordinary bicycles. The modern recumbent tandem bike has a unique and specific drive train to handle this.

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