[Sportsandrec] Multiple shifters on tandems

[Ron & the bears]

Hi Kelly,

Dude, please do not think that I am picking on you, or trying to upstage you 
like the Contidor/Armstrong battle in this year's Tour de France. However, 
once again, I have a different opinion.

First of all, let me remind you that all my multi-geared tandems currently 
have the shifters up front. I did this soon after I began racing, for those 
split second moments that required a communication from the pilot for me to 
jump to respond to an attack, rather than me, downshifting for a hill.

For three years, I rode two road tandems with rear shifting. Campy Ergo on 
both bikes, because the cables did not interfere with the pilot's legs. It 
worked great 99 percent of the time. In fact, I think it worked better, 
except for that fraction of 1 percent I eluded to above.

Here are some points that I concluded before I put them back there. In fact, 
some points may have been further actualized once I did it.

1. I do not get distracted by scenery, other bikes, etc. Often, I find that 
pilots shift with their eyes. I, shift with my feet. In other words, I have 
ridden with pilots who see an uphill approaching and will downshift too 
much. We over spin, lose contact with the momentum of the bike and it slows 
down. With the stoker shifting, he/she would gradually feel the pedals 
resisting and gear in one step increments to match whatever load is taking 
place, better preserving efficiency and momentum.

2. Any two riders on a tandem will have different suggestions about gears on 
any given day, based on how strong one feels at the moment. I actually think 
there was less discussion about gears required when I had the shifters. The 
only verbal information I needed was when to change chainrings, like for a 
long, or steep hill. Using the left hand, right LM & Joe? Other than that, I 
could put us in whatever gear we needed. I did not have to ask the pilot to 
trim the front derailler, either. This is a noise that will occur when you 
shift several gears in the rear. Sometimes, you have to make slight 
adjustments of the front derailler via the left shifter to make it go away. 
The pilot cannot hear it as much as the stoker, because the crankset is 
behind the pilot. The pilot also has more wind noise and cannot hear the 
bike as well as the stoker.

3. I actually had more pilots ride with me, because they did not have to 
worry about shifting. Again, the Shimano vs. Campagnolo issue often arises 
when I have a new pilot. For that first, crucial ride, it was one less thing 
for the pilot to worry about.

4. It is a fair division of labor between the two riders. They get the 
steering and brakes. I get the steering and shifters. I think the stoker has 
a chance to demonstrate competence in a legitimate, NFB fashion. I believe 
that I surprised a lot of people in my club, as well as at the 2003 IBSA 
World Championships, when I had the shifters.

4. Should the tandem be put on a trainer, the gears are already there for 
the stoker. Though, since I prefer to ride it indoors, where the climate is 
better controlled, I prefer a single on the trainer for space savings. My 
trainer is up all year, right in front of the entertainment center.

I do wave to cars, especially those who are friendly to cyclists, but I do 
not ever want to be considered passive, or less a rider than the pilot. At 
the Dallas convention, I went riding with a lady friend of mine that I met 
on an earlier bike ride, in fact. She is a newer rider, but had a lot of 
confidence to ride with me. After our 40 mile ride, she concluded that 
though I was the stoker, my experience and coaching her convinced her that I 
was really the pilot. Submission does not automatically mean inferiority. 
Without an order of things, you will end up with a two-headed monster, 
instead of a strong team. In fact, tandems are often referred to as 
relationship accelerators. Whatever is already there, riding tandem will 
bring it to the surface.

So, rear shifting is indeed a legitimate alternative. Now, that said, I also 
enjoy having my pilots learn to shift well on the tandem. I also like to 
have riders, who have never ridden Campy shifters to try them. I may have 
made some converts over the years. Did you know that Shimano never won a 
Tour de France until the 7 Lance years?

I do have pilots, even yesterday miss a shift. But it makes me a better 
spinner, or builds my strength. One lady I have ridden with is a casual 
cyclist. She is always in the wrong gear. If I kept suggesting every time, I 
would sound like a parrot, so I either endure it, or avoid riding with her. 
If I had the shifters, she would have a better opportunity to become 
accustomed to a faster cadence, which is much more efficient for most 
riders.

Best,

Ron & the really not a power trip, or control issue bears
Austin, TX

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thornbury, Kelly" <kthornbury at bresnan.net>
To: <sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 6:44 PM
Subject: [Sportsandrec] Multiple shifters on tandems


: While I would probably like the idea of putting the shifters in the 
stokers hands, the rear rider is at the disadvantage of not being able to 
see (whether sighted or not) upcoming terrain changes as well as the 
captain. Also, so many bikes today use the integrated brake/shift levers, 
which just leads to more work to move them back and forth. If I end up with 
a captain who isn't real familiar with shifting, I avoid going for the hard 
hills and high traffic areas until we become more comfortable together.
: As for giving both riders control over shifting, I don't expect this will 
ever happen. With cable shifters, this would be an engineering nightmare, 
and each rider would only be able to move the chain to the next larger 
cog...front or rear, and both riders would have to shift to smaller cogs. It 
would simply be much easier to talk to each other...it is allowed when you 
are attached at the seatpost you know.
: I have ridden touring tandems where the stoker had control over a rear 
drum brake. The best set-up I've seen is to cable the brake into an indexed 
bar-end shifter. Then on a long descent the stoker can "shift" the brake to 
a tension that allows the captain to use less brake pressure to control 
speed. Besides, its traditionally the stoker's responsibility to wave and 
say "hi" to passing cyclists and pedestrians... 



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