I have an adult friend that never learned to ride a bike. Can they successfully ride on the back of a tandem or will they bring me down? Will riding on a tandem help them in learning to ride at all?

I too am interested in the answer... and have a followup - what's the best way to teach an adult how to ride a bicycle? g=

I don't know, but my gut feeling is that it would be dangerous, simply because much of riding a bike is knowing how to balance and lean correctly. I think gabester has the right idea--you have to teach the person to ride first, then the tandem idea would work. In fact, you could probably teach the basics quickly, and then even though there hasn't been much practice, the person would probably be okay on a tandem.

Again, that is just my feeling--I wouldn't go renting a tandem bike for a two-day weekend before trying it out...

Good luck!

-Tofer
p.s. I remember when I learned how to ride a bike, and I remember the thrill when I finally figured it out. It was like a switch: one minute before I couldn't ride a bike, and the next minute, I could. I do wonder what that feeling would be like as an adult!

An adult knows how to fall down whether they do it with harm to themselves or not. Either way they realize it will hurt and will avoid it. Same with using a hammer - they will do everything they can to avoid slamming their hand. It's learned. Get them on a bike and let them find the courage of taking a chance of getting hurt and they will find a way to stay up and not fall down.

Find a grassy hill that's relatively smooth. Push them down it on the bike. After a couple of falls, they'll get it. At least that's how I learned as a child.

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Bixby
Find a grassy hill that's relatively smooth. Push them down it on the bike. After a couple of falls, they'll get it. At least that's how I learned as a child.

That's how I learned, too, although I was much closer to the ground those days...

Watching an adult learn to ski is a lot of fun, too.

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rgG
Watching an adult learn to ski is a lot of fun, too.

I keep on wondering if I will try learning to ski or snowboard.

Teach an adult to ride a bike by removing the pedals... and letting them scooter it.

They'll learn balance in less than a minute.

3P

I've done the tandem thing with someone who never rode a bike on the Cape Cod Canal road, which is mostly fairly flat and just told that person NOT to help.

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Tofer

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Bixby
Find a grassy hill that's relatively smooth. Push them down it on the bike. After a couple of falls, they'll get it. At least that's how I learned as a child.

That's how I learned, too, although I was much closer to the ground those days...

It was all asphalt for me! I learned how to ride the bike, make a turn and not to squeeze too hard on the front brakes.

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Kap

make sure they're prepared to wipe out. if they're too scared to then they'll never learn.

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If you're gonna learn to ride a bike, one of these is the ticket:



Falling off is not an option.

Wouldn't it make more sense to teach the erstwhile tandem rider how to ride a regular bike first and after that allow them to ride on the tandem? If they can't balance on a regular bike I definitely do not want them on the back of my tandem.

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"Man is a little germ that lives on an unimportant rock ball that revolves about a small star at the outskirts of an ordinary galaxy... ...I am absolutely amazed to discover myself on this rock ball rotating around a spherical fire. It’s a very odd situation. And the more I look at things I cannot get rid of the feeling that existence is quite weird." - Alan W. Watts

Depending on your weight and that of the passenger, it can be fairly simple.

Riding bike solo is a matter of confidence and balance. Most people don't have a lot of either so learning to ride is learning balance and gaining confidence that you won't fall over.

*IF* conditions are right, it will be easier to teach someone to be a good passenger than it will to teach than how to actually ride.

You have to be able to control the bike and the passengers weight for this to work. Your passenger can't be skittish, and must trust you. And you *can't* betray that trust or this becomes more difficult.

Find a long, long, level or *slightly* downhill stretch of road, no traffic. Tell your passenger not to touch the pedals until you say so.

Straddle the frame and walk the bike to get up a little speed and then hop on and pedal like crazy. You need the flywheel effect to help you stabilize the bike. Just go straight for as long as you can, and then stop.

If the road is level, both of your dismount, turn the bike, then ride the other way. Practice this until your passenger gets the feel of being balanced and moving.

You can decide when you want them to put their feet in the pedals. That movement will help them feel stabilized.

Once that's accomplished, you can work on negotiating turns. Take your time. Tell your passenger when you're going to turn, and remind them they're just along for the ride.

Take your time, no hurry, no sudden moves, and you can have a good passenger much sooner than if you had them learn how to ride solo, then get them on a tandem.

Human beings have a natural fear of falling. When they *know* they won't fall, things go much easier.

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-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

There is no safety for honest men
except by believing all possible evil
of evil men.

I *love* Sigs. It's Glocks I hate.