Bladsy Posted June 5, 2016 Share So i Rode the Kremetart this weekend. Fantastic outing! Unfortunately, there was a terrible, horrific accident which involved a guy on a tandem. I know nothing about tandem riding, so i ask the question out of the interest of safety and ignorance (on my side). Apparently the guy's partner could not complete the race and he decided to continue on his own. I was told by another tandem rider who saw the accident, this guy was sprinting off at the start and lost control of the bike. So my question is..... Is it safe to ride a tandem in a race with only one rider? How "controlable" is the tandem with only one rider. i also saw a single rider on a tandem during the argus this year too. Surely if it is not safe, it should not be permitted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy Posted June 5, 2016 Share I think it is particularly dangerous if the lone rider is on the back seat.... Generaal Gert, DJR, Sepia and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBritishTwit Posted June 6, 2016 Share The guy in question broke 5 rib, one of which punctured a lung and broke he's arm. The reason he was riding alone was because his partner was having issues breathing during the 3rd stage of the race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broncoza Posted June 6, 2016 Share Having raced tandems for many years both with my wife and other friends; the whole concept is you are a team working in unison. You start together and you end together! Sorry to hear about accident but should have retired when stoker had problems Sepia, ChUkKy and 2 X 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted June 6, 2016 Share In my honest opinion, it is unsafe and if one rider retires, then the other should as well! Handling of a tandem will be negatively affected with no weight on the rear wheel. Braking will be even more dodgy than usual and the rear would slide a lot sooner. If I see a single rider on a tandem I would stay away. If you are left alone of your tandem and you need to ride it to the finish or to a pick up point, then you should ride it as far away from other cyclists and definitely stay out of any bunch! TALUS, eddy and 2 X 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Wheel Base Posted June 6, 2016 Share Yes it is very unstable. I was at the front of the group so didn't even hear the crash. It happened right at the start of stage 4 as we turned left onto the road. The 2nd place guys attacked and we obviously had to close and because the whole group was still together everyone wanted to try stay. We got 2nd on the stage so where in early and while we where at the finish some of the later tandems started coming in and told us there had been a crash and they told us what happened.Shame bad day for that tandem pairing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popit Posted June 6, 2016 Share This happened right next to us , in fact he lost control about 2 m in front of us . When he stood up to accelerate , the back of the tandem stepped out to the right , and then swapped left . Herbie ( the rider) fell to the right of the bike , and his right foot uncleated , but he didn't fall off the bike as he was still holding the left side bar . his momentum at about 40km dragged him to his right where unfortunately he slammed into the trailer . It was horrific .He sustained a broken arm , 5 broken ribs and a punctured lung . He also damaged his knee badly .The good news is he is in Union hospital and all his injuries have been attended to .I think he is having surgery on his arm later today . Long Wheel Base, TALUS, eddy and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Wheel Base Posted June 6, 2016 Share This happened right next to us , in fact he lost control about 2 m in front of us . When he stood up to accelerate , the back of the tandem stepped out to the right , and then swapped left . Herbie ( the rider) fell to the right of the bike , and his right foot uncleated , but he didn't fall off the bike as he was still holding the left side bar . his momentum at about 40km dragged him to his right where unfortunately he slammed into the trailer . It was horrific .He sustained a broken arm , 5 broken ribs and a punctured lung . He also damaged his knee badly .The good news is he is in Union hospital and all his injuries have been attended to .I think he is having surgery on his arm later today .Must have been horrible to see. But I am confused because I saw someone posted on the races FB page and I saw he still had a time for stage 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popit Posted June 6, 2016 Share No LWB , he certainly didn't finish . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBritishTwit Posted June 6, 2016 Share nope from the crash site he was moved to the hospital. We received confirmation from he's girlfriend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparki 1 Posted June 6, 2016 Share hope he recovers well. just extremely glad we not posting "RIP" messages. Sepia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broker Posted June 6, 2016 Share We were in the "comrades" starting group and did not know what the delay was all about, no announcement from organisers at all. When we eventually heard about the crash it was already 45 minutes after our original starting time - so it must have been fairly serious. Wishing him a speedy recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Wheel Base Posted June 6, 2016 Share No LWB , he certainly didn't finish .So I have managed to figure it out. His bike was obviously put into a sweep vehicle as he recorded every KOM for the last stage with a max of 130kph and a average of 88kph.Hope he is doing better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popit Posted June 6, 2016 Share AAAAhhhh LWB .... you too clever !! Unless it was all the adrenaline after his crash (Just kidding of course ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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