Is it difficult for one person to ride a tandem bike? About 4 miles away from me, there is a bike hire shop that has tandems. I'm trying to work out the logistics of getting the tandem to my house to pick up the other rider.

I'm an experienced cyclist, but have never ridden a tandem before. It's not convenient for both of us to go to the shop. Is riding a tandem particularly difficult for one person?

I suppose I'll get the bus there...
I have a 1990 steel racing tandem, and sadly it gets more miles solo than with a stoker.

The main differences between tandems and solo bikes apply when riding a tandem on your own (rear wheel cuts corners more, you can't bunny hop)  but points to note:


Cars may not see the rear of your bike, and may not anticipate the extra space required when pulling up or allowing room to turn.
Steering is a bit odd - it may be unique to mine, but if the solocaptain doesn't commit to a corner with enough lean, the bike tries to stand up straight and go straight.
Braking - its still possible to raise the back wheel clear off the ground when doing an aggressive brake with just a captain.  And the stoker's bars may get in the way of your backside if you lean backwards.
Drag brake is less effective with no stoker.  So big descents you have to ride more like a solo bike.
You may get heckled with "Your passenger fell off!" so have a witty retort like "Bugger - so that's why she stopped nagging!" or "Damn I thought we were going slower than normal!"


Speed is generally not an issue - I've topped 40 km/h solo on my tandem, and the previous owner exceeded 70 km/h on it on a race, with two riders.