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The below text was composed using the information from Bob Carlson's page, Tandem Handicap (TH) Explained. Bob has generously given his permission for this additional explanation of how to calculate your Tandem Handicap

Figuring out your Tandem Handicap

    One of the more creative people on the tandem@hobbes [T@H] list, Bob Carlson, came up with this unique method of determining some type of performance index for tandem teams. While I'm sure that some variations do exist in respect to a team's fitness and overall performance, this generalized formula seems to pretty well predict our performance and must satisfy enough other folks that many of the teams are posting their Tandem Handicap (TH) along with their signature on E-Mail, business cards, etc.

(Note: I sure hope these "example" numbers go down some day. We're working on it but food is sooo good and dieting sooo hard.)

The formula is extremely simple.

1. Add the team's total weight in pounds.

2. Multiply it by the team's total age.

3. Divide that total by 10000

Example:

(Jerry) 230 + (Jeanette) 190 = 420 lbs.

(Jerry) 61 years + (Jeanette) 50 = 111 yrs.

420x111 = 46620

46620/10,000 = 4.66

Conventions in writing the handicap:

I believe that Bob, the creator of this system, stated that the handicap should be expressed as follows;

TH 4.66 (430*111)

The Metric Handicap

Bob says the same formula could be used with a few changes if you are in a country that uses the kilo as a basic unit of weight. If you are already using kilos then it would be as above, with kilos substituted for pounds. If you want or need to convert pounds to kilos, the conversion is:

1 kilo =2.2 pounds

Example:

Jerry and Jeanette's combined weight in pounds, 420 divided by 2.2 = 190.91

Jerry and Jeanette's combined age, 111.

190.91 x 111 = 21102

Instead of dividing by 10,000, the divisor to use is 4545.

21102/4545 = 4.66

Conventions in writing the Metric handicap:

Bob came up with a convention of:

TH 4.66 (195kg*111)

The kg inside the brackets indicates that it's a metric formula.

If you want more:

Bob has a page, Tandem Handicap (TH) Explained on the Crazy Guy On A Bike web site. The Tandem Handicap is explained in further detail as well as a means for refining it even more, based on the aggressiveness of the tandem team.