FWIW, we find it much harder riding the tandem in a group than riding solos.
I'm forever on and off the brakes, and end up "chain braking" to temper fboab's input from the stoker seat, in a fixed-gear stylee; in a bid to maintain a constant distance from the wheels we are following.
The upshot is - we try not to ride in groups. If the terrain is flat, it's not an issue because we are nearly always faster than most
. Equally, on hilly terrain nearly everyone is faster than us, and we fall out of the back of the group.
The worst part about riding in a bunch is getting boxed in on a descent. The tandem wants to fly, but the solos crowd round you and WON'T GET OUT OF THE WAY
.