Tandem.... What to do!!

All, more of a lurker than a poster tbh.... But have obtained an old henry burton steel tandem.
I don't think I want to go down the NOS period correct stuff, more like a quick paint, grease and polish job.
It looks to be mainly ok, campy/ shim 600 and wienmann stuff with a colnago saddle to boot (are they rare?)

So what would you do with it? And in what colouration?
Will bob some picks up if any interest...

My past experience of tandems ( a 1939 viking) was very painful, they need good brakes ( discs would be my choice today) , a strong drive chain, (no skimpy back chains or sprockets), and puncture proof rear tyres, large size top quality.
I have had a rear chain fail. very unpleasant when going up hill in traffic ( double ball ache on the Brechin road out of Forfar), and countless punctures .
Seen a stonglight crank torn apart by two man torque. By all means paint and grease up, but tandems take a beating if you ride them.

Indeed they do. We're on our third tandem, and as long as the most important parts(wheels, brakes, transmission)are tandem specific, you should be ok. Wheels should be at least 40h, and assuming they are, inspect the hub flanges and rims closely for any cracks.

Stuff like saddles, bars, seatposts, shifters, mechs etc. can be standard parts, apart from the captain's seatpost which takes twice the amount of abuse as the stoker's stem and bars are also attached to it. Basically, if there's anything not up to scratch, a tandem will seek it out and destroy it. However, they're brilliant fun and on the right road(flat, slightly downhill or steeply downhill)faster than anything else with pedals. We'd never part with ours. Hope you enjoy it.

Marge

Not sure that discs are the way to go - there is twice the energy to be absorbed in a small piece of steel. There was a nasty case inthe Exmoor Beat a couple of years ago when a Cannondale tandem crashed after the front disc wore out its new pads entirely in under 60 miles. Big solid rims with plenty of weight to them are good. I'm not sure the extra wheel stresses from discs are great news either.

Modern brakes are much better, also fit a drag brake to the rear if it hasn't got one. I run Magura rim brakes on both my tandems and they are fantastic. They managed to controllably stop a loaded touring tandem with child trailer even on a 1 in 4 in torrential rain in Devon.

ericthemadfish":8p175sl9 said:

All, more of a lurker than a poster tbh.... But have obtained an old henry burton steel tandem.
I don't think I want to go down the NOS period correct stuff, more like a quick paint, grease and polish job.
It looks to be mainly ok, campy/ shim 600 and wienmann stuff with a colnago saddle to boot (are they rare?)

So what would you do with it? And in what colouration?
Will bob some picks up if any interest...

Click to expand...

Have you popped into Burton's themselves to see if they have any history on it (assuming it can be traced by frame number)? I don't recall seeing many HB tandems, might make it more of a speciality than their solo machines.

David

When I said discs I was thinking motorcycle style , not the wee bacon slicers fitted to MTBs, a whole front end of an Aprilia 125 would be a good start, with an all up weight approaching a motorcycle their style of brake would seem appropriate.
My Viking had rusty rims and canti style brakes which were for emergencies only, one good stop from speed would wear out a set of pads..

Yes, I agree, something with plenty of mass in the disc to soak up the heat. My tandem in touring mode is about 200kg when crewed up... :shock:

As all the other posters have said ,wear and tear is the main consideration.
Rims 40 hole and f/r.
Hubs Maxicar are superb but pricey.Campag also made super sealed tandem hubs.
Brakes.I have hydraulic rim brakes on Sun Rhino rims and they stop very well.

After a very hairy decent down Mam Nick into Edale I soon got rid of the cantis.They just not enough with out a drag brake fitted.
I have dropbar end shifters and they give a good gear change. .
Here a picture of the beast.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74418119@N00/3611082019/

Alway consider as others here have said loaded weight .This is where all the stress factors come to play.
Have fun on it.
My Missus{aka talking saddle bag} does not ride a bike but enjoys going on the tandem.