Tandem parts

[Rusty Scrubber]

I have a tandem frame and forks that will soon become a project once it's turn comes up.

Do any of you have a tandem, or tandem parts?

Would love to see some pics.

 

[MikeD]

It's not retro, but we're in off-topic so I think I can get away with it


Long vehicle Mk II by MikeDavis, on Flickr

 

[Rusty Scrubber]

It's not retro, but we're in off-topic so I think I can get away with it


Long vehicle Mk II by MikeDavis, on Flickr

That's a wonderful photograph.
Superb.

 

[David B]

It's not retro, but we're in off-topic so I think I can get away with it


Long vehicle Mk II by MikeDavis, on Flickr

That's a wonderful photograph.
Superb.

Indeed - looks like good fun for all the family. Even if 3 people on a tandem did remind me of this a little bit;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-w8OKo4phg



David

 

[David B]

I have a tandem frame and forks that will soon become a project once it's turn comes up.

Do any of you have a tandem, or tandem parts?

Would love to see some pics.

There are a couple of racing tandems in my club; the Achilles heel seems to be rear hubs and one of the tandems (using standard 36h units) has had a few axle failures so best to go tandem-specific rather than just opting for any old hub.

David

 

[phill77]

Rear hubs and cassettes tend to be the weak link on mountain tandems, but it depends who's riding it.
Me and the wife weigh about 21 stone between us and have had no problems with 36h XT and then hope hubs.

What frame have you got?

 

[Rusty Scrubber]

Thanks for the tips, and please keep them coming.

Here are some pictures. You'll have to forgive me for my over enthusiastic camera work.

I received it from a very nice guy a few weeks ago, who said he might have a few bits knocking about.

Basically, I have the frame and the forks.

The frame and forks are steel. The guy said it could be 531 but I think it seems too heavy, though what do I know.

Frame weighs: 7.2kg
Forks weigh: 1.7kg

Weighed on my bathroom scales so probably not accurate.

It has a few markings, although the headbadge has unfortunately been removed, unless it is new.

On the large bottom bracket floor, it has the markings 3 - 643.

On the top of the male seat tube, it has D0 1095

It really needs a sand blast and decent paint job, something I don't have funds for at the minute.

The forks seem to have a strange split just before the thread. It looks symetrical, so might be deliberate.

That's all I can really tell you at the moment. Any info would be cool.

I actually bought some cranks yesterday, called Tandem Stoker, (should that be Stroker? ) but I have a sneaky feeling they're not tandem cranks, but time will tell.

 

[MikeD]

The fork's been modified -- originally this would have had a "headclip" headset, with bearings that sit in the flared ends of the head tube and a clip that slides onto the steerer and tightens with a pinch bolt, a bit like a seatclamp collar. It also holds the stem in place -- the stem wouldn't have had an expander wedge, just a shaft that goes inside the steerer. Looks like someone's welded a bit of threaded steerer on the top to use a locknut from a more modern headset.

You're going to have fun putting it back together -- it's a 40s-era frame and fork, almost nothing modern is going to fit :/

 

[Rusty Scrubber]

The fork's been modified -- originally this would have had a "headclip" headset, with bearings that sit in the flared ends of the head tube and a clip that slides onto the steerer and tightens with a pinch bolt, a bit like a seatclamp collar. It also holds the stem in place -- the stem wouldn't have had an expander wedge, just a shaft that goes inside the steerer. Looks like someone's welded a bit of threaded steerer on the top to use a locknut from a more modern headset.

You're going to have fun putting it back together -- it's a 40s-era frame and fork, almost nothing modern is going to fit :/

Thanks for the info.

I think 'fun' is the key word, but I hope to be able to see it built one day though.

Is the outlay required to fix her up going to be worth the investment?

 

[MikeD]

I suspect it's best not to think of it as "an investment"

I've changed my mind about the fork, I reckon it's meant to be like that -- what I thought was a joint is actually another slit for the headclip bit to clamp the stem, turns out that headclip headsets do indeed have a threaded locknut on top:


Chater Lea - Headclip Type by Speedplay Museum, on Flickr

Hard to come by nowadays, although some old tandems used 1-1/8in steerer tubes, and it's possible (unlikely, but you never know) that you might find some headset bearings out of a modern headset that'll fit in the frame satisfactorily -- it's not unlike a modern integrated setup. Might need a different fork if you go that route, but that won't be hard.

If you can sort the headset the other idiosyncracies shouldn't be too challenging. The brake bosses are probably positioned with 27in wheels in mind, but brakes with enough adjustment might be able to accommodate 700c rims, they're not hugely different. The rear dropout spacing is probably something not very useful, but you can almost certainly "cold set"* the back end to a wider spacing to fit readily-available hubs.

* OK, bend