At 8:34 PM -0500 1/13/09, Harvey Sachs wrote:
>But more so, if you want it, please purchase it as what she is: a
>nice vintage tandem. It will not want to be reborn as a contemporary
>one. Modern ones tend to be much longer in the stoker compartment,
>and built with larger diameter, stiffer, tubing. We loved our Town &
>Country, which was really, really short (61" wheelbase, 8" shorter
>than a Cannondale), but the ride is not as nice as our modern
>tandem. And long-suffering stoker couldn't get down in drop bars:
>her body and my back needed to be in the same space. I'd guess that
>there is more difference in tandems than between a modern single and
>a vintage single, but I really have no significant experience with
>"modern" singles. :-)
The difference between vintage tandems is even greater than between singles. The best vintage tandems, whether from Herse, Jack Taylor or a few other makers, rival and even exceed the best modern tandems in performance, handling, etc. During 750 non-stop miles of Paris-Brest-Paris 2003 on a 1946 Herse tandem, my stoker could get into the drops without problems (Herse tandems were longer than most at the time). In fact, she commented afterward that the tandem was far more comfortable than her lightweight steel racing bike. It certainly was faster... A 400 km and a 600 km brevet on Jack Taylor tandems also resulted in memorable performances, such as 200 miles and three big mountain passes in just over 10 hours.
I don't think anybody would put a Schwinn Town & Country in that league... but don't judge old all old tandems based on a few samples. A Schwinn Varsity single doesn't hold a candle to a modern racing bike, but that doesn't mean that a 1960s Cinelli Supercorsa isn't much good.
Vintage tandems really need to be judged on a case-by-case basis:
Does it have oversize tubing? Oversize tubing greatly improves the handling and performance. Butted tubing reduces the weight.
What is the front-end geometry like? Single-bike geometries don't work well for tandems.
Is the rear top tube long enough? This does not mean as long as some modern "semi-trucks," but a rear top tube length of about 60 cm is desirable. (Taller stokers can use shorter stems, as their heads are above their captains' behinds, whereas shorter stokers need longer stems to give them adequate headroom. So the rear top tube length can be pretty constant for all sizes.)
Is it relatively light? Anything above 50 lbs. is excessive even for a full camping machine.
Does it have good brakes? At the very least, you need cantilevers or centerpulls with brazed-on pivots.
Does it have adequate gear ratios? Etc.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com