We're engaged; let's get a tandem

I proposed to my girlfriend recently. So now she's got a nice sparkly engagement ring. And to even things up a bit, I bought myself a winter project.

The tandem itch is one I've always wanted to scratch. We plan to use it for light touring.

This bike was advertised on Marktplaats. An extremely kind Dutch forum member (@maryann) completed the transaction it on my behalf and, to my amazement, the seller agreed to deliver the tandem from the north of the Netherlands to the south. A few weeks later, a courier delivered the bike to London.

Initially I hoped the bike might be a Gazelle. Sadly - and despite having Gazelle forks - it's actually an AMR. I can find very little information on AMR bikes. Apparently the initials stand for "Ateliers Maison Rouge", or Red House Workshops. Here's a gallery of similar AMR tandems. Here's another one. If anybody can tell me more about AMR bikes, I'd be very grateful.

The components (Stronglight triple chainset, Shimano cantilever brakes) are in really good condition. Here's the approximate plan.

• Moustache bars (stoker and captain)
  
• Matching white saddles
  
• New paintjob
  
• Silver mudguards and rack(s)
  
  

First job is a full strip and clean. For the bike. The workshop apprentice has already got to work with the allen keys.

Pictures aren't working mate. Is your Flickr public?

Edit: Lovely apprentice!

Sounds like an excellent way to avoid marriage.

^This.

Hopefully pictures are now working. Someone say if not.

What's the old saying?

Wherever your relationship is going you'll get there faster on a tandem.

Congrats fella.
Much jealous

I've actually bought a metaphor, haven't I? Ah well, if you see a "AMR tandem for sale" thread any time soon, send me your commiserations.

Looks like the former owners, who used the bike for touring, had their names painted on the top-tubes when they had the bike resprayed. You can just about make out the outlines.

Headset is brinelled to the point of clicking when I turn the bars, but otherwise the components all seem to be working nicely.

I can see cantilever brake bosses on the seat stays but are those additional ones on the "middle" stays for a U brake?

Ah, you're probably right. The braze ons that litter the frame seem to suggest that I should be able to run two rear brakes.

In the top-right of this photo you can just about see the double braze ons up near the pilot's head-tube. The secondary cable would then run through the braze-on next to the pilot's seat-tube, then through the two braze-ons under the stoker's water-bottle mounts.

But how do you run two rear rim brakes from one brake lever? And is it unusual that the seat-stay brake braze-ons are 75mm between, while the "middle-stay" brake braze-ons are 65mm between? Certainly the one U-brake in my parts box doesn't fit there.

I have read a bit about tandems but have only just got one myself. I read about screw down brakes or similar which the pilot would use on a descent. There's also talk of fitting a brake lever for the stoker to use on the additional rear but it can be a risk. I just looked at your link to more AMRs and there's the brake! Looks like an old Weinmann centre-pull brake or similar so maybe you could somehow dismantle one and attach it to the frame bosses. I've just nipped into my garage and checked one in my spares box and the pivot bolt centres are 65mm apart. Maybe the answer to the question.

Yeah, I was curious about that photo too. There are clearly two rim brakes on the rear wheel - and the other photo shows two brake cables emanating from the left-hand hood. What the hell sort of brake lever is that? An old-fashioned version of this double-cable lever?

Might be interested in your Weinmann centre-pull if so!

I think I have long and short reach which you're welcome too. Or you can measure the drop from the bosses to the rim. PM me and I'll stick one/them in the post for you.

My '91 Dawes SG came with a double lever that operated both rim brakes (still have it if you want it...). I guess the idea is that you can apply plenty of braking force and the back is as good a place to put it (it doesn't unload under braking anywhere near as much as on a solo bike). Besides, front wheel skids are not fun, even less so on a tandem.

Don't paint it! The paint job is amazing

Also if you want to run two brakes on one lever, I have a Paul duplex lever that would do the trick..

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The paint job is certainly amazing. I don't think it's a good amazing though. The fuchsia and the black sort of work, but the baby-blue lug lining and white lightning scrawls are yet to grow on me. I'll reconstruct it before deciding whether or not to paint it though.

Becoming increasingly interested in running two rear brakes, purely out of curiosity. It's clearly a crap idea, given the potential problem of rim overheating and the fact that different brakes require different applications of pressure on the lever.

But, hey ho, we're not descending the Tourmalet any time soon and it'll be fun to try and get the set-up working smoothly. @Constable_Savage and @hamrack, I'll PM you about those parts if that's ok.

Seatposts don't match, which seems strange.

Got men's and women's white saddles though. San Marco Rolls on the front, unmarked on the rear.

Before we got married my wife told me she'd never ride on the back of a tandem with me as the pilot (despite having access to one). Vice versa for me. You must have a strong bond.

My fiancée is terrified. She's just hiding her terror to humour me. That's how strong our bond is.

I've never seen a tandem where the man wasn't riding on the front. No euph, I just never have.
Is it because you want the heavier wieght up front?

You need the stoker (on the back) to stay still, the captain balances the bike because they have the feedback loop of the steering (bike balance of comes from the negative feedback loop between rider and forks - start falling and you turn the handlebars thereby bringing the wheels back under you). If the heavier team member is stoker their small movements can easily overcome the balancing efforts of the smaller captain. Big captain is also for mad aero gainz (more like an aerofoil shape to have a small stoker lurking in the dead air of a big captain).
If you have an experienced pair of roughly similar size (ie where the stoker can sit still and turn pedals) and want to go mega fast you can put the more powerful rider as stoker as the drive train is more efficient for them.

Most of this is regurgitated from here.

I'm all about the mad aero gainz, me.

Anyway, I'm now hunting silver U-brake, preferably from the early nineties, with a 40-50mm drop. Looks like Shimano made one, the BR-453.

When I get my hands on one, it looks like the tandem is designed so that the seatpost runs down between the brake arms and the straddle cable. Looks kind of fun.

I mounted a rear U-brake recently on my 90s mtb. It mounted much the same as yours, with internal cable routing dropping the brake cable out with the seattube between it and the brake.
The u-brake came with instructions to cross the straddle cable once between seattube and brake. Also the bike came with a plastic thing around the seattube with guides for the straddle cable.

Very much like this: (not my bike)

I think this makes for more stopping power. Maybe that could work for you?

That's interesting. Thanks. Mind you, it's as ugly as it is interesting. Why does that twist increase the stopping power? Something to do with the pulley effect?

Pretty much exactly the right U-brake though. Just need to find one now. My concern is that the straddle cable will be interrupted by the seatpost. Ideally I want at least 5mm of clearance on either side. As I have artfully illustrated here.

I think the purpose of the crossover is to increase the torque applied to each arm of the brake (and hence braking force) by increasing the perpendicular distance from the pivot (ie the distance to the pivot measured perpendicular to the direction of the applied force). It'll function without it, but not quite as well. I seem to remember dia-compe do a U-brake?

Edit: I can't find it for sale but CRC have one.

Courtesy of @hamrack, here are some photos of his dual-cable aero brake lever...with the correct dual brake cable to go with it. Can you still buy these cables? I couldn't find them for sale anywhere.

But would I do better to run the U-brake as a drag brake, operated from a friction gear-shifter mounted somewhere near the bars? I suspect this set-up might be more convenient on a day-to-day basis.

Subbed. Nice project. I'd love to get a tandem. It's the size difference that's a problem for us (6'4" vs 5'4") and the relative in-seams.