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@Fatbiker
The surge of amazing tandems builds showing up recently here on LFGSS and Theradavist among others, made me wanting to ride one for myself. So I checked out Marktplaats to see if there were any affordable tandems up for grabs here in The Netherlands.
On one of my first searches I stumbled across an Dutch Empella racing tandem. At first I didn't think much of it, until I noticed the Mecacycle-like split stoker seat tube. Having always lusted for a Mecaclye (on the few bikes I have lusted for, but never got to ride) this feature really spiked my interested. The size turned out to be pretty much spot on for me and the wife, so I pulled the trigger and picked it up yesterday.
Considering the age of the bike (it was probably built in the 1990's) it is in pretty good nick. There are hardly any chips in the paint. There is a little bit of rust showing through, but I can live with that. The groupset looks and functions like new, which is a real bonus.
The paint color isn't really my cup of tea. Truth be told it does look a lot better in real life (sort of pearlescent). I am hoping that changing out some parts will make it look a bit nicer. Plans for now are to replace the white saddles and bare tape with something black. I am also on the lookout for a wheelset with black rims. A silver stem ITM is also on my wish list.
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