Pennine Tandem!

I'm relatively new to the forum - mostly joined for a bit of buying and selling while I was working in London.

I've recently got hold of a 1963 tandem frame in great condition. This one specifically: http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/bikes/pennine-tandem-rb.html and I'd like to keep a record of the build... and more importantly get some more brains on some of the issues I'm inevitably going to come accross with the old frame.

I'm planning to get it built up for some longer tours in the future so I'm trying to keep it simple and reliable. I'm not planning to be true to the 1963 frame but to get some more modern components on where it will count.

I'll post some pictures of the frame and my planned spec when I'm back with it tomorrow.

Current known issues:

• 125mm rear drop spacing - no way i can spring that for a 145mm tandem hub!
  
• no eccentric bottom bracket
  
• Only has cable guide for rear gears
  

Current planned specification:

Wheels
Sturmey Archer rear hub brake - 36h and more importantly 125mm spacing
Mavic A319 rims
Got an newish Sturmey archer 36h large flange hub - this might do for the front

Drivetrain
Stronglight crossover crankset and cartridge BB's
Shimano 600 freewheel NOS - 6 speed 14t - 32t
Shimano deore front and rear derailleurs
Suntour accushift 6-speed downtube shifters

Brakes
Front and rear Dia-compe centre pull brakes - essentially mafac racer copies
Rear Sturmey Archer hub brake
Tektro drop levers - cheap and comfortable. Not the best looking though.
Single sturmey archer lever for the hub brake.

I wouldn't bother with centre pull, just get some deep drop dual pivot Tektros.

If you're on a budget, you might be interested in Parker's shop clearance, they have 3 × 36h Mavic A119, probably worth putting in a bid.

With only 36 spokes and 126mm spacing, I think a 5-speed freewheel might be a good plan, would allow you to reduce the dish by about 4-5mm and every little helps. There seem to be plenty of NOS Suntour 888s out there, although the prices are a bit of a piss take for those of us who remember what they cost when they were current production.

You'll probably get more help if you post an intro in the tandems thread, as that will get the attention of other tandemists on the forum.

Thanks for the input MDCC,

Regarding the derailleurs, I had a few pints in my local pub and ordered new deore for front and rear... the danger of smartphones! At least the price was pretty good. Hopefully they should be decent enough.

Thanks for the heads up on the parkers sale. I had my rims on order with them originally because I wanted to get the wheels sorted soonish and they let me down for obvious reasons. I'll keep my eye on those.

The wheels are the main worry - I just can't find any better hubs to fit the spacing . The fella who will be building my wheels doesn't seem too concerned though.

I'll post in the tandems thread now to try and get some further assistance!

Old fashioned spoke counts were based on weak old fashioned spokes, and people have raced tandems on 16-spoke wheels (Shamals and Shimano Sweet-16s), both of which have features (deep rims on the Shamal, heavily offset spoke anchorages on the Sweet-16) which make them stiffer but not stronger per spoke than yours. I expect the wheels will be OK for strength, but 36-spokes rear with dish might be a bit marginal on axial stiffness if you're loading the bike up. Other tandemists will probably weigh in with opinions; as you can see from my tandem build thread, mine has yet to reach the point of actually being ridden :-)

I know it's getting to be a bit of a broken record, but for a tandem DT Alpine III (or equivalent) really is worth the extra over other spokes. Cheapest 3 ounces of insurance you'll ever buy.

Merry Christmas!

I ran a tap through the bottom bracket shells to clear the threads of loads of grime. Made fitting the cartridge BBs to the old frame much, much easier. The headset was already fitted to the frame but has a bit of play and feels a bit gritty - planning to strip this down and re-fit it.

I got hold of some of the velo orange leather bar tape and did some boxing day sewing with a few beers. That's the rear bars done. Came out pretty good!

I've stripped down the headset that came on the frame and have done a bit of research and found this catalogue: http://postimg.org/image/2revl5yw4/

It looks like the top is a Stronglight V4 and the bottom a Stronglight P3. The seller seems to have just dipped into his parts box to find a headset prior to selling the frame. The V4 has a reputation for being robust and the P3 is pretty standard - Does anyone have any thoughts on mixing and matching headsets?

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I want to try to mimic the lefol mudguards that I've seen on classic tandems. They were fitted to Jack Taylor bikes that i've seen: http://www.blackbirdsf.org/taylor/images/6063/6063_rear.jpg

I've ordered some velo orange guards since the lefol guards are difficult to find at all, let alone in the right size!

Cables ordered and headset refurbished now! Getting closer.

Starting to look purdy...

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All done!

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so fast it blurs when stationary

Tandems are fast downhill and that floor isnt level...

I had two photos so there was a 50\50 chance I'd upload the wrong one.