Mercian tandem colourful fun times on a bike made for two

Bloody right I was racing, that Claud held every club TT record!

You wouldn't want to tour on it, the SWB was harsh enough to remove the stoker's fillings. A second rear brake would be an excellent idea, either that or very loud prayer....

We did once do London Brighton on the Claud, Ditchling wasn't much fun on 60x24, but the descent was. Just as well the cycle computer hadn't been invented.

Any pictures of it/you in action?

Afraid not, wish I had! The only TT pics of me I have are solo and hillclimb and are so old that they're black and white and I have hair.....

i guess you have no time to document when you are living in the moment.........

Only allegedly.....

looking out for some vintage racks like these, thinking about adding canti boss mounts and re-chroming.... fools errand? advice?

Delirious with flu i have come to the decision that its a good idea to order a
Carradice camper longflap in green/tan and Bagman2 Q/R with Expedition Support.
I am totally broke, but i feel its the right thing to do.........Again, any advice? personal experience with these two?

I think it's a great idea as the bagman rack can double up as a pillow holder for the stoker.

I have the same thing, bit annoying it come with that rack option, but it's removable so you don't have to ride with the rack mount, it does stiffen it up considerably but not necessary.

Before you get it, make sure you have enough rail showing on your saddle.

yes, it is quite ugly with the extra struts....and shame it no longer comes in silver...........

great idea about the pillow storage, maybe the struts are useful after all.......

looking for inspiration........

Anyone thinking about doing a similar project to this and who might be in or around west yorks might want to know that these guys

http://www.cycle-re-cycle.org.uk/

Have a pashley tandem for sale. I see it most days whilst trudging into work at bradford uni. They're a charity and sell bikes at bargain prices. Its a lovely looking thing but ive not got the time to buy and restore it. I think a pic of it will pop up on their website soon.

Anyway, jus' sayin'

Rene Herse and Alex Singer are amazing builder.

I am a little bit in love with the 50's Rene Herse randonneur tandem......

House bound with mild pneumonia...... Want to be productive, but do not have the strength to manually file the left hand bar-end shifter(so it fits into the bars). In place of a Dremel, i have rigged up this. This set-up could also be used to polish.

I am still filing away.........

Thinking of adding these two to the list...... Using the larger front rack(second picture) as a rear rack and doing away with the bagman and just getting a under-saddle QR.

If i order them from america i can get both for £70 including postage. i have a friend from the states who will be visiting the uk in march and can bring them over.

or this: doubt it will hold panniers and may damage the fenders...........

All you need is a blowtorch and your workbench will have the full Spanish Inquisition gift set........

so jealous of that mercian damnit

ha ha, gnarly kit in the wrong hands........So far i have successfully ground my fingers down to the correct diameter to fit inside the handlebars. Being ill + power tools = pain.

The latter will likely to stiffen up the fork as it doesn't allowed much room for the fork blade to flex.

Option number 1 is better.

All you need is a blowtorch and your workbench will have the full Spanish Inquisition gift set........

bring in the comfy chair!

Monty Python - Spanish Inquisition Torture Scene - YouTube

thanks eric, couple in your stable that i'm quite jelly of myself.

ed: i'm going to buy the front canti-mount rack........ but wondering what to do as regards the rear. cant afford the larger rear rack at the moment. using one of the front rack as a rear rack could be a solution...... that is if it fits......though this could just be a waste of money.

reply from velo orange regarding using front rack as a rear rack:

"I suppose it could be. You'd have to come up with some sort of clamp system to attach the tang to the rear brake bridge, and it would lean towards the seat tube more then a regular rear rack would, but I don't have a reason why it would not work."

think it's best to ditch the idea.....i am going to have to get saving.....

It have been done before actually, on the Velo Orange website they show a customer bike with the front rack on the rear.

It would look better and smarter than the Carradice support, you just need to tweak a little bit if necessary.