Well, several weeks or searching and researching have cumulated with the purchase of an Assenmacher tandem for spouse and me. She's not here yet in NJ, so no one blab to her. The bike is an '81, nutmeg brown metallic with beige panels on captain's down tube and boob box (Assenmacher didn't use an oval tube for the keel, but a rectangular box.). Running gear is classic for the time, TA cyclotouriste crankset with Phil bb's, Mafac Cantilevers with an Arai drum rear, Phil 48 spoke bolt on hubs (allen keyed) spaced 140 mm, with Super Champion 48 spoke 27 inch clinchers, a very well used Ideale Alloy rail saddle for the captain and an Avocet touring W1 for the stoker. I know seats and posts are going to go, probably for Brooks units. (Wes Gadd, drop me a line about the Ideale front if you haven't got one yet.) If Christine feels up to it, we may bring it to the Lars vintage ride in June.
A couple of questions for the group.
The front crank arms are 170's, instead of my prefered 175 mms. Does anyone have a set to trade? (Okay, stop laughing now). If not, is there a source for the tandem arms? Is it advisable to get a set of regular TA 175's and reverse the pedal threads via the methods used to repair stipped threads? Would any other crank arms fit a BB sized for the TA fronts? Or are TA cranks a poor choice these days for tandems, and I should just replace the whole shebang? (Harris Cyclery has Sugino Fuse sets advertised for $180 total, minus bb's.) My concern is the stiffness of the chainrings running a Tandem sized outer. The bike currently has 58-52-30 rings. The prior owner was much manlier than I, or else the downhills around Saratoga Springs NY are immense.
I'm worried about replacing the 27 inch rims down the road. Does anyone have a source for 48 hole 27 inch rims? If I get a spare set, I can forget about it for several years. I don't know if the frame will take 700c rims, because I can't see any mechanism for vertical adjustment in the Mafac cantilevers. I'd like to leave the brakes on because they look ultra cool, but if I get stuck in the future, will it be possible to replace the Mafacs with more modern brakes that will adjust down to hit a 700c rim? Or is there some way to adjust the Mafacs vertically?
I'm sure more questions will follow soon, including a potential garage sale to pay for this puppy. Thanks for your time.
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ
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