Re: [CR]Tandems an American invention

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PY-10)

In-Reply-To: <a0521063abc4015a9099c@[68.166.14.156]>
References:
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 13:22:36 -0500
To: Jan Heine <heine93@earthlink.net>, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Sheldon Brown" <CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Tandems an American invention


At 6:07 AM -0800 1/30/04, Jan Heine wrote:
>Larry,
>
>While Santana's contribution to _popularizing_ quality tandems
>cannot be overlooked, they hardly were the first to make worthy
>machines. I know Mr. McCready has been good about making bold
>claims, but... I still prefer the Taylors and Herse tandems. And I
>have ridden many for long distances (about 15 modern tandems,
>although, admittedly, no Santana).

In the back?
>Working on the next Vintage Bicycle Quarterly, which focuses on
>tandems, I continue to be amazed by the machines that were built as
>early as the late 1930s. Oversize, tapered tubing, useful geometries
>(tandems that don't veer off course when the stoker moves!),
>tandem-specific components, 110 mm front hub spacing and 135 mm rear
>combined with smaller 650B wheels for super-strong wheels - you name
>it. They were thinking in the 1930s, and didn't stop. If you wanted
>an oversized aluminum tandem, Barra and later Marcadier (the
>latter's machine featured in the magazine) would build you one that
>looks remarkably similar to an early Cannondale.
>
>If the old machines were so unworthy, why were the PBP tandems
>records (both male and mixed) set in 1951 only broken 48 years
>later? And that year, 1999, had tailwinds both ways, much better
>conditions than 1951. The single-bike records didn't last nearly as
>long. On 1200 km, even minor flaws, especially in comfort, translate
>into large time losses. You can't "tough it out" for 48 hours!
>
>The mass-producers, however, were trying to copy most of the
>appearance of the better machines at a cut-price. The results are
>less than exciting. But to conclude from a Peugeot that all old
>tandems are not much good isn't quite fair. These machines cost a
>lot less than a Santana, too.

It's certainly true that there were a great many very fine tandems made in the 30s, 40s, even '50s, especially in France. Here's the history as I understand it:

Up to the beginning of WW2, tandems were quite popular, and were built with lots of tandem-specific parts, so they were quite reliable.

During WW2, obviously, everybody had better things to do than to build tandems.

After WW2, 50cc motorcycles, scooters and mopeds became available. They offered the "glamor" of motorized transport, they would carry two, and they didn't cost any more than a good tandem. As a result, the bottom fell out of the tandem market.

In the late '60s-early '70s interest in tandems began to revive, but by that time tandem specific headsets, lugs, tubesets and other specialized parts had been out of production for a generation, so tandems of that era were built with mostly single-bike components, which were often marginal in tandem service. Most tandems of this era were very much inferior to the pre-war models.

Bill McCready ruffles a lot of feathers with his boastful advertising claims, but there's more truth than hype to them. He has truly been the great pioneer in the tandem renaissance.

Sheldon "http://sheldonbrown.com/tandem" Brown Newtonville, Massachusetts +------------------------------------------------+ | What was the real cause of the 1861-65 war? | | http://sheldonbrown.net/slaverywar.html | +------------------------------------------------+ --
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