to all who e-mailed me with tips on how to get that eccentric bb fitting to move, thanks!
I tried a couple of different techniques, with no success (just a lot of Kroil all over everything), until it dawned on me that the solution was perfectly clear. I put a fixed cup wrench on the fixed cup, and a big channel-lock pliers on the adjustable-cup lock-ring, and simply dragged the eccentric fitting along, using the bb as the lever. It worked. We rode the tandem today from Balboa Park to Point Loma and back, with Mr. Baylis, Rob, and Sterling Peters (sorry Rob, I lost your last name again), on about the most perfect day for riding I've ever seen in my LIFE (and we get a lot of those around here), but that is the subject for another post. The tandem performed perfectly.
Jan Heine sold me this Jack Taylor, and I must say he did a wonderful job setting it up just right. It went together very easily from his superb packing job, and we are enjoying it immensely. It is a true high-performance vintage tandem, and a real pleasure to ride. Thanks Jan!
Charles "wishing today was 48 hours long, instead of 24, because it's just too damned beautiful to end..." Andrews Enjoying the late afternoon sunshine in south Orange County, California.
PS: we were all at Point Loma, looking north, and we could see Mt. Baldy covered in snow. That peak is over 10,000 feet tall base-to-top, so easy to spot...but from where we were? It's about 150 miles as the crow flies. All-in-all, a pretty impressive day, today. You guys in SoCal, how about a Baldy ride in February? Hm? Maybe right after one of those big storms? Maybe some of our eastern brethren could join us....? Think it over. You guys would love that one.. 22 miles of climbing one of the most scenic routes in Southern California, to Baldy Village, with a long lunch in Monrovia, if Chuck will take us to that restaurant I can't remember the name of...
<dmart84815@yahoo.com>; <chasds@mindspring.com> Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 5:34 AM Subject: Re: [CR]tandem eccentric bb question
> I'm not sure how "stuck" Charles's Jack Taylor bb
eccentric is, but I can't remember needing much in tools for
this adjustment. One trick is having something that is
about the diameter of the hole, and reasonably stiff. I
typically use a drift, or on the road, an allen wrench. Put
it in the hole, and then use the crank itself as a lever to
move the BB. Of course, depending on where the assembly is
relative to bottom-dead-center, you may need a helper to
hold the rear wheel up. Of course, this may leave a mark on
the crank arm.
>
> harvey sachs
> mcLean va
> +++++++++++++++++++=
> Hello Charles,
>
> Congrats on the JT tandem.
>
> Regarding the stuck eccentric.......
>
> 1.Try giving the gap between the eccentric and the bb
shell a good dose of Kroll. Then with a piece of scrap
hardwood begin tapping (using a mallet) the sides of the
eccentric. You can try applying heat to the bb area with an
electric hair dryer. That would help the Kroll do its thing.
Of course you should have cranks removed by this time.
>
> 2. Using two long bolts with washers and some nuts, attach
them where the bb pinch bolts are. Secure the bolts with
nuts to prevent the bolt from moving (you may want to use
washers to protect the paint), Thread a nut on the opposite
end of the bolt, using a washer to protect the paint and
unscrew the nut so that the bb is expanding. Do this on both
sides (in tandem?). Tap the aluminum eccentric with a piece
of hardwood/mallet combo. Use Kroll.
>
>
>
> The last person in there probably did'nt grease all
contacting surfaces or some type of electralisis has taken
place between the aluminum and the steel. I faced the same
issue X3 on a Jack Taylor triplet.
>
> GOOD LUCK!
>
> Regards,
> Dave Martinez
> Fremont Ca