A quick (or not so quick) update on the 50's Hobbs of Barbican Tandem I bought on Ebay UK last week.
I posted a request here for someone who might be willing to pick the bike up from the seller and pack it for shipping.
Many of you sent helpful replies containing suggestions and guidance. I thank you all for those!
One very kind soul, a very occassional poster on the list, did in fact offer to go get the bike and have it packed, since he lived "only" 25 miles away. He then took it to a bike shop, had it professionally packed, and kept it safe at his house for the last week while I arranged shipping.
Side note about the shipping process - for anyone who might search the archives in the future to see if this is worthwhile (to have a tandem shipped from England). It was much more expensive than I expected, by the way - it was a four-day saga, summarized briefly: UPS and ParcelForce (Royal Mail) would not take it because length+girth was too large (yes the wheels are removed and the fork is reversed, and it's got a shortened wheelbase - still too large). DHL offered to take it for $750 - I could have flown over and collected it myself for about $400 - which one knowledgeable list member recommended, as he did the same thing himself a year or two ago. UPS referred me to UPS Freight, but they only work with businesses. They did however give me the number of Action Global, a shipping company that has an account with DHL, and therefor gets a much better rate than a private individual. So Action Global is shipping it through DHL, although it will still cost me more than the cost of a round trip ticket from Phila to London's Heathrow.
For those of you who live in the US and are considering buying a vintage tandem from the UK because the price is too good to pass up, I would honestly recommend flying over to get it.
Anyway, the point of this wandering post was in fact to thank the kind lister who went out of his way to pick up the bike, have it packed at his LBS, and kept it in his front hall for the last week (where his wife keeps tripping over it).
His name is John Davidson, and I am very grateful to him. He has been the perfect friendly gentlemen, and all he has asked in return for his efforts and costs is a token item that he can't find in the UK anymore (don't worry, I'll make sure he gets fair compensation despite his protestations that it's not necessary).
So thanks again to all who offered advise, guidance and assistance.
I'll post some pics once the tandem arrives and has been re-assembled. It's on my "short list" to bring to Cirque next year, too.
Duncan Granger who pulled and "all-nighter" (remember those?) on Friday so he could phone UPS UK at 3:30 AM EDT Mountville, PA