In the pix, the bikes look nice, indeed. I suspect that several brands wound up being labelled "Mel Pinto" at different times, but I'm not sure. This one has a Follis-looking fork, and I thought that Follis was the nicest of the production French tandems - compared with the common Gitane, for example. One good friend has a different Mel Pinto, and the bb height is very, very high. We think it was a last-minute convert to 700c (cantilever placement), but originally conceived for a smaller wheel, such as a 650. I certainly never put it in the same class as a Jack Taylor. It does not have the elegance of the one Herse I assembled, which was fully lugged, although the Herse had a strange collection of oversized and oval tubing.
But more so, if you want it, please purchase it as what she is: a nice vintage tandem. It will not want to be reborn as a contemporary one. Modern ones tend to be much longer in the stoker compartment, and built with larger diameter, stiffer, tubing. We loved our Town & Country, which was really, really short (61" wheelbase, 8" shorter than a Cannondale), but the ride is not as nice as our modern tandem. And long-suffering stoker couldn't get down in drop bars: her body and my back needed to be in the same space. I'd guess that there is more difference in tandems than between a modern single and a vintage single, but I really have no significant experience with "modern" singles. :-)
harvey sachs mcLean va usa ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Angel Garcia wrote:
Velo-Orange.com is selling a Follis/Mel Pinto tandem,reduced to $1400.00. >From the site: Beautiful top-of-the-line French Follis Tandem made for the famous Mel Pinto Company. 59 x 54cm. It has a Suntour drive train, TA Tevano Cranks, drum brake, all fillet brazed Reynolds 531, double plate fork crown, full braze-ons for racks, fenders, etc. It's been hanging in a warehouse for 20-30 years; it's brand new! I'd put this in the same class as a nice Herse or Singer tandem. More photos here<http://picasaweb.google.com/VeloOrange/MPFollisTandems>
Stand-over heights are about 82cm and 86cm.