Tandem Cycling - Mel Pinto Special questions

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hoosierref
06-06-07, 03:43 PM
I just got a very nice Mel Pinto from a friend who didn't want it anymore. The only thing I can DEFINITELY see wrong with it is that the back wheel is out of round. It does have the Atom drum system on the back, but it also has Mafaciacs caliper brakes (both front and rear) which function pretty well.

My questions...

1) Can a bike shop repair the old wheel and make it "true" once again, or am I gonna have to buy a new wheel for it? If I have to get a new rear wheel, will the original cassette be transferable?

2) Do I have to fix the hub brakes or can I just use the calipers. The hub braking mechanism broke on the previous owner. The caliper brakes work just fine.

3) My front seat post is like MEGA STUCK! I put a monkey wrench to it and it would not budge. How can I loosen this up?

Thanks so much to any repliers.:D
I'm new here, but really looking forward to spending time reading all the good advice from fellow tandem riders.
~hoosierref

dbohemian
06-06-07, 04:30 PM
1. Possibly the wheel can be trued but only a shop/wheelbuilder will be able to tell from looking at it.
2. I would consider using just the caliper brakes and if the rear wheel is shot, just replacing the whole rear wheel. this would solve the drum brake issue.
3. Uggh, the stuck seatpost. I get these from time to time and they are a bear. There are a lot of fixes for this but essentially it has probably corroded in place and this is not unlike a weld. It can be super tough and some of the worst ones I have dealt with had to be cut out. First I would put a ton of good penetrating oil through the BB and try to get it to soak into the post/seattube interface. Let that sit for a few days adding a little more once in a while, then try to bust it loose while holding the frame rigid in a vise or similar.
Some try the ol freeze the post with nitrogen or CO2 and the differing expansion rates of the metals sometimes break it free.

Beyond that take it to a frame guy, you don't wanna deal with it.

All the best,

Dave Bohm
sch
06-06-07, 07:13 PM
www.sheldonbrown.com and search for stuck seatpost, or just
seatpost for some approaches to this problem. He has an essay
on this, among dozens of others.

zonatandem
06-06-07, 07:55 PM
Atom drum brakes are more trouble than they are worth. Wel-adjusted Mafac canti's should work in most instances.