New to Tandems/Gottfried
07-12-15, 09:22 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
New to Tandems/Gottfried
Found a bargain at a bike co-op I have helped out at. A Gottfried tandem in my size! (tall) My girl is tall too so I thought it would be fun to give it a whirl.
Maiden voyage on a group night ride became not-so-fun when she complained about the seat. The seat holder was made of soft metal and the rails were coming out of it. I ended up riding it back 8 miles and picking her up in the car. I found a few other nit-picks, but used equipment always has those.
Anybody have any more info on Gottfrieds other than they are French? I didnt find much when I went searching other than a few photos of a red one and a blue one. The components look very good and the running gear doesnt have any wear on it. Looks like new chains too.
How do you transport these? Another guy on the ride was trying to figure that out too on his new tandem. For now I just strap it to my 3 rail motorcycle trailer.
-SP
Maiden voyage on a group night ride became not-so-fun when she complained about the seat. The seat holder was made of soft metal and the rails were coming out of it. I ended up riding it back 8 miles and picking her up in the car. I found a few other nit-picks, but used equipment always has those.
Anybody have any more info on Gottfrieds other than they are French? I didnt find much when I went searching other than a few photos of a red one and a blue one. The components look very good and the running gear doesnt have any wear on it. Looks like new chains too.
How do you transport these? Another guy on the ride was trying to figure that out too on his new tandem. For now I just strap it to my 3 rail motorcycle trailer.
-SP
07-13-15, 11:08 PM
#2
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Location: Tucson, AZ
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Bikes: Custom Zona c/f tandem + Scott Plasma single
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Yes the German sounding Gottfried tandem is made in France!
Rode one back in the early 1980s. Components were nothing fabulous, but serviceable.
Bike was a bit on the hefty side and was a bit better than the typical French tandems like Follis/Peugeot/Gitane.
Transport for us is inside a Honda Accord station wagon with wheels removed for long hauls or hatch tied down with a bungee cord with both wheels on.
If the moto carrier works fine, use it. Tandem specific racks are expen$ive. May be good if your removed front wheel so bike does not stick out too far past your rear bumper.
Enjoy the ride TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem
Rode one back in the early 1980s. Components were nothing fabulous, but serviceable.
Bike was a bit on the hefty side and was a bit better than the typical French tandems like Follis/Peugeot/Gitane.
Transport for us is inside a Honda Accord station wagon with wheels removed for long hauls or hatch tied down with a bungee cord with both wheels on.
If the moto carrier works fine, use it. Tandem specific racks are expen$ive. May be good if your removed front wheel so bike does not stick out too far past your rear bumper.
Enjoy the ride TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem
07-14-15, 02:15 PM
#3
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For transport I picked up a used ATOC tandem rack on Ebay... mounted on two different roof racks and now a set of pickup bed bars. New ones are a bit expensive and I paid a bit more than I might have wanted to but it works great.
Transport get interesting on charity century rides... seems nobody is prepared to SAG a tandem.
Transport get interesting on charity century rides... seems nobody is prepared to SAG a tandem.
07-14-15, 03:00 PM
#4
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For transport I picked up a used ATOC tandem rack on Ebay... mounted on two different roof racks and now a set of pickup bed bars. New ones are a bit expensive and I paid a bit more than I might have wanted to but it works great.
Transport get interesting on charity century rides... seems nobody is prepared to SAG a tandem.
Transport get interesting on charity century rides... seems nobody is prepared to SAG a tandem.
Last edited by waynesulak; 07-14-15 at 03:03 PM.
07-15-15, 11:47 AM
#5
Uber Goober
I have a Ford Ranger pickup, single-cab. With the front wheel off, the tandem fits diagonally in the bed, and I have one of those fork-clamps mounted at the appropriate angle near the tailgate.
One friend has a hummer, just hauls his in there with a fork-mount at the front.
One friend has a hummer, just hauls his in there with a fork-mount at the front.
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"be careful this rando stuff is addictive and dan's the 'pusher'."
07-15-15, 04:13 PM
#6
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07-16-15, 12:51 PM
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Yeah but that is not a guarantee these days with the extra cabs and crew cabs and whatnot that make the bed shorter. My tandem rack hangs off the back end of my full size Ford F150 because the bed is only 5.5 feet long. Not a big deal for me with the rack but does mean it is not just a "toss it in the back" game.
That is actually what we did... so I rode the bike another 10+ miles solo while stoker was SAGing and driving back.
Tandem racks are not really that different... just longer. Given a small modicum of fabrication skills one can enhance a single bike rack for tandem use. The tandem rack I have starts out as a single rack but has an extension added for tandem use.
Tandem racks are not really that different... just longer. Given a small modicum of fabrication skills one can enhance a single bike rack for tandem use. The tandem rack I have starts out as a single rack but has an extension added for tandem use.
