Thanks for taking the time to begin my education on the subject of tandems. Your post is fairly comprehensive. I've been wondering about French cranks since I picked up the Motobecane Grand Touring. I don't know what year it was made. I need to make a good picture of it and post it somewhere on the Forum. It is a fifteen speed, which make me think it might be a more recent model (say late 80's/early 90's). I don't really have any basis for that assumption except that all of the other such models I've seen are ten or twelve-speeds. I really like the gear set up for casual riding around our small town, but the bike developed a little bottom bracket play and I hung it up and resorted to my everyday Trek until I have time to sort it out. Now that I've got three French bottom brackets to service, I guess I can justify the expense of a special puller. I do have the little Park puller that works on British and US bikes. Is there any harm in carefully threading it into the French cranks to see if, by chance, it works? I'd really hate to screw up threads.

A cycling buddy of mine recently goaded me about not having a tandem among my collection of bikes. When I found the Inter Club at a nominal price, I thought, "Why not?" The rural town I live in is not very bike progressive, but just lately there has been a surge of interest in cycling among the 30-40-ish set. Most of these seem to want to do fast-paced exercise jaunts, which is not my style, but I welcome any company here. I think the tandem, along with the little Dahon's I picked up at an east Tennessee yard sale, can serve to promote interest in cycling. Who knows? Maybe I'll really enjoy riding double and it will become an avocation.

Thanks again for your correspondence. It's great to be able to talk bikes with knowledgeable folks.