So this is going to be a bit of a TLDR...

Way back in 2017 I was asked buy a company if I wanted to renovate a tandem for use by clients. I said eventually that it was too much for me and they got it done by a shop. Here is the thread from back then.

2017 thread

The company that wanted it done own three Chateaux, for wine tourism and holiday rental, if anyone is interested I'll put a link at the bottom.
So the wrong the beautiful tandem has been sat at one of these chateau supposedly for clients to have a little tandem experience. Unfortunately I don't think a single person (or pair) has taken them up on it.
Roll onto 2021 and I was offered a job with the company and have been there three years next week. One of the company directors came to eroica in 2019, and at the time I helped him with his bike. This year we have a good group going including the managing director and operations director. Once again I have helped them with their bikes and I'm really hoping they hold together for the Ride! I also helped two of the other group with vintage bikes, they all ride carbon beasts every Sunday but apparently they are having great fun on the steel machines.
Anyway... I received a message yesterday asking me if I wanted the Tandem to which my reply was obviously "of course how much?". "Free". Because the boss knows I have a thing about vintage bikes and have helped with the bikes for the group, he also doesn't like seeing the poor tandem unused so as of when I pick it up in the next couple of days it's mine!
As it says on the old thread I think this time my approach will be to do the absolute minimum to make it usable. Polish and wax paintwork and maybe a few relatively flat rides.
I never did get replies from Jan H, so now I am going to be its owner I will have another little push of research.
Have a great day everybody

A wonderful bike!
I'm hoping to see some photos of it in the French countryside posted in the "Where'd You Ride Today?" thread once you have it in your possession.
Brent

I have never ridden a tandem but my regular riding buddy Bob has with his wife. It will happen!

Trust the seven intervening years have not ravaged the machine.

looks well braced. Go forward, not the easiest to transport if required.

What a pretty bike! Excellent details. I can see why it would be a lot of work to clean up and a hard sell for a 21st century team. Both riders need to accept both the old weirdness and the tandem-ness of it, and it looks like the gunner needs to be pretty tall.

Didn't see a finished picture...by the way, captain can ride solo.

But wheelies are pretty difficult

With the gear controls at the back riding solo would be single speed... I'll put another album up when I pick it up!

Poor thing


Front mech??


Modern saddles

I'll do a more comprehensive series of pictures when I have a chance maybe after Italy

Better saddles, grips, appears different drive chains but shifting catastrophe at some point.

didn’t the original rear hub have a drum brake?
Beyond the prior mechanic’s ability or resourcefulness?

It did, and a Cyclo RD. All pretty rusty/oxidized. Looks like the shop replaced wheelset, saddles, handlebars, stems, deleted shifting, polished some things but not all.

I noticed it has vertical loading dropouts

From prior thread

Ignorance, incompetence, or lack of resourcefulness.

maybe all three

OP rationally declined once before to buy this thing with money. We take it as a given in BF that a once-nice and kind of rare bike like this deserves a certain level of attention and care, but we don't choose who's going to bell the cat, nor is it a given that anyone outside this committee of mice will give a f

Yup, basically she's in a bit of a sorry state. Médium to long term project, and I'm starting to think that it may end up as a bit of a resto mod. I've not even measured the rear spacing yet but I suspect trying to get gears on it might prove an issue so maybe a hub Gear. Either way as stated in 2017 to get it back to original is way way more work than I want to undertake so we will see. I'll be back when I've given it a polish and wax!