| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Hey folks- if any of youn's have advice on the care and feeding of an almost 30 YO original Schwinn tandem bicycle, do tell... I'd been looking at Craigslist for a good tandem bike- my GF is too goofy to ride one by herself- found this one yesterday, bought it for a whole $100! Still has original tires, pretty much 100% original condition, with very minor scuffs from transporting on the right fork and a minor frame rail. Has a drum rear brake(!), but has what it takes to convert to rear calipers, caliper front. Components are Schwinn original equipment, several pieces have the years 1981-82 stamped on them. I've not yet tried to research this bike, got a buddy who used to build bicycles able to look at it tomorrow- anyone here have info/advice/values for this thing? Heck, I'm looking forward to getting on the greenway with it soon. Damn thing weighs +- 60 pounds, close to triple what my Cannondale criterium frame racer weighs! Thanks in advance for your input. PS- this isn't a political thread, just fun on another sort of 2 wheels...  | ||
| Sifo |
Tandems = HEAVY! If you want to be able to stop that thing you definitely need to ditch the drum brake set up. Your brake choices are going to be decided by what your frame and fork are set up for. Being that old it probably doesn't have mounts for disk brakes. That would be the best choice. Next choice would be V-brakes. They are quite a bit more powerful than the older caliper brakes, but bolt onto the same brake boss. I may have a set laying around in the basement that you could have for shipping costs, I would have to check to be sure. Are the wheels suitable for rim brakes? Not all rims are set up for that. You need a flat edge next to the tire and no weld bead showing where it was welded into a hoop (usually opposite from the valve stem). An alloy rim will brake much better that the cheap steel/chrome ones, but either can work. Other issues could be cable routing. If there are bosses brazed on for the cable housings you are all set (should be if you have brake bosses). Other wise you need to run cable housing the whole length. It's a long way to the rear wheel and it will get a bit spongy if you are forced to use a full length housing. My limited experience being stoker on a tandem has always been a bit terrifying. I don't like not have any control on a bike. Shifting takes practice and communication. It can be fun if you can keep from getting into a fist fight!  | ||
| Ourdee |
A tandem can make or break a relationship. Just a friendly heads up. The bike needs to be completely disassembled down to the bearings. Start by cleaning the races and bearings and repacking them. Think about saving the old cables by oiling them and storing them out of the way. Cables today can be had with special linings in them that reduce drag. I would put new ones back on. It all depends on how serious you are. I would buy a lot of bearings and get out the micrometer to assemble matching sets of bearings. But, that is just me. Here is the last bike I built:  I'll race you for a cheeseburger. Unlike me, you will have to look at that chain also. | ||
| 86129squids |
Rim brakes= caliper brakes, no? I can convert the rear to caliper if the drum aint functional or long lived. Was told that you can't get parts for the damn things anymore- but hey, this bike is 100% vintage. Which is good and bad, but more good methinks... I bought the thing because a. my GF cannot ride by herself, b. I've been off bikes for too long, but used to be a regular rider- once a fast sprinter on my Cannondale, c. we live next to a GREAT greenway system, used to run the greenway on my vintage skateboard with my Basenji before he got to be over 16 YO, d. seemed like a decent way to blow $100- I've had bar tabs well over that, e. just needed a new toy. None of my motorbikes run currently, fun to look at another 2 wheel toy. Lookin forward to trying it out, will make several runs solo before putting my wackadoo GF on the back. | ||
| Sifo |
Bicycle chains IRC are out of spec when 12 pairs of links measure 12 1/8 inches or more. Basically measure rivet to rivet over a 12 inch length. Should be less than 12 1/8 inches. | ||
| 86129squids |
"A tandem can make or break a relationship. Just a friendly heads up." LOL, thanks for the heads up. I doubt the bike threatens much- we get along too well, and she's shown a great tolerance for my various jackassed behaviors. That said, I know I've got a learning curve... Still gotta measure the wheelbase- 64" axle to axle, jeez! That's a little more than my XB... more like a Wide Glide! | ||
| Sifo |
I just checked where you live on your profile. Get some brakes on that thing! A fork change can get you set up for a disk on the front at least. 6 inch disk is good but an 8 inch is great! I had a bicycle drafting behind my Buell on the BRP last summer. He tucked in right behind me in my blind spot just after cresting a peak. I didn't even realize it until I dropped him on the next uphill. I found it pretty funny! | ||
| Ourdee |
Roller brakes are nice if you want to relace the wheels. | ||
| Sifo |
Forgot to mention that disk brakes will require disk compatible hubs. You may be swapping the rear to get away from the drum though. I just realized that a drum brake usually implies single speed. Is that correct? | ||
| Gunut75 |
Only if I still had the ol Schwinn Phantom. Black with yellow mags. | ||
| Toona |
http://www.memorylane-classics.com/ They carry a full line of Schwinn parts, most new old stock stuff, some new repop stuff. $100 is a great price for the tandem, the last swap meet I was at, they were in the $300 and up range. While the mid 70's-80's bikes aren't as collectible value wise, the are still a great, smooth riding bike. | ||
| Tom_b |
The biggest problem you will have will be tires..Schwinn made tires in only schwinn sizes . will say schwinn s-7 or schwinn s-5 which are european sizes and only schwinn in the U.s. a good bike shop will be able to order the right tires. Memory lane sucks and doesn't have a lot of stuff in stock and will usually just piss a person off. have tried using them and usually ended up unhappy. .. Great bike, good fun. Being a drum rear probably a 5 speed. other than tires, just like a regular bike, check cable, tires and such. | ||
| Crackhead |
Keep the drum brake. They can be used to keep your speed down on the down hill sections. They are the only brakes that can take the amount of heat a tandem can generate. For brakes I would suggest, Front: a 8" disk or find a set of Magura hydraulic rim brakes. Rear: drum brake to scrub speed and Magura hydraulic rim brakes http://www.magura.com/en/products/rim-brakes-2010. html Find a bike shop that deals with tandems and they can really help you with info. Since you are not dealing with high end equipment, they might have NOS or good used parts. | ||
| Mikej |
Check out the Classic&Vintage section of bikeforums.net , there might be a tandem section as well. Someone there should be able to direct you to helpfull sites. Parktool.com has a repair section, mostly newer stuff though. There is also a mail order place that caters to tandem riders but I don't have it bookmarked. They have a lot of thing specific to the needs of tandems. | ||
| Tom_b |
You can stil find parts for those rear drum brakes. Those rear drum brakes are fairly collectible and usually sell in the area of 100 dollars. I have three bikes with drum brake hubs that came on the tandems. They work way better than rim caliper brakes.. Good source for info and parts http://www.schwinnbike.com/usa/eng/forums/forumdis play.php?f=4 | ||
| 86129squids |
Thanks mucho for the advice- I'll look into these sites and go from there. Gots to manage my time around what's fun and what's needing to be done. Now I gotta get all the stuff done around the house before we take off on the tandem, craptastic. Keep the $.02 coming, youn's...  |
