 |  | | | |  | |  |  | my 70's Gitane tandem (mixte content) |  | |  |  | |
 Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:34 am |
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| ftwelder |
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| Joined: 23 Oct 2012 |
| Posts: 9 |
| Location: vermont |
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Greetings folks. I got this tandem a couple of months ago. The steel cranks were badly bent and the rear rim was (is) damaged and it was fitted with bottom end shimano shifting.
I replaced the cranks and switched the brakes to CLB which are stiffer than the stock MAFAC racers. I found a Huret eco duo par to handle the rear cluster and some other derailleur on the front. Front gears are 30/40/50.
I also removed the plastic quilt saddles and aero levers and added the bits you see in the images. I still need to reline the dragger and get some proper tandem cables and wire end solutions.
The bike was only lightly used but handled often enough to have some paint damage but overall it's extremely clean. It has an interesting "custom made" transfer which may be due to the mixte rear half. I added the AVA stem (which I love the look of) but it needs 10mm more reach.
Anyway, thanks for the great resource. Enjoy
29 588 by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr
29 587 by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr
29 590 by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr
29 169 by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr |
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one whole Gitane tandem and a "just found" TDF. oh, so sweet. |
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| | | | | | | | | Nitto Stems | | | | | |
| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 5:30 am |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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Nice job. 
The quills on Nitto forged aluminum stems are marked 22.2mm but they are actually smaller, generally 22.1mm and will usually fit in a 22.0mm French steering tube.
Most Nitto stems are designed for 26.0mm bars but they do make some for 25.4mm bars.
The French bars on your bike are 25mm.
Ben's Cycles in Milwaukee usually has a good assortment of Nitto bars and stems:
http://www.benscycle.net/
They are also on eBay. |
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Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
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1984 Criterium
1969 TdF
1971 TdF
1974 TdF
1984 TdF x 2 Bikes
1970 SC
1971 SC
1972 SC
1984 SC
1984 Team Pro
1985 Professional
1990s Team Replica |
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 9:42 am |
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| sandranian |
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| Joined: 27 Feb 2006 |
| Posts: 2701 |
| Location: Southern California |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:47 pm |
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| ftwelder |
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| Joined: 23 Oct 2012 |
| Posts: 9 |
| Location: vermont |
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Good info there. Thanks verktyg.I am realy not into Nitto stuff though I am sure they make lots of nice things that would work in a pinch. |
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one whole Gitane tandem and a "just found" TDF. oh, so sweet. |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:12 pm |
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| sandranian |
| Site Admin |
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| Joined: 27 Feb 2006 |
| Posts: 2701 |
| Location: Southern California |
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:14 pm |
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| Kinst VonSterga |
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| Joined: 26 May 2008 |
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| Location: Hillsboro, Oregon USA |
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No kidding, that was a bit of money back then ...
Great looking tandem, very nice! |
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| | | | | | | | | Nitto Stems and Bars | | | | | |
| Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:41 pm |
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| verktyg |
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| Joined: 14 Jan 2007 |
| Posts: 2814 |
| Location: SF Bay Area |
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| ftwelder wrote: |
| Thanks verktyg. I am really not into Nitto stuff though I am sure they make lots of nice things that would work in a pinch. |
Nitto bars and stems are probably the best made on the market today. I have them on almost half of my herd!
Their forged stems come in at 3 different quality levels, all of them better than any of the French made products and at least equal to if not better than Cinelli and 3TTT.
One other thing, I wouldn't thrust a used stem on a tandem unless I knew it's complete history.
Stems were made to fit specific sized bars; 25mm, 25.4mm, 25.8mm,
26mm and 26.4mm diameters.
Aluminum doesn't stretch or compress very much or very well. You may get away with a 25.4mm or even a 26mm set of bars in an old Cinelli stem designed for a 26.4mm bar.
Someday when you loosen the bar clamp on the stem.... "bing" the front of the stem explodes off!
Here's a forged Cinelli 26.4mm stem that I used with a 25mm bars for almost 25 years (before we knew better). When I tried to open it a little to remove the undersized bar the front broke off with a musical ping!
This is a Forged 3TTT 26mm stem that had been overtightened on a smaller bar. Notice the cracks.
The term "melt forged" is just that, it's a part that has been pressure cast rather than truly forged. Molten metal metal is forced into a mold at high pressure. That's the way that many modern stems are made.
The old bike boom era stems were made of plain cast aluminum. One of the problems with the cast Pivo stems is they can fail at the bottom of the quill where it's split to expand in the steerer.
Your bike has an AVA stem like used on Peugeots. They were subject to the same kind of failures as the other cast aluminum stems.
So I'm not sure what your objections to Nitto stems are but they are the best made classic looking stems and bars on the market. |
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Chas.
SF Bay Area, CA USA
==============
1984 Criterium
1969 TdF
1971 TdF
1974 TdF
1984 TdF x 2 Bikes
1970 SC
1971 SC
1972 SC
1984 SC
1984 Team Pro
1985 Professional
1990s Team Replica |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 4:58 am |
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| ftwelder |
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| Joined: 23 Oct 2012 |
| Posts: 9 |
| Location: vermont |
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I think Nitto is awesome on your bike and thanks for the extra material on metals. There are many things on older bikes that do not perform to standards found on today's components. I accept this. I build them up the way they were originally built for my own use and pleasure.
Many of my older bikes are riding on original tires and/or cables also. This TDF I got yesterday will be built all original also (or as close as I can get before losing patience).
I appreciate and respect your opinions.
Hey, I have a bunch of Nitto handlebars and stems (or will have more) We should do some swappin'?
I also have some nice Sovos wheel set that I can trade for your tubulars with Normandy comp or campy hubs! |
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one whole Gitane tandem and a "just found" TDF. oh, so sweet. |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:27 am |
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| scozim |
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| Joined: 26 Sep 2008 |
| Posts: 629 |
| Location: Ellensburg, WA |
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| Not sure how I missed this thread originally - that is one super nice tandem. Nice job! |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 3:23 pm |
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| ftwelder |
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| Joined: 23 Oct 2012 |
| Posts: 9 |
| Location: vermont |
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| scozim wrote: |
| Not sure how I missed this thread originally - that is one super nice tandem. Nice job! |
Thanks, it's a great rider!
I had most of what I needed to get it running in the junk pile. I am going to need some new rims pretty soon. I wanted to get a ride or two in before snowfall and managed to pull that off.
I had an interesting experience that I would like to share.
I got a Gitane TDF yesterday with an old Pivo stem that had been pried apart. I was shocked to say the least. Thinking about this thread, I decided to squeeze it back together and see what happened. No failure. Pretty odd.
I know I have had other Pivo "death" stems before that felt like old dried bones. This one is quite ductile in comparison. |
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one whole Gitane tandem and a "just found" TDF. oh, so sweet. |
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| Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 9:11 am |
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| kc0yef |
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| Joined: 26 Aug 2012 |
| Posts: 11 |
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| Frank you have done a fine job on the tandem |
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