# Pashley Tourmaster Tandem... impulse purchase



## bobg (30 Oct 2009)

Went round to the co-op for some tea this afternoon and came back with one of these!
Err ...just need to tell Mrs BG what's under the tarp at the bottom of the garden.
Anybody got any idea of the vintage of these things, I'd guess 60's? 
26x1 3/8 wheels, 4 speed SA hub, excellent paintwork, bluemels mudguards and just a little bit of surface rust. I wouldnt fancy a cycling holiday on it but a day out in the summer might be nice. There was an ancient Armstrong tandem too, needed loads of work but I was soooo tempted to get both.


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## dan_bo (30 Oct 2009)

Giz a piccie then


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## bobg (30 Oct 2009)

dan_bo said:


> Giz a piccie then



Blimey, that was quick!! I'll do one tomorrow when I've told her the "good" news.


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## purplepolly (30 Oct 2009)

bobg said:


> when I've told her the "good" news.



"Darling, I think I've been spending too much time out on the bike by myself. We should spend more time together" ???


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## dan_bo (30 Oct 2009)

bobg said:


> Blimey, that was quick!!



not the first time that's been said


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## bobg (30 Oct 2009)

purplepolly said:


> "Darling, I think I've been spending too much time out on the bike by myself. We should spend more time together" ???



 If only you know how funny that is. You're talking about a women who thinks any form of exercise will shorten her lifespan by accelerating unnecessary wear on body parts and reduce available time spent reading.
BTW she also views all forms of wildlife with suspicion and has yet to accept that birds serve any useful purpose and would be better wiped off the face of the earth to stop them crapping on her washing


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## bobg (30 Oct 2009)

dan_bo said:


> not the first time that's been said



ROFL.........


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## purplepolly (30 Oct 2009)

bobg said:


> If only you know how funny that is. You're talking about a women who thinks any form of exercise will shorten her lifespan by accelerating unnecessary wear on body parts and reduce available time spent reading.



Surely she could read on the back of a tandem?


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## ufkacbln (31 Oct 2009)

purplepolly said:


> Surely she could read on the back of a tandem?



There was a tandem doing the School Run in Bath earlier this year, Mother on front and child on back nonchalantly texting without a care in the world


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## bobg (2 Nov 2009)

Here it is ...he said hopefully http://www.flickr.com/photos/10646670@N06/4068619480/


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## Arch (2 Nov 2009)

Sweet! My boss and his other half have two tandems - a good one, for touring, and an old one for going to the pub/shopping etc...


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## bobg (2 Nov 2009)

Hi Arch, Just spent all day working on, cant wait to try it, all I need is a stoker with a death wish, I've never ridden a tandem before...
BTW How's the ukulele going??


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## Hilldodger (3 Nov 2009)

We have four of those. All have had to have the seat posts welded up when they've cracked......................


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## Tharg2007 (3 Nov 2009)

im jealous, that what i want, just biding my time until I spot one going cheap


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## Arch (3 Nov 2009)

bobg said:


> Hi Arch, Just spent all day working on, cant wait to try it, all I need is a stoker with a death wish, I've never ridden a tandem before...
> BTW How's the ukulele going??



it's suffered a bit, lapsing behind having internet at home, and knitting. I must get some more practice....

Key to riding tandem, as I understand it, is communication, you need to warn the stoker when there is a bump, or changing gear and all that. I'm a dreadful stoker, too nervous and determined to be in control, and not really strong enough to hold the whole bike up as a captain....


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## bobg (3 Nov 2009)

Hilldodger said:


> We have four of those. All have had to have the seat posts welded up when they've cracked......................



Good grief, what 4 Tourmasters?? How, why, where !! 
I've been 3 days working on this and the only major prob was... yup, you guessed it, getting the seized posts out. Plusgas + drilling across it and inserting a tommy bar did the trick. I'm now convinced its never been ridden, under all the green "mould" that coats it, its almost pristine  Not even any pitting on the chrome. I'm very happy
 .........
I recall reading somewhere that Tdrinka has one?


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## bobg (3 Nov 2009)

Arch said:


> it's suffered a bit, lapsing behind having internet at home, and knitting. I must get some more practice....
> h to hold the whole bike up as a captain....



Yeah, that always happens, You'll come back to it. If you play when you dont want too its no fun and the uke ( if nothing else) has to be fun!

I'll report back when I find a victim, I mean stoker. The more I read about it the more dangerous it sounds.


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## bobg (3 Nov 2009)

Just been thinking about what you said Hilldodger, did you mean the chrome post or the seat tube ie the frame? I mention it cos the seat tube looks unusually reinforced, maybe thats because its only gaspipe. BTW do these things stop, centre pull Weinneman brakes and chrome rims + 2 13 stone blokes "hurtling" ( or even barely moving ) towards a junction is not a happy prospect  even when there a two back brakes?


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## Hilldodger (4 Nov 2009)

bobg said:


> Good grief, what 4 Tourmasters?? How, why, where !!



http://www.cyclemagic.org.uk 

We're selling off quite a few of the 23 tandems we did have..............


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## Hilldodger (4 Nov 2009)

bobg said:


> Just been thinking about what you said Hilldodger, did you mean the chrome post or the seat tube ie the frame? I mention it cos the seat tube looks unusually reinforced, maybe thats because its only gaspipe. BTW do these things stop, centre pull Weinneman brakes and chrome rims + 2 13 stone blokes "hurtling" ( or even barely moving ) towards a junction is not a happy prospect  even when there a two back brakes?



The seat tube itself, usually the front one if a taller person has been riding it.

No, they don't stop very well.....that's all part of the fun.


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## bobg (4 Nov 2009)

Ta HD, Thanks, I'll watch out for that, mind you its an easy place to weld. I finished it today and had a ride... great fun and lots of odd looks from passers by. I managed to bribe a friend onto the back but he only lasted till the end of my road before begging to get off!! Whimp!
Yeah, stopping was fun especially as I had cut through one of the inner and outer rear cables in a senior moment. I wonder if extra long SA inner cables are available, I noticed it was a bit frayed. If not theres always those little electrical "block" connectors


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## bobg (4 Nov 2009)

Hilldodger said:


> http://www.cyclemagic.org.uk
> 
> We're selling off quite a few of the 23 tandems we did have..............



You cant leave me hanging! Was it a bulk purchase, do you have an undertsanding wife and an aircraft hanger in your garden


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## Hilldodger (4 Nov 2009)

It's one of the UK's leading community cycling projects with 5,000 sq ft workshop. We have the widest range of bikes and pedal powered machines in the world.

We had 23 tandems because 18 months ago we supplied 18 for a stella Artois advert filmed in Majorca 
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mcNVb6uDR4


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## bobg (4 Nov 2009)

Gis a job


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## Arch (8 Nov 2009)

Hilldodger said:


> No, they don't stop very well.....that's all part of the fun.



There's a certain type of person who can say that and mean it, and you're certainly one of them!

Bobg - I'm sure there are tandem cables on the market. Et voila!

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-...-Tandem-Length-Brake-Inner-Cable--Each-98.htm

Any queries, try the Tandem club forum:

http://www.tandem-club.org.uk/_dboard.htm

You may find that non cyclists have more fun as stokers than keen cyclists - they tend to want to be in control. Get a non regular rider on it, and they'll probably love it. If you get really keen, you could seek out a blind stoker in need of a pilot. (tandeming also suits some other people with special needs).

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/dis/News2008/20081221_tandemists_wanted.asp

Here's a rare pic of me on one. It was the staff/student cricket match, and by the time I was padded up I could barely walk, so I got a lift to the crease.

View attachment 4695


I was run out before I'd faced a single ball. The same evening we found that the bottle cage held a bottle of red nicely...


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## TheDoctor (8 Nov 2009)

Nice. Is that the Mother-of-all-mixte frames on there?
Can't help thinking it'll take some stopping once it's got up to speed.
Are the centre-pulls up to the job?

*edit* Ignore me, I see Hilldogger and others have made the same point


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## Campfire (8 Nov 2009)

Ah, that's sweet. I'll have to try to scan a picture of the tandem that my Dad used to haul me around on all round Wales, Yorkshire Dales, Lincolnshire & anywhere else he could find. He also used to race on it with a club mate. It was heavy as hell. Once in Wales the brake cable went & he lost the sole of his shoe trying to stop it, running into a banking (fortunately) meaning we had to get the train home. I was about 9 at the time. Funny how you remember things like that.


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## bobg (8 Nov 2009)

Thanks all, this is getting increasingly more fun. I nailed my grandson on the back of it this morning. He wasnt amused and neither was his Mum, especially as it was raining and he couldnt reach the pedals even with the seat at the lowest position....... Still is better than the naughty step.
And no they dont stop, I'm thinking of a small anchor strapped to the rack. Another instance when I wish you live nearer Arch, I need somone small who laughes in the face of fear .
The local bike shop had a whole box of brake cables that he'd had for about 20 years. £2 each so I am well catered for. It's the extra long Sturmey Archer cables that I may need in the future. I've bribed another poor sucker to come out this afternoon, trouble is he's 5ft 6 and 9.5 stone and I'm 5ft 11 and 13 stone and he wants to be the captain... should be interesting. Pity theres not a branch of the Tandem Club on Merseyside, mind you Tarquin has already attracted a contingent of the local hooded fraternity so I can understand the reluctance of the club to venture into bandit country.


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## Arch (8 Nov 2009)

bobg said:


> And no they dont stop, I'm thinking of a small anchor strapped to the rack. Another instance when I wish you live nearer Arch, I need somone small who laughes in the face of fear .



Small, yes, laugh in the face of fear? No. Scream more like, and shout "watch out!" a lot....


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