# 1970's French Tandem Restoration Project - Advice?!



## pargeterw (29 Aug 2012)

Hello all,

I'm just about to start restoring a 1973 Gitain Gaves Tandem, and have started a blog do document my progress, but, most importantly, to coalesce my inevitably huge number of questions for the tandeming community into one location.

http://gitaingaves.blogspot.co.uk/

I would be eternally grateful if anybody here had time to read the whole thing (it ended up longer than I meant it to...), and hopefully put in a few useful comments?

Thank you!

Will


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## wisdom (29 Aug 2012)

To start with i know nothing at all about tandems.
However i have read your blog and seen the photos.Both are very good and i wish you well with the restoration.
If you didnt pay a fortune for the bike and can restore it and ride it you will get great pleasure from doing both.
I suppose its all down to cost and availibility of specialist parts.


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## pargeterw (29 Aug 2012)

@Wisdom:

I inherited the frame, so it cost me nothing at all! There is still some debate as to wether the components etc. will add up to more than the cost of a second hand Dawes, but, that's not my style...

It's going to be hard work, and it may well be a waste of money (although I suspect the difference won't be that great), but I plan on enjoying every minute of it!

Will


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## Ian H (30 Aug 2012)

It's a basic, serviceable tandem such as was never built in the UK much after the war. Twin laterals are not the most rigid frames, but better than the open frames some French manufacturers produced. The rear hub looks like an Atom drum brake. It might be a French-threaded freewheel - beware, because English will screw on just slightly loose, then strip, leaving you pedalling madly going nowhere. The Tandem Club is an excellent source of knowledge and spares.


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## pargeterw (30 Aug 2012)

Ian H said:


> It might be a French-threaded freewheel - beware, because English will screw on just slightly loose, then strip, leaving you pedalling madly going nowhere.


 
They had different freewheels as well as BB's and Headsets? WHY!!!!?!?!??!?

(Thanks for alerting me to this, I'll watch out!)


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## pargeterw (30 Aug 2012)

[EDIT] - Somehow it posted my last one twice, and I can't work out how to delete, so ignore this message.


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