Pole Position - Tandem Muscle - Class 2

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Intro

I don't know if there will be any major fabrication with this bike, but it will be my first entry into class two. I guess this will be a nice first step into a division where creativity is not thwarted by period and part correctness. I fully intend to be welding by the end of the year, so perhaps that will open up some new doors for the winter build off and the Rat Rod build off. The start of this edition of the build off does however coincide with my return to work from a year's parental leave. I'm hoping there will be enough time to finish this one, and... a couple Class 1 builds. Am I biting off more than I can chew? Probably. Did I mention that I'm also in the process of turning my garage into a bike building man cave show room? Is there a category for that? Anyway...

Chapter 1 - Close to Home

I know that all of you can relate to this element of the bike hobbyist's life; you find a bike for sale and you are compelled to buy it, no matter the cost or the distance. In between phone calls and emails, you worry that someone is already on their way to pick up a bike that, in your head, you already own. How many great bikes have you missed out on? How many times have you been the one to snag that perfect score? How many times have you overpaid for a bike because you were impulsive? I'm happy to say that this particular bike show up on Kijiji classifieds in my city, within a 5 minute walk from my house. I know it's not a major collectible or anything, but it's unique and that's what made me have to have it.

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I called the number and my wife and I stopped in to check it out while out for a walk with our 1 year old daughter. The woman was selling it for her 80 year old father who had intended to fix it up. I would have liked her to bend a little on the price, but she was quite firm and said that another guy was interested and was coming by later. I got her down to $125 from $150, and was happy with that especially considering it came with 4 NOS 20 x 1.75 bricktread tires, an NOS supercycle chain and reflector set from Canadian Tire, and two new tubes and a kick-stand. Bargain!!

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So what is it exactly? It's a Polish 20" tandem, with folding bike elements. It has quick releases on the seat tubes and head tube like a folding bike, but it doesn't fold. Instead, the entire front end comes off for transportation purpsoses. you just have to loosen one bolt and presto, two bike halves. I looked online for anything close and came up empty. The decal says 'Tyler" and "Made in Poland". For now, I'm calling this build "POLE POSITION". I had a quick search online to check if "Pole" is in any way an outdated or offensive term for someone with Polish decent. I didn't come up with anything. I like it and it works on many levels. It gives reference to it's Polish heritage, it's position given to a fast racer, and it's also a classic arcade game from my childhood. Can't go wrong!!

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Chapter 2 - Break it Down

Well, my other two Class 1 builds have been waiting for me at Dale's house for months. If you recall, Dale does a bang up job powder coating my frames for me. Between his schedule and mine and summer holidays, I haven't had a chance to pick up my last two projects which I think I dropped off in April. It's good that I have them now though, because I missed the deadline on my very first build off because I was waiting for paint. Dale assured me that this tandem frame will be done quickly and it helps that he already has the colour I want in stock. It's the same colour he used on my CCM Mustang Marauder.

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It's not a huge departure from original, but I like it and chose it because I have a couple seats in mind that I think will go with that scheme. Stay tuned. Anyway, I finally connected with Dale so I could pick up the other two frames. I always like to have a frame ready to drop off for him when I'm picking some up just to save and extra trip, so I stayed up late the other night and disassembled in my garage. You'll notice compared to the first pic of the bike that I now have my new garage doors and the garage is quite empty. I have a lot of bikes stored in other places and other people's houses. I don't yet have a storage unit like some of you other hoarders, but I fear one day it will get to that.

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The break down was pretty straight forward. You'll notice that the bike has the dreaded cottered cranks. My vice method works almost flawlessly and I'm usually able to re-use the cotter pins. It must have been late because I saved the first three and the fourth one involved some hammer swings. Over all the bike is in decent shape. I'll probably use other rims and tires. The RWL tires are cool but really cracked. Lots of surface rust that I'm hoping cleans up nice, since I don't have any extra tandem cranks laying around. The rack was toast, and the fenders will be replaced. The rest I'm going to make up as I go.

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If you go with a smaller front tire, you'll need a longer fork, like from a 26" bike. That looks like a long head tube. I have a fork from a 26" Ross, which had long head tubes. If you're interested, I'll measure it out and we can work something out.
 
Well.... I finally got the frame back from powder coat. I've been so busy with work, the garage reno, and my little baby darling, that I haven't had any time for bikes. But, tonight I picked up the frame, cleaned up the garage a bit and got the frame on the rack.

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The first thing I did was put the second part of the tandem frame on the main frame and it was then I noticed that the frame does not go on straight at all. I didn't really notice this when I got the bike, but it was noticeably bent when I assembled it. I spent an hour grinding, bending, and tweaking the right hook where the two frames attach and managed to straighten things out.

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A month to go, and I think I'll be able to get this one together. The other two bikes may have to take a back seat to POLE POSITION!!

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Check back soon.
 
The weather is starting to dip below freezing up here in Canada, but luckily I have my garage insulated now and it's not too cold working out there. I'll have the heat connected soon!! Started putting bits and pieces together on this one. I new for a while that I was going to use these troxel seats that I got in nfl kits. I was buying these when they came up for cheap on ebay because they have the rear fender that's needed for the Murray King Kat and other models. I got a little carried away and bought 4 sets. Luckily two were steelers sets and I ended up with two perfect seats for this bike.

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My only problem was figuring out how to mount the front seat. Tandem banana seat bikes are not that common, but most of the ones I have seen, do not use a banana seat for the front. I also wanted ape hangers for the rear handlebars and the challenge with a tandem is having bars wide enough that the front rider's butt can fit in between. I solved this problem by shifting the seat forward. These pushes the rider a little forward which might not be the best ride, but might be good for sharing rides with kids. We'll see. I haven't got that far yet. Anyway, I used a layback seat post to make mounting the seat a little easier. I also utilized the 3d printer again to help mount the support post. I used a small seat tube and an 8" carriage bolt to make it all happen. Just had to drill a 3/8" through the seat tube. I was able to do the whole assembly with parts I had in the shop. I love it when that happens. Now I feel good about hoarding bike parts and other things!

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I haven't totally decided on the wheels yet. I'm leaning toward the black OGK mags, but maybe the white peregrine mags will win another shot. I haven't tried them on the bike since I added all the other parts. What do you guys think? I'm also undecided on the combination of ape hangers. I have this really tall set on the front that have been waiting for years to find a home on one of my bikes. I might also play around with a 20 x 2.125 slick on the back and 20 x 1.75 slick on the front.

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I was also lucking to find a fender set in my stash of parts that fits this bike nicely. I was planning to go fender-less, but I think these ones work. Might need a chrome ball light on the front too, and maybe a radio. I'm running out of time for decals, but I have a few designs in mind.

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All feedback welcomed. Black or white mags? Tall apes? Fenders? Slicks?

Pole Position is on track!
 

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Those seats, and the engineering for them... spectacular!

My opinion to your questions:

1) Black mags, they match the seats, tie in with the bike.
2) Yes, fenders. Chrome sets off the yellow.
3) Regular apes. The tall ones look cartoonish IMHO.
 
Those seats, and the engineering for them... spectacular!

My opinion to your questions:

1) Black mags, they match the seats, tie in with the bike.
2) Yes, fenders. Chrome sets off the yellow.
3) Regular apes. The tall ones look cartoonish IMHO.

I think we're on the same page on this one. I need to find another stem for the front to fit some regular bars though.
 
Yep, definitely the black mags. I think it looks good with or without the fenders. The mags give it sort of a BMX look and I can’t recall seeing any fenders on a BMX bike. And yes, go with the regular apes instead of the tall ones.


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Pole Position has finally crossed the finished line. I had fun with this one, and my only regret is that I haven't had the time to document this as thoroughly as I usually would, and I haven't had the time to follow the other builds as closely I usually would.

I made my own decals with this one and had some fun with some chrome vinyl. I'm still toying with designs for the down tubes. Original grips went back on the bike, rims are rolling NOS Cheng Shen Brick Tread tires that came with the purchase of the bike. I still have two extra for another build. I finally found a home for these OGK blag mags, which fit the look perfectly in my opinion. This build as a sort of late 70's muscle bike bmx cross feel to it.

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I usually try and scope out the perfect location for some pics, but it's cold and grey here already and time is limited, so I went for some indoor shots. I might take a few more before the deadline for submissions. We'll see.

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