1939 Claud Butler Ultra Shortbase Tandem

[RobLoasby]

In chatting to my folks my mum mentioned that my grandparents had a tandem in the 30s when they were courting and they used to cycle to Felixstowe from Occold in Suffolk. I guess before cars this is how couples managed to get away for a day.......

And, in the case of my parents when they married in 1936, on their honeymoon too.

 

[sherlylock]

Looking great as it is and what a great find, the second time.
Look forward to seeing you build it up and get it back out on the roads.
Is that your grandparents in the photos above? Very cool.

Jamie

So glad to have actually managed to bag it - after missing it the first time.

Yep - that's nana & grandad on a day trip to the coast. Possibly Felixstowe (was a favourite haunt apparently) and probably mid to late thirties as they hadn't got kids there and grandad went off to war in 1941. My nana lived in Occold in Suffolk - I Google mapped the journey to Felixstowe by bike and its just over 30 miles!

They continued to use the Tandem into the 50's when my mum was born - she had a baby seat on it and they also had a sidecar bolted to it too (5 siblings in total).......

Theres a great vid on Youtube of a family of 10 I think in 1960 going out for a ride on a Quadruplet(?) with a couple of kids in a trailer, 2 kids on a tandem and a few on bikes.......I guess in the days of large families and no motor vehicles (& quieter roads) it was the only real way of independently getting around as a family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M5hM-e_sjQ

Claud seemed quite happy to make you whatever you wanted..........

In chatting to my folks my mum mentioned that my grandparents had a tandem in the 30s when they were courting and they used to cycle to Felixstowe from Occold in Suffolk. I guess before cars this is how couples managed to get away for a day.......

And, in the case of my parents when they married in 1936, on their honeymoon too.

Makes you realise there's probably quite a few of us that actually owe our existence to tandems! Which is an odd thought....

 

[fiveSixteenths]

Re:

Just spotted this - sub'd - superb!

 

[sherlylock]

Stripped the tandem down and have given everything a good degrease and clean - lots of thick greasy oily deposits on everything....which seems to have saved some of the chrome but the Nickel plating is a bit tired. Found some evidence of presumably the original colour though.......flam green.

Bottom brackets both stripped out - fixed cup removed by bolting the spanner to the cup.

Both bottom brackets have issues - some spalling and corrosion damage. Would probably be usable with new bearings/fresh grease but it'd be nice to find replacements.

Eccentric bottom bracket shell is an interesting device - not had any experience of one of these before....

Headset bearing surfaces on the other hand are better.......and the frame number on the steerer tube matches the frame number on the bottom bracket which is nice. Some suggestion on the CB facebook group that the "B" may be the frame builders initial?

 

[sherlylock]

I've gone and bought a donor tandem.....3rd tandem in as many weeks, 2 of them from the Brighton area.......drove down there this morning to collect. I must be mad.

Anyway - I spotted this ad many weeks ago - and especially noticed the Resilion brakes which are quite a big missing piece on my build. Hassled the seller for more pics to see what else this tandem could offer up to make it worthwhile as I still need pedals, mudguards, saddles and the brakes.

Got it home......and I think it's another Claud. The frame number fits the numbering system for sure....61294 and stamped in the same place as my other Claud tandem frames. Williams crank rings are stamped with "x" which indicates 1935. So it looks plausible that it could be an early 1936 Claud tandem.....

After inquiring about some tandem parts with a vintage cycle parts supplier I was advised that it probably made more sense financially to look out for a complete donor bike. When it comes to the brakes, and looking at the prices of Resilion cantilevers and their cables and levers I've def. done the right thing here........


They're in need of some TLC but that's part of the fun. I've been looking into home-brew Nickel plating recently and these may be a good subject to try it on.....(after a bit of practice obvs)

It also offers up one usable Brooks B15, some Blumels Lightweight mudguards and some Brampton pedals (oddly - only 3x - there is an odd on fitted too).

Wheels are period too I think....BH "Solite" hubs and Dunlop EAI rims. Gears are 1970s Simplex.....so it's been modified over the years.

Anyone know what this pedal is? Its the odd one out of the 4.....

 

[dan73uk]

Re:

Odd pedal is a Brampton racing by the looks of it -
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 9&AbsPos=0

 

[Jamiedyer]

Wow that is very nice once again.
Getting hard to follow who is a donor and who is the recipient

Jamie

 

[sherlylock]

Re: Re:

Odd pedal is a Brampton racing by the looks of it -
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 9&AbsPos=0

Nice one - probably one of the originals then looking at the dates. Shame the others don't match!

Wow that is very nice once again.
Getting hard to follow who is a donor and who is the recipient

Jamie

Ha! Yeah, seems a shame to buy a bike to rob it of bits. Pleased to have the brakeset now though - proper quirky design although I'm not sure its possible to get replacement brake blocks any more for them....but it does also offer up a wheel set and crankset for another Claud tandem frame I have so it potentially saves 2 bikes.

 

[dan73uk]

Re: Re:

Odd pedal is a Brampton racing by the looks of it -
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 9&AbsPos=0

Nice one - probably one of the originals then looking at the dates. Shame the others don't match!

Wow that is very nice once again.
Getting hard to follow who is a donor and who is the recipient

Jamie

Ha! Yeah, seems a shame to buy a bike to rob it of bits. Pleased to have the brakeset now though - proper quirky design although I'm not sure its possible to get replacement brake blocks any more for them....but it does also offer up a wheel set and crankset for another Claud tandem frame I have so it potentially saves 2 bikes.

I'm currently looking for a set of Resilion brakes for a project and have been advised that V brake pads will fit but are thinner than the originals and will wear quickly. . If you search for "V brake pad inserts" on ebay you should find something suitable and they are quite cheap.

 

[sherlylock]

Re: Re:

Odd pedal is a Brampton racing by the looks of it -
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx? ... 9&AbsPos=0

Nice one - probably one of the originals then looking at the dates. Shame the others don't match!

Wow that is very nice once again.
Getting hard to follow who is a donor and who is the recipient

Jamie

Ha! Yeah, seems a shame to buy a bike to rob it of bits. Pleased to have the brakeset now though - proper quirky design although I'm not sure its possible to get replacement brake blocks any more for them....but it does also offer up a wheel set and crankset for another Claud tandem frame I have so it potentially saves 2 bikes.

I'm currently looking for a set of Resilion brakes for a project and have been advised that V brake pads will fit but are thinner than the originals and will wear quickly. . If you search for "V brake pad inserts" on ebay you should find something suitable and they are quite cheap.

Ahh ok - thanks for the heads up. I'll go searching later. There's a little bit of life in the pads I have but nice to know there may be an alternative. The pads I have are Fibrax and not the original Resilion marked pads so maybe there are some NOS pads still floating around out there......either way it looks like there are options. What bike are you looking for Resilion cantilevers for?