Tandem ahoy! 91' GT Quatrefoil DX

[mynchiboy]

Sadly I didn't make it to iconoclassic (again..) but picking up this fine machine was the reason this time

Back story is I've been tentatively searching for a tandem for a little while on and off, having tested one out last summer with the good lady. Needless to say that it needed to be suitably retro!

I scored this for a very good price and I'm already stoked, condition wise it's pretty immaculate and original with only a few little changes here and there. Shifters have been upgraded to newer XT rapidfires which I may perhaps switch to thumbies in the long term, if all goes well. It would be nice to maybe source a GT handlebar for the front as well. Otherwise it's all good for me I reckon.

I've already had a little blast and it's going to be fun - 700D wheels should ensure that it zips along! In my excitement I shot a quick image in the morning murk today. More to follow...

 

[andyz]

Re:

Gotta love a GT tandem! It must be the only one left with the original wheels! Are you planning on riding it anywhere local sometime soon?

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re:

My girlfriend would laugh at me if i asked her to ride this with me :facepalm: but its pretty cool, a rare piece of gt history, and ive not seen one before in person either. Got an idea of how much it weighs? Its probably the same weight as a small car isnt it?

Sean

 

[jango]

Re:

Gotta love a GT tandem! It must be the only one left with the original wheels!

No, we've got original wheels on ours too but I'm jealous of your Midnight Aurora forks as our replacements are black!

Cool bike, enjoy it!

 

[mynchiboy]

Re:

Thanks for the comments so far guys.

To answer everything, it will indeed be pressed into local service.. Yesterday was it's maiden outing, a 15-ish mile loop around the East side of my 'hood - half canal path and half road. All was cool and as can be seen below, the lady approves - she can even dress as garishly as she likes

Weight wise Susie (as it's now known) is well.. about the same as 2 and a bit Karakorams welded together? It does really fly though on a bit of a decent!

I'll try and add some better pictures as soon as I've cleaned all the dust and dead bugs off..!

 

[mynchiboy]

Re:

A couple of test rides in and all's relatively well so far. We're still - ahem- tackling the finer points of tandem riding and keeping squabbles to a minimum :facepalm:

Mechanically there's nothing worrying either. I seem to have lost a pedal dustcap on yesterdays ride but I'm planning to switch to some M324 pedals up front anyway, to offer me a chance to clip in when needed.The cassette lockring is a bit loose (about to sort that though). I'm trying to resist doing not a great deal more and concentrate on riding the thing, but I'm keen to source a set of black GT bars as well. The original stem is hens teeth so I'll keep the Zoom which fits well. Mudguards to be added as well when things get a bit wetter...

Just washed it down a bit. I can understand why people dig Midnight Aurora

 

[xxnick1975]

Most awesome. How did you get it home, as it not fitting your average roof carrier

 

[firedfromthecircus]

I have never seen a GT tandem before. Didn't even know such a thing existed, but that is all kinds of awesome!
Retro as hell and paint looks pretty minty too. Great score.

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

Re:

Is yours an 18/15" or a 19/17"?
Have near 2000 miles on mine this year. Flew it out to Portland and bikes the Oregon Pacific Coast in May.

 

[mynchiboy]

Re:

Is yours an 18/15" or a 19/17"?
Have near 2000 miles on mine this year. Flew it out to Portland and bikes the Oregon Pacific Coast in May.

Mine's a 19"/17", which just about works perfectly. My other half is around 5'8 and seems to like the bit of extra room, I think the 15" may have been a bit small for her... Seeing your own (and others) on this site in the past were something of an inspiration, I didn't think that I would find one that easily on this side of the pond though!

To answer the question, I ended up carrying it in a van when collecting. Some thought may be required when using vehicles, as we have a little car - I guess we will just have to ride it everywhere. Oh well...

With a bit of luck I'll have it out again tomorrow morning