Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
I was going to say that the bike is likely very flexy, and not to give up on riding tandems if you find this bike to be uncomfortably flexy.
For a light team that doesn’t ride aggressively, you may find this bike perfectly acceptable. If you’re bigger, or like to hammer, it will likely ride like a wet noodle.
Personally, I think your bike is a cool project, interesting as a vintage bike, and something fun to play with. If you really get into tandems I’d consider trading up to a newer used tandem like a Trek, or Canondale before I put any money into the Gitane
I agree very cool project. Problem for us, with old tandems, is the close stocker spacing, which looks a little close in the pictures above. We rode a 1976 Jack Taylor for many years before changing. Let it sit till the 2016 California l’Eroica inspired us to fix it up. I tried to switch our Sunday rides to classic Sunday’s after, but my wife felt the short rear was just too uncomfortable compared to the modern Calfee.