gabbatemarco

Hi, I recently acquired this tandem bike, but I have no idea who made it or what year it is from. I was thinking it may be from the early 1900's. It has a feature I've never seen before, when either handle bar is turned, both turn in unison. The front sprocket looks really old. If any one can help, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advanced.

rhm

I can't tell you much about your bike, but you will learn something by looking at the rear hub. I'm assuming it has a Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub; note the model number (most common is AW) and the date code (for example: 48 means 1948). If you can, get a good photo of the hub and of the shifter; the shifter designs changed several times over the years. Most likely your shifter is from the 50's but it could be a later modification to an earlier bike.

Also note the tire size; tire sizes have changed over the years.

Once you have all that information, or as much of it as you can get, post a thread in the Classics and Vintage forum! There are people there who've seen almost everything. Good luck!

CapTandem

I can't tell you much about your bike either, except that it caught my interest and I spent too much time searching the web! I will only add a few observations to the very good advice from 'rhm' above.

I was having my best success on the web looking at antique photos, bicycle history museums, and motorcycle history museums. I see yours as two single bikes with lugged frames joined to make a male-male rear-steer tandem. I'm speculating an 1890's date because of the unique front timing chain and ring. The wire cable and u-bolt connection to the front fork is distinctive, and photos on the web don't have good detail in that area for identification. That the rear drive and chain does not match the front is very curious. A possible later upgrade to a three speed hub would seem likely.