Colson Skiptooth Rear-Steer Tandem

[Georgeediii]

Well I am offically out of my league. I bought this today for $50 with the promise that it would be ridden again. It has been sitting idle at a MT bike shop forever. They have a pic they believe is of this frame hanging in the town's first bike shop. I am working on getting a hold of that.

Anyhoo....

I have been in love with this frame for a while and have lots of ideas but I NEED help. I have never owned a skiptooth before and will need some parts. Also I am not sure the best solution for fabricating something with regard to the fork.

Any help or direction will be greatly appreciated.

 

[ozzmonaut]

Somebody had one of these for sale complete at the last bike show I was at. It all works pretty simply. The trick will be finding a steering sprocket for the front that is the same tooth sount as the rear so that whoever steers in the rear won't miscalculate. Also his used block chain, and I'm not sure how the tooth and pitch design are in comparison to regular skiptooth. Hopefully you can just use skiptooth chain instead of block chain. You did great for $50 and I don't think it will take much to at least get it back in commission. But then again I keep a lot of spare skiptooth stuff around and I'm not afraid to weld things onto the fork or frame, regardless of the value, so I'd probably have it rolling in a day, although it would not be 100% correct and may quite possibly be worh less than the initial $50 investment once I was done. :lol:

 

[El Duderino]

wow. thats crazy that the rear person steers

 

[Wildcat]

You could get it on the road, front steering only, first. Then take your time finding the correct sprocket(s) and chain for rear steering. If there aren't any original type sprockets, a couple sprockets from a kids bike might do the trick. Then standard chain would work also.

 

[subadrew]

that's gonna need a lotta skiptooth chain

 

[Georgeediii]

that's gonna need a lotta skiptooth chain

I have been thinking about that, and I am sure you are correct. I have been looking at it and I am starting to believe that at some point the front and back crank sets swaped positions. Does it look like the one with the double sproket should be in the back to anybody else?

 

[55ColumbiaBuilt]

that's gonna need a lotta skiptooth chain

I have been thinking about that, and I am sure you are correct. I have been looking at it and I am starting to believe that at some point the front and back crank sets swaped positions. Does it look like the one with the double sproket should be in the back to anybody else?

Right you are. And the sprockets of the same size will be linked together by a single chain. That way, they will ways remain in synch with each other. That's important in that you wand your pedals to stay in synch with each other. If the front is up and the rear is down, a wreck will soon follow. Keep that in mind should you choose to go with a conventional chain.

 

[dogdart]

that's gonna need a lotta skiptooth chain

There was one for sale in my area awhile back , but I think it's hard enough to get chains for the bikes I already have :? They are sweet when finished . There's one here http://www.choppernewsnetwork.com/news/ ... er_history

 

[KZ1000]

Here's mine, paid more than twice what you did.

 

[Georgeediii]

Any idea if the tank or the diamond frame came first? I found a serial number on the head tube but it is hard to read and I dont really know where to look that up anyway.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Here's a pic one in the 'Tandem' thread.
http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28909&start=15

Interesting design here..... :roll: The front rider assists the rear, that's the opposite of any tandem layout I've seen. You could ride this bike from the rear by yourself, imagine the looks you'd get! :lol: :lol:

Can't wait to watch the restoration progress!

Cheers,
Dr. T

 

[skoda]

Good grief, those are a lot of expensive parts. Hard enough when you need one, much less, two! That is one amazing bike though.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Here's a pic one in the 'Tandem' thread.
http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28909&start=15

Interesting design here..... :roll: The front rider assists the rear, that's the opposite of any tandem layout I've seen. You could ride this bike from the rear by yourself, imagine the looks you'd get! :lol: :lol:

Can't wait to watch the restoration progress!

Cheers,
Dr. T

Ghostrider takes a whole new meaning.

 

[fatkid]

Any good waterjet/laser shop should be able to duplicate that small sprocket if you show them an example and give them a tracing. If you really get stuck, send me a PM and I will see what I can do to help.

Somebody had one of these for sale complete at the last bike show I was at. It all works pretty simply. The trick will be finding a steering sprocket for the front that is the same tooth sount as the rear so that whoever steers in the rear won't miscalculate. Also his used block chain, and I'm not sure how the tooth and pitch design are in comparison to regular skiptooth. Hopefully you can just use skiptooth chain instead of block chain. You did great for $50 and I don't think it will take much to at least get it back in commission. But then again I keep a lot of spare skiptooth stuff around and I'm not afraid to weld things onto the fork or frame, regardless of the value, so I'd probably have it rolling in a day, although it would not be 100% correct and may quite possibly be worh less than the initial $50 investment once I was done. :lol:

 

[dogdart]

you got a good deal , apparently some people think they are worth much more http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/atq/2659814785.html :shock:

 

[clerkkent]

Are you planning on restoring it, or just getting it to work? If you want to just 'make it work', you could swap out the two cranks (since you have to take them out anyway) with modern tooth sprockets.. that would save you $$$ on chain.

Well I am offically out of my league. I bought this today for $50 with the promise that it would be ridden again. It has been sitting idle at a MT bike shop forever. They have a pic they believe is of this frame hanging in the town's first bike shop. I am working on getting a hold of that.

Anyhoo....

I have been in love with this frame for a while and have lots of ideas but I NEED help. I have never owned a skiptooth before and will need some parts. Also I am not sure the best solution for fabricating something with regard to the fork.
Any help or direction will be greatly appreciated.