Fiore Tandem Part 2: Cleaning & Ordering Parts

I'm trying to get a quick-turn around on this bike so Dan and Meagan can enjoy this bike while the weather is so nice. I ordered the following parts:







 
Chain - measure your cassette and chain ring widths to figure out the size of chain you need. There are 2 common sizes (3/32" and 1/8"). Just take a ruler and measure the inside width. A 1/8" chain is wider than a 3/32" so it will fit on a 3/32" crank but will be nosier and will probably not work with a derailleur. It is best to stick with the same size throughout your whole drive train. The other major option with chains is buying a single speed or multi-speed chain. The difference for these chains is in the construction, multi-speed chains are made to allow the chain to transfer from gear to gear. The do this by having beveled edges and more flex in the links. If you are doing a single speed or fixed gear conversion (like me) they also make 3/32" for single gears, but they are a bit harder to find.

Saddles - Riding tandems are all about style in my opinion. I think it is very important for both riders to match. So I got them so remakes of some retro mattress spring seats. I really like the look of these saddles (also on Ash's Huffy rebuild) and they are the right price, ~$15 each.

Handlebar Grips - to keep the matching theme going, plus the style of grips they had on there get kind of sticky with age. More remakes of retro style handle bar grips. With combined shipping only $6 a pair.

All the other parts on the bike just needed some good cleaning. The good news was the rust on this bike was pretty fresh so it was pretty easy to clean. For this job I just used 0000 steel wool, PB Blaster penetrating oil and elbow grease. For a few spots that were very stubborn I used the Stainless Steel brush. Then the whole bike gets cleaned with Pledge ( I read about this one in Bicycling magazine, it leaves a protective finish).

The last thing, I told Dan and Meagan that since they live in North Park. They will make their money back from this bike restore in no time thanks to the discounts from SD Bike Commuter.

Step 1 - Dissemble & Document



Step 3 - Assemble & Ride