Tinkernation: Let the Fun Begin

My first Tinkernation post is online!  I'm pretty stoked about it.  Also, now that the cat's out of the bag, I can unveil the project that I'll be working on for this 3-part series:  rehabbing an old Columbia Twosome tandem.  My first post is pretty short and sweet; I just wanted to introduce the project bike and say a few things about my humble background as an amateur bicycle mechanic and blogger.  Though I think all of my posts will be pretty brief.  I don't want to seem long-winded, and I'm not a very skilled photographer, so I'll only be including the images necessary to illustrate the main points of each post.

For loyal readers of this blog, here's a little inside scoop to accompany the Tinkernation post.  First off, when I started searching out a tandem, an upright, cruiser-style bike is not what I had in mind.  I was more interested in finding an old Burley mountain tandem or something along those lines.  But one thing I learned very quickly is that tandems are expensive.  Plus, I was working on a bit of a deadline with the launch of Tinkernation looming.  I found this Columbia Twosome on CraigsList, and after exchanging a few emails with the owner, decided that I was getting a good deal on a great-looking bike.

Astute observers may have noticed that the tandem has a rear fender, but is missing the front fender.  Funny story; I tore that front fender off trying to get the bike loaded onto my car to bring it home.  I decided to take the front wheel off before throwing the bike on top of my car.  But the washer that should've been between the axle nut and the fender strut, which allows the axle nut to turn freely, was instead between the fender strut and the hub.  So when I turned the axle nut, the fender strut turned as well, bending it until the axle nut finally broke free.  By that time, the fender struts were ruined.  So when I got the bike home, I just threw the damn thing in the trash.  Inevitably, this was the case with the rear fender was well, so it took a trip to curb on trash day too.

My next Tinkernation post should be posted in about a month or so.  Again, I'll be sure and link to the post on this blog when it goes up.  Until then, I'll be continuing with regular updates of the non-tandem-related variety.