What we have here is a 1975 Gitane Tandem Touring (it could also be 74 or 76) that is looking for a new home to begin the next chapter of its journey.

Tandems need a pilot and a stoker, and although the catalog says “Men’s Ladies Tandem Sport” this “Tandem Touring” is ideally suited for Hers/Hers, His/His, Theirs/Theirs, Hers/His, or any other combo as long as one person is about 6’0 and the other is around 5’6 (give or take a couple of inches).

PRESERVATION BICYCLE NUMBER #2

MAKE: Gitane

MODEL: Tandem Touring

YEAR/AGE: 1975-ish

SIZE: 61cm front, 55cm back (5’11 - 6’3 pilot, 5’4 - 5’8 stoker)

ADOPTION FEE: $100

RECOMMENDED REPAIRS:

New tires, tubes, and cable housing for sure. If it was me, I’d switch out the handlebars for something a little wider and shinier. And lots of new grease! Probably $100 in parts needed unless you decided to build or buy a new wheelset, and then add another $150-300. All of this work could easily be done at BBP, but we’d also recommend some toothbrush cleaning time at home while watching a movie.

BICYCLE HISTORY:

Ok, there’s a registration tag that says City of Boise, but we don’t see a date. Probably mid 70’s, so it was likely born and raised in Boise Idaho. There’s an old school analog odometer that reads out 0412.3, and we can tell that it has been ridden more than that. Our guess is it hit 9999 at least once and started over, so let’s just say it has at least 10,412 miles on it. The lack of rust indicates most of its miles took place in the dry climate of Idaho. We can also tell from the bottomed-out stoker saddle, also pushed all the way forward, that the original stoker was probably around 5’3.

What other stories can we discover from these pictures?

WHO Will ADOPT THIS PRESERVATION BICYCLE AND BECOME THE Second MEMBER OF BBP’s BICYCLE PRESERVATION SOCIETY?

About the Bicycle Preservation Society

THE BICYCLE PRESERVATION SOCIETY IS A PROGRAM THAT ATTEMPTS TO BRING NEW LIFE TO SPECIAL BICYCLES THROUGH STORY TELLING AND MATCH MAKING. EACH WEEK BBP WILL FEATURE A NEW PRESERVATION BICYCLE, WITH DETAILS ABOUT ITS HISTORY, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ITS REVIVAL, AND TIPS FOR THE PERFECT MATCH/RIDER (SIZE OF RIDER AND TYPE OF RIDING).

INTERESTED ADOPTERS WILL FILL OUT A SHORT ADOPTION APPLICATION, PLEDGING TO DO THEIR DARNEDEST TO BRING IT BACK TO RIDING CONDITION AND COMMITTING ADD SOME MORE MILES TO ITS JOURNEY.  WE WILL PRIORITIZE RIDING OVER COLLECTING AND PARTING OUT.