Locks of Sandwich Limited

CYCLE ENGINEERS SINCE 1890

BUILDERS OF “SOUTHERN TANDEMS”

For many, buying a tandem represents a fairly substantial investment and, therefore, it is important to consider all aspects of the intended use of the tandem BEFORE selecting a style - whether first-time buyers or not. For instance, you may have in mind simply occasional fun and fairweather riding (maybe Sponsored Charity rides, Club rides and tours), long distance overseas touring, general home touring, time trials or racing. For some, the intention is to upgrade to a superior or alternative rig and, therefore, their second purchase will reflect this.

We have sent you, with this booklet, a “Need to Know” Questionnaire. From this information, we can ascertain how serious a purchase you have in mind and from there provide an indicative price range and style/design of frame. Indeed, we will discuss your requirements very thoroughly to detirmine whether an off-the-peg or a custom-built rig would be preferable. Or, you may be tempted by one of the various secondhand tandems we have on the premesis.

We are a family run, honest and reliable business. Our Company provides good, impartial advice on all aspects of tandem riding, style/types, gearing, saddles, braze-ons, what can be carried in weight, how best to distribute the weight front and back (taking combined body weights into account), touring requirements, wheel requirements, panniers, kiddie cranks, and last, but not least, what to pay. Our prices are realistic and reasonable. The majority of bona-fide, genuine manufacturers and frame bulders prefer dealing via agents like ourselves, because with our experience and expertise we can sort out your personal requirements, do the design work and put across your problems in their language. Bearing in mind we handle many different tandems, dealing direct with several manufacturers, we will not be persuaded to compromise any personal specification unneccessarily. In fact, our designs have been used by other companies - a recommendation in itself !

The final choice can be affected to some extent by the size of the rig required. For instance, there may be a large disparity between heights/leg lengths of the rider and the “stoker”, or one rider may be disabled in some way. This would mean that the ranges of off-the-peg rigs available are largely rendered unsuitable. On these occasions where alterations are not the best solution or, indeed, not technically possible, we have recommended one of our extensive range of very competitively priced, custom-built rigs, even our “convertibe” trike. Plenty of information available.

All new tandems and tandem frames are delivered directly to us. They go into our tandem workshop to be made ready for the road or, in the case of a complet build, for final assembly. The unit is then either entered into stock and stored awaiting collection or forwarded to you direct. The majority of our customers we see only once - especially those North of London. We have even successfully provided custom-built tandems for people we have never met - dealing entirely by ‘phone, fax and post !

When selecting components for final assembly of tandems built in our own workshops, we tend to use components that are readily available/compatible in the field (UK and overseas). Our range of Stoker Stems is very comprehensive and we are always happy to discuss reasonable modifications to off-the-peg rigs.

We can discuss many other options - cast lugs, carriers (alloy, dog leg, low rider), panniers, saddles of choice, handlebars of choice, grooup set of choice, wheel/hubs, hydraulic brakes, etc. ALL extras are provided at conducive prices and fitting is generally FREE OF CHARGE.

We can advise fully on Kiddie Cranks and Child-back tandems, optional safety rails, trailers and child seats (eg. OK Baby Antares for longer rides).

Our custom frames are all HANDBUILT to customer’s specification - ie virtuallly any size, style, type and colour, but there are obviously a number of more frequently selected designs we can recommend for those who are not too sure. We carry out the final assembly ourselves and supply at surprisingly low cost, a first class tandem that will keep it’s value over many years. Prices are very far ranging but, as a guide, we build three main types or classes of tandem.

“TRY BEFORE YOU BUY”. There are quiet, local roads on which you are welcome to try our tandems before you buy. This makes final seating/stoker positions much more easy to set. There are toilets for customer use and a regular supply of tea and coffee (or soft drinks for youngsters).

Should you live beyond a comfortable distance, good Bed & Breakfast accommodation is available locally to stay overnight for circa £15-£20 per head, or some excellent hotel. Perhaps whilst in the area you might like to take advantage of the location and visit some of the local sights (Dover Castle/Hellfire Corner Tunnels, White Cliffs Experiance, Canterbury Cathedral and many other Ancient Monuments and Musuems).

So, finally, we have not entered the specialist market without the benifit of genuine experience. We really do have a complete Tandem-building Workshop - equipped with lathes, milling and drilling machines. We keep records of each Tandem supplied and, most important, are able to provide a real spares back-up.

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SOUTHERN TANDEMS

Designed and built in Sandwich Workshops

GROUP ONE INTENDED USE: Fun riding, Touring, Weekends, Holidays - the more “Fairweather” type of rider. STYLE: ATB, Touring, Hybrid (general riding) - Standard Design. Suggested off-the-peg rigs include first levels of Dawes, Orbit, Orbita or one of our own design frames. FRAMES: Using Columbus/High Tensile tubing and Haden lugs where required Options include: brake position for extra rim brake lug, two or more sets of bottle bosses, pump pegs where requested, etc. COMPLETE TANDEMS: Final Assembly: Will include Alloy/Steel chainsets, normally Shimano gearing - 18 SIS Wide Ratio, Alloy Rims/Hubs, Touring Tyres. CUSTOM HANDBUILT FRAMESET: £460 CUSTOM HANDBUILT TANDEMOMPLETE: £1,090 OPTIONAL EXTRAS: Featherweight or Economy Carriers, Panniers, Lights, Third Brake Mech (Hub or Rim), particular construction wheels, saddles of choice, etc.

GROUP TWO INTENDED USE: Serious/Touring/Club Riding/longish Tours and some racing/Time Trials. STYLE: ATB, Touring, Racing and Disability Specials. FRAMES: Handbuilt in Reynolds 531 Tubing (including forlk blades), to high standard. Frames will normally include many extras and use bare inner cable runs wherever possible. Braze-ons - bottle bosses, pulleys, pegs, brake lugs, as advised or requested. COMPLETE TANDEMS: Final Assembly: Will include Triple Stronglite 80/100LX Chaninsets, Shimano 18 or 21 Speed SIS Gearing, Sedis Chains, Rear Squared (or dog leg) Featherweight Alloy Touring Carrier, Mavie Rims 40H/48H cross 4, Suzue Hubs - double sized or equivalent, alloy components, 3 brakes front and onebrake to stoker as requested. We can offer top quality, off-the-peg rigs - eg. Dawes Galaxy Twin 531, at around £1,300. Alternatively, for a similar price, but a little more time (say 4 - 6 weeks from design stage to completion), we can build you a custom-built Tandem of your choice to the same quality. DAWES GALAXY TWIN FRAME: £800+ CUSTOM-BUILT FRAMESET: £690 COMPLETE CUSTOM TANDEM: £1,300 OPTIONAL EXTRAS: Lights, Featherweight Front Carrier - platform or low rider, panniers, or any other items over and above the core specification within reason.

GROUP THREE INTENDED USE: Very Serious - Racing, Club Racing, Competition Riding, World Tours, Long Hauls. STYLE: Touring/Hybrid (less ATB), Racing, Ultra-designed Tandems. GRAND TOURING/RACING: Our Company specialises in Tandems handbuilt for Racing or Long Distance Hauls round Britain, etc. Indeed, we have produced several rigs for World Tours - sometimes extending over 2-4 years. Advice on tubing, angles, strength, weight is a pre-requisite of a successfull tour, as, indeed, is the equipment for final assembly. FRAMES: Generally using 531 Tubing throughout or 653 is preferred. Double Marathon Gents Frames are probably one of the strongest/lightest designs. All to high standard and quality finish. Braze-ons (specialist VDO’s, extra braking facilities, cable tunnels/eylets/runs, oversize tubing, drain pipe design, types of forks, etc) are subjects on which we could write ad-infinitum. Full details within specifications when estimating. COMPLETE TANDEMS: For instance, Stronglight Chainsets with SIS Gearing or Groupset of choice, quality chains, saddles to choice, front and rear featherweight carriers, Mavic or other suitable rims and hubs (40H or 48H, using 13g spokes ramped and stressed on premises). SPECIAL GT FRAMESETS: £950 COMPLETE GT CUSTOM TANDEM: £1,590

SOUTHERN TANDEMS

Designed by us and built exclusively for us.
Each size built with the appropriate tubing.

In addition to our own extensive range of tandems, we
can also supply any of the leading brand name tandems, including:

DAWES

ORBIT

PASHLEY

UNIVEGA

ORBITA

K.H.S.

BURLEY

GLOBETROTTER

CANNONDALE