For salvage sale, Ibis Cousin IT tandem

[Bill Rhea]

I'm very bummed to announce the recent demise of my tandem.  The stoker seat tube sheared through completely just above where it joins the bottom bracket.

Photos here, including the detail photo of the broken seat tube.

I bought this tandem brand new in 1994 when I worked for Wheelsmith in Palo Alto, and it was an awesome family tandem for quite a while. Both my kids rode on the back, and they're grown now.  I've got a Hubbuhubbuh on the way, so this has to go!

• XTR drivetrain
• Specialized cranks
• 26" Mavic M261 rims, 36H, Hugi 8-speed cassette rear hub, Hugi front hub with SS spokes. Pretty much bomb proof!
• Custom stem by Bernie Mikkelsen (I have the original Ibis flat stem also, painted to match that is included)
• Nitto Noodle 48cm bars
• Tektro cantilever brakes
• Ibis custom stoker stem

A skilled builder might be able to replace the seat tube, but it'd be a bit of work and might not be worth the money to do so.

I'm posting to see if anybody is interested in purchasing this complete (minus both seats, the stoker seatpost, and the Sackville bag in the photos).  If not I'll likely part it out, keep some, sell some.

If you know of any builder who might take this on, please let me know.  I'd really love to see it back on the road again, even with a new owner.  Thanks!

Bill Rhea

Napa, CA

[Ray Varella]

Did you ask Bernie if he thought he could repair it?

Ray

[Ken Yokanovich]

Bummer- looks like a really cool tandem. Love my HubbuHubbuH and seems like a lot of trouble to consider buying a whole tandem just because I always wanted the Toe Jam pump peg and Hand Job cantilever brake holder.

- cherishing my Uncle Fester Ibis tee shirt

[Ginz]

Bilenky, but he is in Pennsylvania and you are in California so that’s not ideal.

[Bill Rhea]

Hi Ray,

I would in a heartbeat, he was great to work with!  Brought him a saddle-handlebar distance and height from my Quickbeam for him to replicate on the Cousin IT.  He drew it out and nailed it...

I heard a while back that he had a stroke or something and was not in business, but I can see the website is up so I'll call.  Would love to hear he's OK and still in biz.

Thanks,

-br

[Bill Rhea]

Hi Ken,

LOL, yeah who doesn't like ToeJam (TM) and a good HandJob (TM)!!  (Apologies to the list moderator, I'll try to #BeBetter).

BTW, how do you like your HHH?  My girl and I are beyond excited to pick ours up! Got the very last orange size M.  Riv dug up a pair of prototype threadless Bosco Bullmoose bars for it (!) and I splurged on the brakes (Paul Motolite linear pull in purple anodized).  Big 60cm Schwalbe road tires for extra cush.

As cool as the HHH is I wasn't expecting to have to replace the Ibis, but oh well...  It really does ride wonderfully well, and handles like a pussycat on twisty descents at speed.  It failed in a way that allowed us to get home safely no problem (thank you, steel!).  I figure, WTH, this will be the last tandem I'll buy, knowing we've got maybe another 20 years to ride before I'm too old and crotchety...

Cheers,

-br

[Bill Rhea]

Hi Ginz,

Thanks for the tip, Bilenky does nice work...  But yeah, let's see if maybe I can find a fixer here in CA.

Worst case, I dismantle it and part it out on Ebay (or rebuild those Hugi hubs on 650B rims?)

Best,

-br

[Joe Bernard]

Steve Rex in Sacramento should be able to help if you want to fix that frame. Or Fitz in Santa Rosa..I'm not sure if he normally does repairs but he's a good frame builder.

[Ray Varella]

He’s excellent Bill.
I know he had a stroke a number of years ago and was building after he recovered.
I don’t know about a recent stroke.
He would be my first call for that sort of repair.
I wonder if you could slip a short piece of tubing through the bottom bracket and braze it up?

Mark B. Are you following this?
What is your opinion?

I would seriously consider buying it Bill.

Cheers,
Ray

[Ray Varella]

On Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 8:18:10 PM UTC-7, Bill Rhea wrote:
> I'm very bummed to announce the recent demise of my tandem.  The stoker seat tube sheared through completely just above where it joins the bottom bracket.
>
>
> Photos here, including the detail photo of the broken seat tube.
>
>
>
> I bought this tandem brand new in 1994 when I worked for Wheelsmith in Palo Alto, and it was an awesome family tandem for quite a while. Both my kids rode on the back, and they're grown now.  I've got a Hubbuhubbuh on the way, so this has to go!

> XTR drivetrainSpecialized cranks26" Mavic M261 rims, 36H, Hugi 8-speed cassette rear hub, Hugi front hub with SS spokes. Pretty much bomb proof!Custom stem by Bernie Mikkelsen (I have the original Ibis flat stem also, painted to match that is included)Nitto Noodle 48cm barsTektro cantilever brakesIbis custom stoker stem

>
>
> A skilled builder might be able to replace the seat tube, but it'd be a bit of work and might not be worth the money to do so.
>

>. Here’s the tandem Bernie built for me, years ago

[Will Rhea]

Thanks Joe, I will reach out to him.

Cheers,

-br

On Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 1:31 PM Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

Steve Rex in Sacramento should be able to help if you want to fix that frame. Or Fitz in Santa Rosa..I'm not sure if he normally does repairs but he's a good frame builder.

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[Corwin]

Hi Bill -

Bernie did several things for me about a year or so ago. I also know he did a custom stem for Grant about six months ago. He walks with a limp and his partner does a lot of the setup and stuff Bernie cannot manage with just one hand. He still does excellent work though. And dirt cheap based on my experience.

Namaste,

Corwin

On Sunday, April 12, 2020 at 5:05:10 PM UTC-7, Bill Rhea wrote:

Thanks Joe, I will reach out to him.

Cheers,

-br

On Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 1:31 PM Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

Steve Rex in Sacramento should be able to help if you want to fix that frame. Or Fitz in Santa Rosa..I'm not sure if he normally does repairs but he's a good frame builder.

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[Will Rhea]

Hi Corwin,

Just spoke with Bernie's wife Mel yesterday.  Sent them photos; they're quoting the repair and paint.  Turns out you can still get NOS decals for these! http://chuckibis.com/decals/

I liked working with Bernie for the stem - he had me go buy a strong-looking 1 1/8" quill stem and he then modified it, building the extension and 26.0 clamp.  Great guy, great work, reasonable cost. I'm glad he's still working, I trust him to do a good job, I bet it will be even stronger than before 👍

The plan is to put this up for sale once it's fixed.  If anybody's interested, let me know.... Buyer can pick the color.  It's what they called a Large/Small, but it can fit a pretty broad range of sizes.  I'm 6'3", 90cm PBH and the bars are level with the seat.  My girlfriend is 5'9" but I've had an 8 YO on it before with crank shorteners....I don't know that I'd recommend it for capn's bigger than me, but those with a bit shorter PBH would probably fit it better.

Cheers,

-br

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[Bill Rhea]

Oh my goodness that is a beauty...

Thanks for sharing the photo, Ray!

Just spoke with his wife Mel again. Bernie is going to take on this repair, fillet brazing the new seat tube in and powder coating it.  They quoted a reasonable price that makes this project worthwhile. I'm very stoked about this!

I was also was happy to find original decals on chuckibis.com.

Now to find time to disassemble it and drive it Alameda, hopefully within the next few weeks...

Cheers,

-Bill Rhea

Napa

[Corwin]

Hi Bill -

Great news. Bernie is a great guy. Tried to talk my ears off. Showed me a significant portion of his work via photos.

I would buy your tandem - but I just bought a high-end Hubbuhubbuh a couple months ago. My wife would try to kill me.

Good luck with your sale. Hope your Ibis finds a good home! Good tandems are hard to find.

Namaste,

Corwin

[Bill Rhea]

Thanks Corwin!

Got photos to share of your HHH??

Cheers,

-br

[Chris Corral]

CB cycles in Oakland is very experienced. He apprenticed with Mikkelson for a few years. Doing a lot of repairs these days, and he loves weird projects.

https://www.cbcycles.com/

On Sunday, April 12, 2020 at 5:05:10 PM UTC-7, Bill Rhea wrote:

Thanks Joe, I will reach out to him.

Cheers,

-br

On Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 1:31 PM Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

Steve Rex in Sacramento should be able to help if you want to fix that frame. Or Fitz in Santa Rosa..I'm not sure if he normally does repairs but he's a good frame builder.

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[Rob Kristoff]

So are you going to keep it, Bill? That's a rare and nearly mythical beast! But I imagine storing 2 tandems would be difficult.

Have you gotten in touch with Ibis? Seems like they're pretty active sending out newsletters and such. Maybe they'd want to let Ibisians (as they say) know about your sale?

[Will Rhea]

Hi Rob,

I did get in touch with Ibis, about finding decals (there are! chuckibis.com)

I'm glad it's going to get fixed but I just won't be able to keep it - no room!  But I didn't want to see the frame scrapped and parts cannibalized.

Looking for a good home for it, maybe somebody with young kids coming into it...  I should see if I can find the old crank shorteners for it, and the original Ibis (flat) stem

-br

On Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 7:20 AM Rob Kristoff <robkr...@gmail.com> wrote:

So are you going to keep it, Bill? That's a rare and nearly mythical beast! But I imagine storing 2 tandems would be difficult.

Have you gotten in touch with Ibis? Seems like they're pretty active sending out newsletters and such. Maybe they'd want to let Ibisians (as they say) know about your sale?

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