Tandem restoration tidbits: cable guide

One of the first things I did after taking possession of our tandems was a restoration of the cockpit areas that had been changed by the previous owners. Both, the Peugeot and the Routens came  equipped with three brake systems: two rim brakes and a rear drum brake.

Vintage tandems often come equipped with three brake
systems and the rim brakes on a twin lever.

I decided to restore them in the original configuration with the two rim brakes operated from a twin lever on one side, and the drum from a conventional lever on the other side.

Peugeot with 3 brake systems. With non-aero brake levers of the time this
would make for busy air space with all the noodles, if there was no cable
guide.

With the non-aero levers of the time, this makes for busy air space with all the 'noodles'. When looking for ideas on how to organize the cable routing I got inspired by the Specialites T.A. brake cable guide (Velobase).

Cable guide on the Routens tandem. From left to right: Maxi-
Car drum brake, Mafac Racer front center pull, Mafac Racer
rear center pull.

I anyway had already considered to drill the stem to double as brake cable hanger and to do away with the flexy original ones mounted under the headset nut. Combining the two ideas led to the following solution:

DIY cable guide. The shape was inspired by the stem-bolt-
mounted Specialites T.A. cable guides.

Peugeot from the riders perspective. A stainless steel bolt
from the hardware store was modified to a domes shape and
polished to blend into the classic ensemble.

The stem was modified with a stepped bore (at 17 degrees, so that the cable runs parallel to the head tube) to act as brake cable hanger, a M5 tapped hole for the cable guide stem plate, and another M5 tapped hole for the Crane bell.

Cockpit of our Routens Tandem: Belleri stem JPR handlebar, Specialites T.A.
- style DIY cable guide, Crane bell. The stem was drilled in three places:
(i) to act as front brake cable hanger, (ii) to fix the cable guide, and (iii) to
mount the bell.

To mount the cable guide to the stem, stainless steel bolts from the hardware store were modified to a domed shape and given a high polish finish to blend into the classic look of the ensemble.

Routens: JPR handlebar, Belleri stem, Specialites T.A. - style DIY cable guide.

Peugeot: BLB Stem, 'Guidons Philippe Atax Professionel' handlebar, DIY
Cable guide. From left to right: rear cantilever, front cantilever, Atom rear
hub brake.

As a last little detail, the two brake cable housings coming from the twin brake lever were tied with stainless steel wire, in order to keep them organized without recurring to cable ties.

The brake cable housings coming from the twin lever were tied with stainless
stel wire, in order to keep them organized without recurring to cable ties.

If you would like to receive the pdf pattern for a jigsaw exercise or a dxf for laser cutting, drop me a line (contact).