"brevettata" tandem?

I'm trying to chase down the provenance of a bike I haven't seen yet.

At a guess, I google-translated the name, and (as many of you know) it
means "patented" in the land of Giros and Fiats.

Any ideas what make of tandem would likely be misidentified this way? Or
is it a real marque?

I hope to take a look at it fairly shortly.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
I'm trying to chase down the provenance of a bike I haven't seen yet.
At a guess, I google-translated the name, and (as many of you know) it
means "patented" in the land of Giros and Fiats.
Any ideas what make of tandem would likely be misidentified this way? Or
is it a real marque?
I hope to take a look at it fairly shortly.

Can't help with your specific problem but it happens all the time.

As in "I have this [part, bike, rim]. It's a "Brevettata" [or "Brevete",
or "SGCG", or "SICC", or "VIA", or "8.8.8." or by "Pat Pending", the
industrious Irishman who made so many things. . .] Can you fix those?".

He has no idea what it is. He looked at a part marked -
Brevettata= Patented, Italy
Brevete= Patented, France
SGCG= French engineering society
SICC = Italian version
VIA= Japanese Vehicle Industry Association, a qualitative certification
8.8.8. = Suntour trademark, Shimano's is 3.3.3.

Good luck with your tandem, whatever it may be!
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Mar 6, 10:38 am, A Muzi wrote:
Ryan Cousineau wrote:
I'm trying to chase down the provenance of a bike I haven't seen yet.
At a guess, I google-translated the name, and (as many of you know) it
means "patented" in the land of Giros and Fiats.
Any ideas what make of tandem would likely be misidentified this way? Or
is it a real marque?
I hope to take a look at it fairly shortly.

Can't help with your specific problem but it happens all the time.

He has no idea what it is. He looked at a part marked -
Brevettata= Patented, Italy
VIA= Japanese Vehicle Industry Association, a qualitative certification

Well, that at least explains why it says that on Shimano parts .

Good luck with your tandem, whatever it may be!

Thanks, Andrew.

After talking briefly with the seller, it appears to be a pretty old,
probably 3-speed (hub gear) tandem, apparently in lightly-used shape.
It's blue, chrome fenders, some sort of flat or "priest" or typical 3-
speed handlebar.

I'm going to see the bike tonight (the price is in my range, and I
just want a "around the park" tandem for me and the missus). I don't
want a bike that will fall apart in a mile, but looks are probably
more important than how many gears it has.

Any general remarks on tandems of this type? Is there likely to be
some freaky Italy-specific issues I might not expect versus, say, an
English or American tandem of the same era?

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
I'm trying to chase down the provenance of a bike I haven't seen yet.
At a guess, I google-translated the name, and (as many of you know) it
means "patented" in the land of Giros and Fiats.
Any ideas what make of tandem would likely be misidentified this way? Or
is it a real marque?
I hope to take a look at it fairly shortly.

A Muzi wrote:
Can't help with your specific problem but it happens all the time.
He has no idea what it is. He looked at a part marked -
Brevettata= Patented, Italy
VIA= Japanese Vehicle Industry Association, a qualitative certification

wrote:
Well, that at least explains why it says that on Shimano parts .
After talking briefly with the seller, it appears to be a pretty old,
probably 3-speed (hub gear) tandem, apparently in lightly-used shape.
It's blue, chrome fenders, some sort of flat or "priest" or typical 3-
speed handlebar.

I'm going to see the bike tonight (the price is in my range, and I
just want a "around the park" tandem for me and the missus). I don't
want a bike that will fall apart in a mile, but looks are probably
more important than how many gears it has.

Any general remarks on tandems of this type? Is there likely to be
some freaky Italy-specific issues I might not expect versus, say, an
English or American tandem of the same era?

Send photos to me or some other doddering old bikie for a general
assessment. Or, better, post some photos for RBT review! There aren't
simple guidelines but we can help you avoid known or obvious troubles.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

"A Muzi" a écrit:

Brevettata= Patented, Italy
Brevete= Patented, France
SGCG= French engineering society

I think you might be thinking of SGDG, "Sans Garantie du Gouvernement", a
disclaimer issued by the state meaning that the granting of a patent is not
an endorsement of fitness for purpose:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans_ga...u_gouvernement

James Thomson

"A Muzi" a écrit:
Brevettata= Patented, Italy
Brevete= Patented, France
SGCG= French engineering society

James Thomson wrote:
I think you might be thinking of SGDG, "Sans Garantie du Gouvernement", a
disclaimer issued by the state meaning that the granting of a patent is not
an endorsement of fitness for purpose:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans_ga...u_gouvernement

Yes, a typo, sorry.
Thank you
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

"A Muzi" a écrit:
Brevettata= Patented, Italy
Brevete= Patented, France
SGCG= French engineering society

James Thomson wrote:
I think you might be thinking of SGDG, "Sans Garantie du Gouvernement", a
disclaimer issued by the state meaning that the granting of a patent is not
an endorsement of fitness for purpose:
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans_ga...u_gouvernement

I just read the article. I was wrong, it is not similar to SICC at all.
Thank you _very _ much.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

In article ,
A Muzi wrote:

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
I'm trying to chase down the provenance of a bike I haven't seen yet.
At a guess, I google-translated the name, and (as many of you know) it
means "patented" in the land of Giros and Fiats.
Any ideas what make of tandem would likely be misidentified this way? Or
is it a real marque?
I hope to take a look at it fairly shortly.

A Muzi wrote:
Can't help with your specific problem but it happens all the time.
He has no idea what it is. He looked at a part marked -
Brevettata= Patented, Italy

I'm going to see the bike tonight (the price is in my range, and I
just want a "around the park" tandem for me and the missus). I don't
want a bike that will fall apart in a mile, but looks are probably
more important than how many gears it has.

Any general remarks on tandems of this type? Is there likely to be
some freaky Italy-specific issues I might not expect versus, say, an
English or American tandem of the same era?

Send photos to me or some other doddering old bikie for a general
assessment. Or, better, post some photos for RBT review! There aren't
simple guidelines but we can help you avoid known or obvious troubles.

Well, you can't help me avoid trouble now that I've bought the bike!

It turns out it was...a 20"-wheeled folding(ish) tandem!

http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/

Note graceful curved, integral rack/rear end.

http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/

Here's the head badge ("G") and frame sticker.

http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/
http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/

Sorry about the taken-in-haste (repent at leisure) photos.
There's another badge that is all but obliterated, except for some faint
traces of the Italian tricolour. The notorious "BREVETTATA" badges were
just under the seatpost clamps on both seat tubes.

Cottered cranks, Aprilia (!) lighting system driven by a sidewall
generator, Carnielli (?) saddles. The strange hanging dropouts seem to
have a "C" cut into them (the second photo shows the mirror-image one on
the left side)

The frame has a proper split-shell eccentric front BB, and all the
frame's folding points (seatposts, hinge, bars, stem) have 8mm hex bolts
in them.

The brakes are Sturmey-Archer drums front and rear. The rear is an AB
(cable-operated drum) 3-speed hub stamped "70", which should be the
production year. Hub seems in good order, but only one gear is available
right now. That's the first order of business.

The shifter is mounted on the stoker's seatpost.

The "keel tube" is a pair of parallel bolted-in tubes about the same
diameter as the rear rack/triangle/whatever tubing. The rear "triangle"
also appears unboltable, though you'd have to be trying to fit this
sucker in a Cinquecento to want to do so, I suspect.

It's shopworn, but obviously lightly used. It looks cute and amusingly
retro. It should hold up well for around the park. The frame appears to
be braced in all the likely failure points, and construction is by
indifferent-looking welds.

C$220 took the whole thing away.

So, what is it?

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

On Mar 7, 2:07 am, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
A Muzi wrote:





Ryan Cousineau wrote:
I'm trying to chase down the provenance of a bike I haven't seen yet.
At a guess, I google-translated the name, and (as many of you know) it
means "patented" in the land of Giros and Fiats.
Any ideas what make of tandem would likely be misidentified this way? Or
is it a real marque?
I hope to take a look at it fairly shortly.

A Muzi wrote:
Can't help with your specific problem but it happens all the time.
He has no idea what it is. He looked at a part marked -
Brevettata= Patented, Italy
I'm going to see the bike tonight (the price is in my range, and I
just want a "around the park" tandem for me and the missus). I don't
want a bike that will fall apart in a mile, but looks are probably
more important than how many gears it has.

Any general remarks on tandems of this type? Is there likely to be
some freaky Italy-specific issues I might not expect versus, say, an
English or American tandem of the same era?

Send photos to me or some other doddering old bikie for a general
assessment. Or, better, post some photos for RBT review! There aren't
simple guidelines but we can help you avoid known or obvious troubles.

Well, you can't help me avoid trouble now that I've bought the bike!

It turns out it was...a 20"-wheeled folding(ish) tandem!

http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/

Note graceful curved, integral rack/rear end.

http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/

Here's the head badge ("G") and frame sticker.

http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/

Sorry about the taken-in-haste (repent at leisure) photos.
There's another badge that is all but obliterated, except for some faint
traces of the Italian tricolour. The notorious "BREVETTATA" badges were
just under the seatpost clamps on both seat tubes.

Cottered cranks, Aprilia (!) lighting system driven by a sidewall
generator, Carnielli (?) saddles. The strange hanging dropouts seem to
have a "C" cut into them (the second photo shows the mirror-image one on
the left side)

The frame has a proper split-shell eccentric front BB, and all the
frame's folding points (seatposts, hinge, bars, stem) have 8mm hex bolts
in them.

The brakes are Sturmey-Archer drums front and rear. The rear is an AB
(cable-operated drum) 3-speed hub stamped "70", which should be the
production year. Hub seems in good order, but only one gear is available
right now. That's the first order of business.

The shifter is mounted on the stoker's seatpost.

The "keel tube" is a pair of parallel bolted-in tubes about the same
diameter as the rear rack/triangle/whatever tubing. The rear "triangle"
also appears unboltable, though you'd have to be trying to fit this
sucker in a Cinquecento to want to do so, I suspect.

It's shopworn, but obviously lightly used. It looks cute and amusingly
retro. It should hold up well for around the park. The frame appears to
be braced in all the likely failure points, and construction is by
indifferent-looking welds.

C$220 took the whole thing away.

So, what is it?

--
Ryan Cousineau /
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I've had a couple of those gimmicks in the non-tandem version. One
said that it was made by Bianchi, and made in Italy. I've had another
one with identical construction that bore some Frenchy name I can't
recall.

All I can say is that what they had in style they lacked in any sort
of torsional rigidity. They're commically flexy, from the handlebars
on down, so doubling up on one, ESPECIALLY as a single speed...if you
see anything that looks like a hill, head in the other direction.

Keep an eye on them quick releases, especially the one that holds the
stem in place. The ones on my bikes were an insult to Tullio.

With all that said, it'll be a funny little ride and will def raise
some smiles.

/s

ps: Oh yeah, I don't believe that ANY of those parts followed any kind
of standard, so don't leave it out in the snow

Ryan Cousineau wrote:

Well, you can't help me avoid trouble now that I've bought the bike!

It turns out it was...a 20"-wheeled folding(ish) tandem!

http://flickr.com/photos/rcousine/41...n/photostream/

Durndest looking thing. Are those front and rear drum brakes? Good
thing that it won't be able to climb worth a damn, because trying to
stop with those on a downhill would be interesting. But it will
certainly get some attention.

--

David L. Johnson

Enron's slogan: Respect, Communication, Integrity, and Excellence.