Wonder #8 started back in 1989 while strolling down an alley behind the fraternity houses near Ohio State University, in Columbus Ohio. I glanced up at a trash dumpster and saw the forks sticking out of the top. Curiosity got the better of me, so I climbed up to have a look. I couldn't believe my eyes! Some idiot was sending a tandem to its final resting place at a land fill! I rescued the frame and dragged it home to begin rebuilding it.
There was nothing but the frame, forks, idler gear, seat posts and rear crankset. I spent a few months gathering parts to get the old girl back on the road. I managed to scrounge up the parts and enough chain to make it a single-speed coaster that looked like it had gone through a war. It was ugly and the head tube was badly damaged so that the forks would rattle, but it moved and I loved riding it! With two people on board it was a chore to start and stop, so when winter came that year I stripped it down and began, unbeknownst to me at the time, the 12-year resurrection (I was pacing myself).
I dragged that frame and a growing pile of parts with me across state lines, through several moves and it out lasted several girlfriends, all of which at one time or another suggested that I scrap my tandem project. Yeah, right! Finally in 1998, I had all of the parts to complete the tandem.
The front forks are black smoked chrome mountain bike forks and are longer than the stock forks. I replaced the head tube with a 2 degree tilt backward to bring the bottom frame tube back to level, giving it a nice rake without looking like a chopper (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and effecting the steering. The rims are 26 inch, diamond dimple rims from an Austrian middle-weight that I also dragged out of the trash and scavenged for parts. The rear rim had a Dreigang Torpedo (Sachs) 3 speed coaster hub and was in good shape, so I left that alone and used the stock ratchet shifter.
The front brakes are a no frills Dia Comp cantilever setup. The seats are El Cheapo Viscount and the handle bars are of the two dollar K-Mart type. I scavenged the front crankset and chain ring from an unidentifiable 20-inch frame that just happened to be the correct length and number of teeth. The frame was stripped and repainted Wild Cherry Red. For finishing touches I replaced the ugly white Western Flyer head badge with a brass '40s-era Western Flyer head badge from an eBay auction, and filled some small
mounting holes with screw on spikes from an old dog collar. Some years back, during my struggle to find the parts to complete the tandem the way I wanted to build it, I contacted a well known tandem expert. I guess he became frustrated with me not having an off the shelf variety tandem. When I told him what I wanted to do, he laughed and said "HA! I would love to see the eight wonder of the world!" That's where the name Wonder #8 comes from.
