# First tandem -Fisher Gemini



## jumpmastermc6 (Oct 14, 2013)

After 20 years of searching, I found a Fisher Gemini for sale and I was able to seal the deal. Everything works and I upgraded saddles to new WTB's and new Grab- On style grips.


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## JokerW (Nov 5, 2004)

Wow, really clean! 
Have fun!


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## whatisaidwas (Apr 26, 2014)

Old thread, but I have to chime in. Jumpmaster sells himself short by calling his bike a Gemini tandem. It is not. This is a cool bike.

What you have there is a Fisher Team Tandem. These are rarer than rare. Yours was made around 1988 by Santana Cycles in Claremont, California. It's actually a custom fillet brazed Santana Picante (their premier model), and was made for Fisher Mountain Bikes. I believe it's Columbus tubing. Geometry is 72.5/73.5/74, 2" of rake. You can find the Santana stamp on the front bottom bracket shell. As far as I know they only made 20 of these. (I have number 5.) Yours was finished a bit later as it has the 1989 decals. In 1989, the few of these that were left were on closeout to Fisher dealers, and they were a great deal. I believe sizes were 20/18 and 18/16, though I may be thinking of the Gemini.

According to the Marin Museum of Bicycling, "Riding a tandem with Sara Ballantyne, Gary [Fisher] and Sara win the tandem category and place 13th overall in the 150 mile Desert to the Sea race." I'm sure it was on one of these Team tandems.

Yours looks very clean, stock except for the bars and stem. Original bars were flat Fisher Bulge bars with Grab-on grips and a yellow roller stem. The Magura brake levers allowed a right hand dual pull setup to activate 2 U-brakes at the rear wheel. The rest of the original group was Deore XT 6-speed, Tange HS, Kajita cartridge BBs, Suntour posts, 36 spoke RM 20s. (VRC/Retrogrouches unite.) If you have any Deore or 7-speed parts on it, those may have been upgraded, or pulled from the 1989 parts picks from the upcoming Gemini tandem.

The Gemini tandem followed this one, and was imported from ___? It has the uptube design like the new Ritchey Breakaway tandem, and shares a similarity with the Tango/Ibis uptubes, but simpler. The Gemini was tig welded, had the press-in bottom brackets, Evolution headset, time trial stoker bars, and oversize posts. Early models still had 3 brakes, though the rear setup was one canti and one U. Later models had only one rear brake, a Suntour SE canti. The Gemini wasn't nearly the art piece the Team was, but it was a more modern style.

If your Team tandem still has the original 1988 Deore XT 6-sp rear hub, beware that it's wimpy. The splines holding the cassette body to the hub body are aluminum, not steel as in later models. Fail. Other than that, this bike will last until the sun goes supernova.

And that's why you have a cool bike.


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## jumpmastermc6 (Oct 14, 2013)

*Fisher Tandem Info*

Thanks for the info!!



whatisaidwas said:


> Old thread, but I have to chime in. Jumpmaster sells himself short by calling his bike a Gemini tandem. It is not. This is a cool bike.
> 
> What you have there is a Fisher Team Tandem. These are rarer than rare. Yours was made around 1988 by Santana Cycles in Claremont, California. It's actually a custom fillet brazed Santana Picante (their premier model), and was made for Fisher Mountain Bikes. I believe it's Columbus tubing. Geometry is 72.5/73.5/74, 2" of rake. You can find the Santana stamp on the front bottom bracket shell. As far as I know they only made 20 of these. (I have number 5.) Yours was finished a bit later as it has the 1989 decals. In 1989, the few of these that were left were on closeout to Fisher dealers, and they were a great deal. I believe sizes were 20/18 and 18/16, though I may be thinking of the Gemini.
> 
> ...


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## jumpmastermc6 (Oct 14, 2013)

First, Thanks again for the info on my bike. You have filled in some of the blank spaces for me. This is the second Fisher Team Tandem I have had the opportunity to ride. The first was owned by a friend of mine in Easton PA around 1989-90 and it had the flat bars and the yellow stem with the roller underneath for the front brake cable. I have photos that I will try to scan and post. I think mine is the smaller of the two sizes. The smaller size is working fine since my ten year old daughter is my stoker. Since Fisher bikes really are a thing of the past I feel I do own a piece of history.


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