Not a lot of movement on the tandem front lately, but I picked up a front hub now – a 48 hole Quando disc hub with a solid bolt-through axle. So I am now kind of committed to the 48 spoke format. I have read mixed reviews on the Quandos at MTBR.com but these seem to have nice smooth bearings and look well made so I’m prepared to take the risk. As ever the negative comments seem to come from people with minimal mechanical knowledge, I am sure a lot rests on setup and maintenance.
I have not yet had a proper look at these ones so I don’t know if they are sealed or cup and cone. They look like sealed to me but the online reviews suggest cup and cone. Anyway they run smooth so that’s the main thing.
I am still planning on 650B rims and a generally retro look apart from the drivetrain. It will have modern disc brakes and probably modern gears although I may yet be tempted to go for retro friction gears – for a start I can get top end kit way cheaper and secondly I’m quite happy using friction shift.
I must take a few photos, my blog is looking a bit dull…
Just found this article on DIY tandem drivetrains by John S Allen, one of the posthumous torchbearers for Sheldon Brown. I am now convinced to build my own single sided drivetrain for the tandem.
And an interesting discussion on the pros and cons of disc brakes on tandems – I am still going to use discs, but I’ll take some pointers as to which discs to use.
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