Tandems.co.uk

On our current tandem we have the classic set-up of an Arai drum drag brake operated by the captain on a bar-end friction gear lever on drop bars.
We have used this on fairly tough trips, including a camping traverse of the Pyrenees.

Sadly that tandem has had a run-in with Ryanair baggage handlers plus is very old (Peugeot circa 1983) so I think it might be time to retire it (I don’t think I can get a replacement headset for it at all for example).

I’m now thinking about a new tandem with a rear disc as the main rear brake (though have some worries about the heat capacity / dissipation of the disc) with a rear rim brake as the emergency / 3rd brake.

But how should these 3 brakes best be controlled?  I’d like to keep all brakes under the captain’s control.  Robin Thorn proposes a number of options for both drop and flat bars on his Rohloff hub geared tandems:  http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/thornpdf/ThornRavenTwinBroHiRes.pdf Despite years on a drop bar tandem I’m leaning towards flat bars.

Any opinions?  Would option 1 (two left hand brake levers on flat bars) work on a derailleur geared tandem with STI shifters?  I like the idea of being able to alternate back brakes if I want.

Or should I trust my stoker with a brake lever?

Thanks,

Digby Symons

Digby,

We have a Santana tandem with a 10 inch hydraulic disc at the back and ‘V’ brakes front and rear.  The Captain operates the front brake and the disc whilst the Stoker operates the back rim brake when instructed to

Braking is never a problem with the disc even during long touring decents though it does get really hot and noisey at times.  I cadence brake alternate front and back with the back doing the lions share.  On really long hills I get the stoker to apply her brake occasionally just to let the disc cool a bit.

I think the trend these days is for cable discs over hydrhaulic on a tandem, purely because they are simpler if you are miles from anywhere and something gives way.

Hope this helps,

imp

Just get two decent big disks and forget the third brake.

We run with hope M4s front and rear and very rarely found wanting.  If they start to overheat you can feel the lever feel alter giving you warning to either stop and let them cool or just to brake with one of them until the overheated one cools.

You should have your most powerful brake on the front as then you can load up the front tyre and get good braking without skidding.  75 % of the available braking force is at the front.

Thanks for the comments.

We tried some bikes at JD cycles this weekend - very friendly and helpful.

The braking set up I liked best was on the “Routier Pro”: flat bars, main brake levers operating front V and rear disk and with the 3rd brake a V brake operated by a left hand thumb shifter.  I was impressed with how powerful the 3rd brake was operated like this and with the control in that position found it very easy to use.  It is very easy to use and control all 3 brakes at once if you wish.  Handy for steep descents into Ilkley!

Digby

Now we come to who controls the third brake.
Well as far as I can see, only the CAPTAIN can control the
the third brake,.
Its his/her responsibility to ensure safe passage of the
vehicle to its destination.

If the stoker got hold of the third brake
I would spend all my time in port

Hi,

On our outfit, we are a team (I know this to be true, because the Stoker says it is ).  I wouldn’t want to take total responsibility just as much as my wife wouldn’t want to abdicate it.

Yes, the Captain has most of the controls (all except the third brake - see my earlier post), but the Stoker looks after traffic and signaling, (oh and answers the phone and reads the map).  We both pedal just as hard (woe betide the casual observer who shouts ‘she’s not pedalling’.

After only 4 years of riding we instinctively know when to change gear and when to brake.  I would descend faster then she prefers, but it’s both our necks on the line and I figure there are no minor accidents on a tandem.  (Having said that we managed over 50mph on Sunday and both agreed the thrill was worth the risk).  In fact we did 142 miles over moderately lumpy terrain at an average of over 16mph with no incidents and no disagreements.

Works for us!

imp