Originally Posted by stokessd
Our new C'dale road tandem is crappier in many ways than the tandems made 20 years ago. Sure, hyperglide is an improvement, but indexing derailleurs aren't necessarily so.
Sooo…. out of curiosity, why did you buy a “crappier” C-dale tandem?
I’m a retro guy too at heart. But the “crap” sold 20 years ago is as bad, and arguably worse, than the “crap” sold today. SSDD. Other than some very fine custom built frames by guys that knew the craft and the design peculiarities of tandems, it could be argued that, in general, older production frames cannot stand up to today’s production frames. There has been a definite learning curve in tandem frame design and production. And it takes an experienced tandem team to know the differences. Unfortunately, newbies don't have that experience and when they do, they're shopping for a new tandem.
Problems come in bunches when it’s time to replace old parts. That’s the inevitable fork in the road. My point is simply that one is going to spend a threshold amount of money in this sport – either by leaking it out in upgrades or replacements, or by ponying up at the beginning. It’s pay me now or pay me later and the only variable is how much one likes the sport. So the challenge for most newbies is to nail that enjoyment factor down for the least amount of money. It's no different than any other sport or hobby.
As for indexed shifting, I agree with you wholeheartedly on the current front (Shimano) brifters. But as much rear shifting as we do, I couldn’t give up a rear brifter now.