TandemGeek

As noted earlier and affirmed in the note back to jbyrne from QBPs Tyler R. McKay, the last production lot has been stuffed onto the shelves of OEM builders and retailers.

I'm not sure what the OEM builders like Co-Motion or Santana are holdling in inventory, but Tandems East has an ample supply of new units that will last for several years. In fact, they may have simply bought up whatever QBP had on hand as Mel's a savy businessman when it comes to such things.

Moreover, and as alluded to in my assessment of how long the existing inventories -- new and used -- may last, because of disc brakes,whatever remaining inventory there is will certainly cover future requirements for the folks who really need a drum brakes as most of the folks sitting on the fence these days opt to fit a rear disc as their belt & suspenders approach to rear brake technology. Again, there are just so darn many of these things that have been sold to teams who ultimately found they didn't need them. So, until the hundreds of new units sitting in inventory are gone and all of those second hand ones are redistributed to those who need them, the 'need' for a replacement may be a few years down the road.... at least for buyers who are willing to investigate.

Looking forward and again as noted earlier, there is some product development on-going that could yield a new drum brake in the future. If it does come to fuition for use on tandems, just don't expect it to be cheap like the Arai. Like most new products, covering development costs on a low-volume product = premium pricing.