[dbg]

I'm rebuilding/upgrading a more road worthy tamdem (my previous tandem rebuilds were schwinn twinn "city cruisers") and discover it (Mel Pinto Special) was previously set up with a single brake lever controlling both the rear rim calipers AND the Atom drum. That doesn't intuitively appeal to me as an appropriate setup. If the drum is meant for scrubbing speed during long descents, I'm not sure why I'd want to tie the rim brake into the same lever. (front brake is rim canti -- which I may convert to V)

Since I don't have three hands, how do I split them up? Does it make sense to put one on the back handlebar (stoker). Maybe I have a separate lever on top of the drops activating the rear hub brake separately.

Suggestions?

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[TandemGeek]

Do not tie them to a single lever. For a tandem with bar-ends and a willing stoker, by all means give the stoker control over the drum either via a simple lever or "occasional" use or preferrably via a bar-end or MTB thumb shifter. If nothing else, a friction-level controlled drum makes for a great parking brake: just remember to flip it off before heading out unless you're looking for a lot of resistance training.

[Retro Grouch]

When I had a drum drag brake I connected it to either a thumb shifter or a bar end. Worked fine.

[zonatandem]

Doublepull brake cables are becoming a bit scarce . . . sold one at the local bike swap last week for $16.
Agree, the better setup is to set up the Atom drum with an indexed thumb or barcon operated by stoker or pilot for occasionl use.
Real finicky to set up doublepull brake . . . set one up for front/rear caliper once and drum via the second lever.