Wheels, like any component on your tandem can be changed.
Sweet 16s are well-liked/hyped by Santana. It is their (and Shimano's) design and only made in 160mm spacing. Sort of puts you in a box that you cannot escape from when problems arise . . .
There are others, just as nice, and even lighter/just as good (if not better) wheelsets out there that can be considered.
Calfee features a set on Topolino wheels (24 spokes front, 30 rear) weighing around 1383 grams for the wheelset, with kevlar coated carbon spokes on his 'show' tandem that are technically not approved for tandem use. The rear wheel has been reconfigured to fit a tandem and has been successfuly tested by a very agressive team that has busted several other wheelsets. So far, these Topolinos have survived thousands of miles of very rigirous riding. Now if only Topolino would come up with a ready-out-of-the-box tandem wheelset it would nake my day!
We run a set of nice, light wheels that do not have the bling/low spoke count appeal that some riders want. Velocity Aerohead rims, Chris King hubs, DT Revolution spokes, 32H front, 36H rear. Yes, we could make those a tad lighter at a higher $ by using ti-spokes or use ti-spokes with the rainbow anodizing for more $ to ad some real visual effect.
A set of light tandem wheels now costs as much as some lower tech introductory tandems!
We all have our likes/dislikes/opinions, but in the end your budget will dictate what you perceive to be the best/nicest/lightest/blingest set of wheels for your team's tandem usage.
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem