Originally Posted by stapfam
... we have yet to break a straight gauge s/s spoke, even though we were told that Double butted were stronger.
That's because you're riding a 26" fat-tired off-road tandem... Straight gauge spokes are fine for off-road applications but for road tandems running narrow, high-pressure tires on 700c wheels, double-butted spokes will produce a wheel that -- all other things being equal -- will be more resistant to spoke breakage due to metal fatigue not necessarily "stronger".