Originally Posted by
Monoborracho
I'm doing some reworking on the Burley tandem we bought a few months ago. We now have about 300 miles together. I'm thinking of going to a set of wide road bars rather than the mountain handlebar setup. Since I started riding mountain bars again the carpal tunnel symptoms have shown up once more in my right hand. I have a set of Shimano R-600 (Ultegra grade) brifters and could convert the bike to 9 speeds and brifters pretty easily.
Of course the brifters won't pull enough cable on the existing V-brakes without travel mates.
So if you were starting from scratch, would you put cantilevers or V-brakes on your tandem?
And, if you want cantilevers, would you use the newer shorter arms or the retro type with the longer arms that can be somewhat easier to adjust?
Thanks
Cantilevers. I've had 20+ years virtually maintenance-free with the canti's on my touring single. There was no question when outfitting the tandem.
As far as the arm length, the one thing to be aware of, is whether the stoker's heel gets close to the brakes. May or may not be an issue.
Also, the amount of pull is a function of the bit of cable that goes from one side to the other, and the angle it makes. Check for interference with fenders and rack mounts.