"What are tandem worthy disc brakes?"
Here at Rodriguez, we do things a little differently. Those little differences make a big difference when it comes to something like your brakes. We're now offering a disc brake set-up that can stand up to the demands of the serious tandem team.

Warning for tandem owners:
There are many very good disc brakes out there, but beware! Some brands specifically state in their user manual that they are not to be used on tandem bicycles. This used to include our favorite disc brake, the TRP Spyre. But now, they have approved this design for tandem bikes, and we're thrilled! This will now be our standard offering for tandem disc brakes.

At Rodriguez, we love our customers and want them to be safe on the tandems we build. Nothing spoils the fun like a serious injury:-( Count on us to research stuff like this and build your tandem with products that do not specifically exclude use on such bike:-)

For many years, we found that the dis-advantages to primary disc brakes on a tandem outweighed the advantages that they offered...at least for most of our tandem folks. Well, a couple of advancements have solved one of the major dis-advantages. Though this combination we've come up with does not solve every issue, it does solve several of them. First, it really helps to solve the problem of over heated, warped, noisy rotors that have plagued serious tandem cyclists for many years. For our higher-end tandem customers who want to run disc brakes as their primary brakes, we spec the Avid BB7 mechanical disc brake caliper paired with the 200mm (largest diameter) Swiss Stop rotors. These are much, much better than standard rotors, but are needed for tandem use. The pairing is the one that we feel is worthy of a true recommendation for those customers who ride a lot in the rain (and don't want their brakes to go 'sha-shingggg, sha-shingggg' as they ride).

The Right Rotors for Tandems
Large (203mm), heavy duty rotors that have steel braking surfaces attached to a machined aluminum, heat dispensing spider. The combination is costlier than a standard set-up, but is well worth it on a tandem. As an added benefit, they are also lighter than the standard rotors.

TRP Spyre Dual Piston Calipers
The TRP Spyre is by far our favorite cable actuated disc caliper for tandems. It is a dual piston design, so the calipers on both sides move in and out. Making it much easier to adjust so that there is no noise.