Originally Posted by
datlas
BITD tandems had 36F40R. Likely overbuilt.
I recall my first "real" road bike had 32H F/R which I thought was hot stuff compared to the default 36H.
Our first 4 tandems had 48°R and 40°F. My early ‘80s TT wheels were 28°, racing were 32° and training were 36°, all tubular, Cotton for training and silk for racing.
We did stage race our tandem a couple times and used 36° road wheels. They only made it through about 5 races each and when they broke, they broke 3-4 spokes at a time. Luckily, we never crashed but a wheel did collapse just past the line of a TT once.