Originally Posted by
quemazon
As I was going through the mental gymnastics of how to upgrade an old tandem, I came across "boost QR" hubs, which are used on some new mountain bikes. They are regular skewer quick release axles with a hub spacing of 141mm. I don't know what the axle diameter is, so I'm not 100% sure they'd work on older tandems. Has anyone here tried it? They seem like the answer to prayers of the all owners of pre-2000 tandems.
I think a modern boost QR hub could give an old tandem new life. Specifically, steel tandems with 140mm QR should readily fit a 141mm QR hub. The axle diameters are the same. The DT Swiss 350 Hybrid hub is a tandem-friendly hub that's a good candidate for conversion from 148mm TA to 141mm QR. There may be workable hub options from Chris King, Industry Nine, White Industries, Hope.
Another option is replacing the axle on a relatively modern QR hub. We're using a Shimano SLX rear hub with Wheels MFG axle (and 10mm of spacers) on our 145mm QR tandem. I built a wheel with than hub three years ago as a low-cost way to try out 650b wheels and tires on our 1997 Trek tandem. That frame is gone, but the wheels are still going strong.