Originally Posted by
Russ Roth
What hub standard are you using on this? I just sold my cannondale and I'm thinking of using it as the down payment on a new frameset from Harry Havnoonian or someone closer to Long Island where I can get it ordered to my specs. Had me wondering if tandems are starting to come with thru-axle boost rear ends which is only 3mm wider but stronger and incredibly common now or even just 142 which can still be close to evenly balanced though I'd think 148 would be better.
142mm and 148mm thru axle are really common on new tandems. 148mm seems to be more popular for road, gravel, and MTB tandems.
In spite of the nominal dimensions, 148mm thru axle hubs are 4mm narrower than 145mm quick release hubs. 135mm quick release and 142mm thru axle hubs use the same hubshell, bearings, and axles. Similarly 141mm quick release and 148mm thru axle are practically identical. Most hub brands (notably except for Shimano) offer end caps to convert from QR to thru axle or vice versa.
The added stiffness that people associate with thru axles generally comes from the use of stiffer dropouts. Most quick release frames and fork use simple plate dropouts, which are less laterally stiff than the rest of the frame. Thru axle design doesn't work well with plate dropouts, so hooded dropouts or large forged dropouts are de facto required. On suspension forks, the thru axle itself adds a meaningful amount of torsional stiffness.