Mrs. Wow have done big miles on our tandem and we are a heavy team - probably 180kg or more. We have also taken luggage - cycle camping luggage. Possibly the most heavily-laden the tandem has ever been was for a tour of East Anglia with Nutkin when we took a tent each. That changed the bike's handling and it took me a mile or two to accustomise myself to the bike's handling.
We had a Schmidt front hub with rim brakes. In the 14000 or so miles that the bike has done, we have only ever broken one spoke.
An old thread I know, but the bearings on our front wheel have gone, and new cones don't seem to be available (HB-M760), so I've been looking at replacing it with a dynohub. SJS are selling the old 32 spoke SON 28 Klassic for £120. From memory, Thorn used to fit this hub (back before it was called Klassic) to their Mk.1 Raven Twins. Is this what you have on your tandem?
We have a Mk.1 Raven Twin with a 32 spoke 26" wheel. We don't cyclecamp, but we are not a lightweight team.
I'm not worried about the spoke count. 32 spokes are clearly enough for the use we make of the bike, given that its the bearings that have worn out.
Its the width of the hub I am concerned about. Do I need the newer SON 28 where the flanges are further apart? Thats what Thorn are selling now as dynohubs for their Raven Twin. They say that the Klassic would be OK on the tandem, but I wondered if anyone one here has any experience with older model.