650b wheels, get on it.

User avatar
skull
Posts: 2087
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:48 pm

650b wheels, get on it.

Postby skull » Mon Dec 16, 2013 7:47 pm

Just ordered some 27.5s to upgrade my current machine.

Excited.

My current ride is a 26 Cannondale Scalpel, after doing a bit of reading I found out that 650bs fit. So I bit the bullet and got a set made up. Stans Crests with a lefty hub at the front and DT Swiss 240 rear. Tyre choice is Pacenti quasi-moto 2.0, I'll see how they go and I have also had a look at RRs if I don't like the pacentis.

Next upgrade will be in about 12 months time and I am going to change the driveline to X01.

Then hopefully around the same time some cheap 26 carbon leftys come online. Once I have that it will be a bike custom paint and one fully spec'd mean light weight xc machine. I might even up the wheels to a lighter set then. Depending on the wheel weight limits (currently sitting at 85kg).

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby trailgumby » Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:48 pm

Photos or it didn;t happen! :P

Cannondale Rush is another great candidate for 650B conversion. Saw one recently going past on a trail maintenance day at Manly Dam, done by the crew I bought my Scalpel from. I pulled the rider up (not literally :oops: ) and got chatting. It looked great!

Stan's hoops are excellent. Very happy with the ones on my Scalpel 29er. To go one better you'd need to go carbon rims I reckon.

User avatar
Mugglechops
Posts: 3037
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:51 pm
Location: Wagga

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby Mugglechops » Mon Dec 16, 2013 11:29 pm

I know a few guys who have gone 650b and love it.

Some have been on them for a few years now.

User avatar
skull
Posts: 2087
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:48 pm

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby skull » Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:28 am

Photos will be up when wheels are built and arrive.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby singlespeedscott » Mon Dec 23, 2013 8:12 am

Mugglechops wrote:I know a few guys who have gone 650b and love it.

Some have been on them for a few years now.
How do they compare to 29ers?
Image

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby trailgumby » Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:02 pm

Not as quick. More nimble. That's the word according to Enduro magazine who did a back to back test of all 3 wheel sizes on the same model steel hardtail from Jamis.

There was a slight geometry difference on the 650b that made it more playful on deacents, but a good comparison nonethelesss.

26er was the most agile but also the most nervous descending and didn't roll over stuff as well as the other two.

All exactly as you'd expect

Sent from my android thingy using Crapatalk

mitzikatzi
Posts: 1916
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Perth

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby mitzikatzi » Mon Dec 23, 2013 7:26 pm

What really were the strengths of the third dimension? Nothing conclusive was deduced so Santa Cruz welded up a new mule with geometry and a fork suited to 650b wheels. They then test rode the 26” and 650b side by side. There was still no clear winner,
from here

User avatar
Duck!
Expert
Posts: 9858
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 8:21 pm
Location: On The Tools

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby Duck! » Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:55 pm

trailgumby wrote:Not as quick. More nimble. That's the word according to Enduro magazine who did a back to back test of all 3 wheel sizes on the same model steel hardtail from Jamis.

There was a slight geometry difference on the 650b that made it more playful on deacents, but a good comparison nonethelesss.

26er was the most agile but also the most nervous descending and didn't roll over stuff as well as the other two.

All exactly as you'd expect
Another way to summarise the findings (I read the same article when it was published a while ago) is that the 27.5 isn't the best at anything, but on balance it's the best for everything.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

User avatar
ldrcycles
Posts: 9594
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:19 pm
Location: Kin Kin, Queensland

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby ldrcycles » Tue Dec 24, 2013 6:57 am

650B is the best for convincing people they need to buy a new bike :P .
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

Road Record Association of Australia

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby singlespeedscott » Tue Dec 24, 2013 8:29 am

ldrcycles wrote:650B is the best for convincing people they need to buy a new bike :P .
True
Duck! wrote:Another way to summarise the findings (I read the same article when it was published a while ago) is that the 27.5 isn't the best at anything, but on balance it's the best for everything.
I to read this same article awhile back. I was just wondering whether any on here may have had ridden both sizes themselves.

By the way lets start a revolution and not become victims of American marketing, like we did with 29er's, and call it 650B. Its been called this since the 1930's so lets keep it this way :D
Image

User avatar
Duck!
Expert
Posts: 9858
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 8:21 pm
Location: On The Tools

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby Duck! » Tue Dec 24, 2013 8:38 am

singlespeedscott wrote: By the way lets start a revolution and not become victims of American marketing, like we did with 29er's, and call it 650B. Its been called this since the 1930's so lets keep it this way :D
Why? It bears absolutely no relationship to the actual wheel diameter, with or without tyre. :?
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby Mulger bill » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:26 pm

Duck! wrote:
singlespeedscott wrote: By the way lets start a revolution and not become victims of American marketing, like we did with 29er's, and call it 650B. Its been called this since the 1930's so lets keep it this way :D
Why? It bears absolutely no relationship to the actual wheel diameter, with or without tyre. :?
Isn't there some formula involved in creating the number?, pretty sure no bike wheels are actually the stated size. :?
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

trainedmonkey
Posts: 62
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:55 pm
Location: Brisbane

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby trainedmonkey » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:36 pm

I just bought a 650b Norco Sight. It's a sweet ride. I feel like it's made me a better rider and Strava confirms that I'm much faster than on my old 26" bike. I test rode a 29er before buying the Sight but didn't like it as much.

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby singlespeedscott » Tue Dec 24, 2013 3:06 pm

Duck! wrote:
singlespeedscott wrote: By the way lets start a revolution and not become victims of American marketing, like we did with 29er's, and call it 650B. Its been called this since the 1930's so lets keep it this way :D
Why? It bears absolutely no relationship to the actual wheel diameter, with or without tyre. :?
Neither does 27.5", but at least the rim size is 650B regardless of what size tyre you choice to use, be it a 32mm or a 2.7" :D
Image

Blakeylonger
Posts: 540
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:17 am

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby Blakeylonger » Tue Dec 24, 2013 3:56 pm

Originally the number was the approximate outer diameter of the tyre, the letter denoted tyre height/width.

If you want to be pedantic, then just use BSD instead. 559/584/622.

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby singlespeedscott » Tue Dec 24, 2013 7:40 pm

Blakeylonger wrote:Originally the number was the approximate outer diameter of the tyre, the letter denoted tyre height/width.

If you want to be pedantic, then just use BSD instead. 559/584/622.
True. I just don't like American marketing and consumerism.

Strange thing is the letter designation is referring to width. A is narrow, B is medium width and C is wide. Go figure.
Image

User avatar
ldrcycles
Posts: 9594
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:19 pm
Location: Kin Kin, Queensland

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby ldrcycles » Tue Dec 24, 2013 7:51 pm

singlespeedscott wrote:
By the way lets start a revolution and not become victims of American marketing, like we did with 29er's, and call it 650B. Its been called this since the 1930's so lets keep it this way :D
+1.
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

Road Record Association of Australia

User avatar
skull
Posts: 2087
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:48 pm

Re: 650b wheels, get on it.

Postby skull » Sun Feb 16, 2014 2:49 pm

Yip hip hooray.

Guess who has a 650b Cannondale scalpel.

The wheels arrived on Friday. I quickly set them up on the bike to have a look. Unfortunately then had to leave for work and don't get home until Sunday night.

Keen to ride

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users