Published by Tristan on 29 Nov 2008 at 03:29 pm
Stan’s 650b wheel
50b is an intermediate wheel size – it’s bigger than a standard 26″ wheel but smaller than a 29″. 650b wheels are actually as old as the hills; French touring and utility bikes have used this wheel and tyre size for decades however with mountain biking branching out from traditional 26″ wheels it looks like the 650b will be resurrected.
Those who sing its praise claim the 650b has the smooth rolling characteristics of a 29er but without the extra weight and inertia. 650b wheels fit in some 26″ forks (like the Fox F-series this wheel is used in) and there are a handful of manufacturers producing 650b frames.
Tyres seam to be the limiting factor as only a few brands and models are available.
All in all it’s an interesting development but I’m certainly not predicting the demise of the 26″ wheel ;-)
Want more info on 650b? http://650b.com/
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Arleigh on 30 Nov 2008 at 12:16 pm #
Thanks for the link!
Aaron on 30 Nov 2008 at 2:32 pm #
It seems a lot of people are looking for a battle between the three wheels sizes, but I think it’d benefit us all if they all exist equally in the marketplace.
Tristan on 30 Nov 2008 at 6:45 pm #
In many ways I agree Aaron; we’ve had frames, cranks, stems etc which come in many sizes for decades so why not have the option of wheel sizes too?
Of course the downside is for the manufacturers and industry who have to design, produce, and stock yet another ‘standard’ – it’s no surprise that there are few companies jumping on the bandwagon.
29″ wheels became popular because they share the same 622mm diameter as standard 700c road bike wheels. There were already a good selection of rims and (to a certain degree) tyres available so there was the ability to use road / touring rims and wide touring tyres to get the ‘standard’ started, then as more manufactures got behind it the number of choices has skyrocketed.
With 650b the whole ‘standard’ had to start essentially from scratch as there were no high-quality parts available.
I’ve yet to ride a 650b bike but I’d love to give one a go as I think the concept does have merit.
KP650B on 02 Dec 2008 at 9:26 am #
Congrats Tristan,
I think you’ll find the 650B wheel a top performer when you get a chance to give it a go.
Tires are still a bit hard to come by, but I am fully stocked and doing my best to keep riders well supplied with my Neo-Moto and Quasi-Moto tyres.
After chatting with Kenda today it sounds like their 2.3 and 2.1 Nevegals will be shipping to distributors next month. Schwalbe, IRD, WTB also have tires that have just begun to ship as well.
With 5 brands of tires and 5-6 rim makers on board, I think the wheel size is off to a good start. Now the only thing missing is a compatible fork from one of the big three.
Cheers,
KP
Tristan on 02 Dec 2008 at 10:43 am #
Hi Kirk
Does using a 29″ fork negate some of the benefits of the 650b wheels? There is a pretty decent selection of 29″ forks now as you know, but for small and medium sized bikes I imagine the fork length and downtube clearance is an issue?
With your own tyres plus Kenda, Schwalbe, IRD and WTB it sounds like 650b has found a good foothold!
Cheers,
Tristan
KP650B on 03 Dec 2008 at 2:24 am #
Tristan,
Using a 29er fork does negate some of the benefits of the 650B wheel in my opinion. Of course the suspension performs just as well as any 26″ fork but you end up with a higher bar height and / or less travel.
If the frame was designed correctly there will be no DT / crown interference. 29er forks use the same crowns as 26″ forks and their position relative to the headset and down tube are identical.
The additional fork length makes the front of the bike sit higher, raises the BB and slackens the HT and ST angles a bit. Most of these things can be overcome by adjusting the bar height and moving the saddle up and forward to maintain your body position relative to the BB, but it’s a less than optimal solution.
The good news is that White Brothers makes several 650B specific forks, X-Fusion has OK’d their Velvet fork for use with 650B wheels as has Maverick (with a 15mm travel reducer). The Cannondale Lefty seems to work with no travel reduction needed.
There are several other 26″ specific forks out that seem to work well too; though the manufacturers warn against using them with 650B wheels for saftey / liability reasons. The good news is that there are other 650B specific forks in the works too, but I’m not at liberty to discuss the details at this time.
Cheers,
KP