650b

[myron]

Can someone please help me understand this whole 650b deal? What,why.........

I asked the LBS,they thought they were road wheels used for reduced weight.

[bianchi79]

From everything I've read, 650b is a touring-style rim that incorperates the cush of the 26" tire with a bit larger diameter for faster speeds. It is apparently fairly common in Europe as much of the touring there is done on older/ancient roads. Rivendale has some cool propaganda on them, but mostly it looks like (in the US, at least) that it is for the guy/gal that MUST be different.(just my opinion...)
I think what you LBS was thinking of was 650c, which is for smaller riders and some tri-bikes.

[rattlecan]

ya know i have the strangest thing with 650 b's. i have a set of old mavic 650b sew up rims. a 650 c tire wont fit on it and a 700 c tire will but you need to glue it on super good.

i was given the set of wheels built up as a track racing set up. i just cut the hubs out and threw away the rims.

i think the whole 650 b thing was just something that was developed before there was a standard wheels size and was left for dead.

now its being brought back to life?

why?

as if 29er stuff isnt hard enough to get.... imagine you have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere what bike shop is gonna have a set of these tires let alone a tube?

are people that indecisive that they cant make up their mind between 26 and 29?

i dont get it.



eric.

[rockyrider]

It's almost like someone's trying to make sure that they can carve out another niche in the oddly specialized bike market. Sheldon's website has the skinny on the rim sizing.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/rims/584.html

[Spalls]

Like a lot of things, it depends on your perspective and circumstance. While much of what has been said above is true and/or makes sense, I am in a situation where the 650B makes sense, at least to me.

I am unreasonably and admittedly emotionally attached to my 1973 Atala road frame - my first real bike. It is extremely comfortable and I have used it for a wide variety of riding. I started riding fenders this past fall and winter for the first time in my life (it has been REALLY wet here the past six months) - just tired of getting soaking feet all the time and don't want to ride with while wearing the Total Body Condom. My frame sizing, although large by today's standards, limits my tire size to about a 700 X 30 with a fender (in back). However, I like to run wider tires on my 'cross wheelset. While I could do some cutting and cajoling and rigging to make it work, the 650Bs offer a solution.

Converting to a 650B pulls the wheels about 19mm back toward the hub, increasing clearance from the chain stays, allowing me to run a wider tire with a fender. That's it. Something that basic is causing me to consider the 650Bs.

Look at all of the variety that is available in bikes, not just in tires, but just about any part. Why complain about 650Bs? As the Rivendell propaganda points out, it lets you extend the life of an older but otherwise perfectly good bicycle. Plus, it's another reason to tinker with your bike between rides.

[2dumb4gears]

650s are common(ish?) on time trial rigs, and road bikes built for small women. Don't believe the hype; standards can be a good thing.

[hairygrump]

as if 29er stuff isnt hard enough to get.... imagine you have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere what bike shop is gonna have a set of these tires let alone a tube?
I'm all for people trying to reinvent the wheel (rimshot!) for fun and profit, but this is the part that's confused me about these things.

Isn't one of the major groups that's adopting this as a cool new thing the brevet crowd and other Grant Petersen-alikes? I would think that if I was trying to do 130 miles in a day I'd want something that I could conceivably replace in a Wal-Mart if I had to, and I don't imagine they sell that stuff everywhere.

I mean, if it gets you the geometry you want for the purpose you want to put it to, I guess there's no arguing with it, but still... why are some rando-types digging these things? Is that just happening in my brain, or is it real and as weird as I think it is?

[davkatreb]

Wal-Mart
I'd sooner walk.

[myron]

WM carries some kind of weird ass 26" three speed tire. I forget the excact size,but it ain't no 559.

[rockhound]

WM carries some kind of weird ass 26" three speed tire. I forget the excact size,but it ain't no 559.

It's probably a Schwinn size...they had there own just to be jerks.

[Spalls]

I haven't heard anybody bitchin' 'bout 31.8 mm handlebars and oversize headsets. Whoever came up with these things has what seems to them to be a perfectly logical reason for manufacturing them. How many different bar diameters to we need? We already have 22.2, 25.4, 26.0. What's the big deal? Why are your undies in a bundle? Hubs: 16, 20, 24 ,28, 32, 36, 40 hole - standard? We dont't need need no steenking standards! There is no standard. Christ on a bicycle! This is America! We have a history of getting damn near anything we want whenever we want it. Bush is in office. Don't look for common sense. 650B is a continuation of a tradition of wretched excess - what's not to like about it?

[davkatreb]

I haven't heard anybody bitchin' 'bout 31.8 mm handlebars and oversize headsets. Whoever came up with these things has what seems to them to be a perfectly logical reason for manufacturing them. How many different bar diameters to we need? We already have 22.2, 25.4, 26.0. What's the big deal? Why are your undies in a bundle? Hubs: 16, 20, 24 ,28, 32, 36, 40 hole - standard? We dont't need need no steenking standards! There is no standard. Christ on a bicycle! This is America! We have a history of getting damn near anything we want whenever we want it. Bush is in office. Don't look for common sense. 650B is a continuation of a tradition of wretched excess - what's not to like about it?
Yeah, that makes sense. Prescott Bush (Dumbya's grandaddy) forced the French to introduce the 650B in anticipation of this very day.:rolleyes:

Frickin' cripes...

[rockhound]

I haven't heard anybody bitchin' 'bout 31.8 mm handlebars and oversize headsets. Whoever came up with these things has what seems to them to be a perfectly logical reason for manufacturing them.

31.8 handlebars are just the opposite...they standardize road and mountain sizes to be the same. That's a good thing.