Originally Posted by
johnny99
Because of the difficulty in finding spare tires and wheels, all the major manufacturers have abandoned the small front wheel bicycles. Now they use 650 wheels (front and back) for their smaller sized bikes. 650 tires are not as common as 700, but you should be able to find at least a few in stock in most cities (while the old 24" tires were pretty much mail-order only and not cheap).
As I note above, 650
B is an option--front and rear. There is not just one "650"--there's 650A -B and -C. You are referring to 650C and these have fallen out of favour. Meanwhile, 650b is thriving, thanks to development of new high performance tires, with two new options in the last year from Pacenti and Grand Bois ... and many custom builders designing for the size.