Originally Posted by
1987cp
My experiment with '90ish Schwinn Frontier wheels (40-584, steel rims, nutted hubs) on an '84 Raleigh (USA) Record frame was a lot of fun. The biggest impression was that it was very confident and predictable. I've tried the same wheels on a '75 Grand Prix, but the steering seems somehow too fast - sounds weird probably, but that's how it comes to mind to describe it. Brake reach is interesting, too - I recall measuring about 100m brake reach for one wheel on the Grand Prix 650b experiment, which I managed with some BMX brakes and is more than is claimed for either the R559s or the long-reach Dia Compe U brakes.
I'm not familiar with the two frames you mentioned but since trail is largely affected by wheel radius and fork rake, I can see where putting smaller wheels on a frame designed for bigger ones could be a hit-or-miss proposition, based on the rake of the forks.
I've only owned bikes with canti studs so I would be forced to either buy a disk compatible frame or simply a disk front fork and just run a front brake. I don't even know if that would work, mechanically speaking, with a 650b wheel. I have more bicycle experiments in mind but 650b is probably the most expensive...and furthest down the road.