Originally Posted by
Ged117
Hi fellows. I'm thinking of locating a '50s or '60s Sports frame and building a 650b wheelset to make it into a foul weather / rougher roads four-season commuter, either with semi-upright handlebars or drops. I have a '56 AW and '49 GH6 hubs handy - I'd use the GH6 to power a Sturmey lampset off of a '49 Clubman that I have in the parts bin. I think the Sports frame can handle up to 40mmish tires, and the frames/parts bikes are cheap to come by, relatively speaking - so that's the initial outline of the plan.
Thoughts? Musings? Suggestions of alternatives? Condemnations? All welcome.
I have done something similar on my '56 Sports. 650b with 42's (baby shoe pass) will fit. The stock front fender will not fit with this set up with the tektro brakes. With the slick tires at least, velo orange 650b fenders fit with good fender lines. I wish I had bought the 38mm tires as I think the stock front fender would work with those. Stock brakes will not work, reach is the issue in the rear at least. I think the stock brakes would reach in the front. The solution I found was Tektro 950a brakes, they are still available in nutted versions. I use the Kool Stop salmon brake pads, but the brake system is still not quite up to snuff in my opinion. (It stops fast, but not stoppie fast --- if that makes sense) Hope this helps!