Originally Posted by
Bekologist
an obsolete tire size gets reintroduced because of retro-geeks in france and the usa?
were the atlantis 26" bike wheel size not exclusive enough for rivendell? a little too pedestrian, less to brag about now that utility platform touring bikes have made a reappearance on the market?
what's the difference in mm size between an inflated 26" tire and a 700c? not so much.
I suspect Rivendell is looking to streamline and mass produce more framesets in Taiwan and sell them thru QBP. i also suspect he wants the exclusivity of 650b to set his frames off against the excellent choices now available in steel framesets.
Bianchi returned to steel road frames in 2009, raleigh as well. Trek is looking into reintroducing steel frame road bikes. GP's going to fade out as the last bastion purveyor of steel and become what his website shows him to be- trend setter for the retrogrouch followsheep contingent.
Grant must have needed a little more haughty.
I found the 650B to be a fine tire: a little faster than my 26" wheeled LHT, a little cushier than my 700x28c wheeled IRO. The problem was, that little bit wasn't enough to push it in either direction one way or the other.
The difference between a 26" and a 700c is significant, but the difference between either of those and a 650B is essentially nil. I tried the Kool-Aid, and, as it turns out, it tastes pretty much exactly like a bunch of other beverages you can buy, so it's a little extraneous.
I think you hit the nail on the head with Grant's need to champion the 650B to set his stuff apart from the others. The surging popularity of the NAHBS has reminded legions of steel-connoisseurs than extremely fine, completely custom, handmade bikes can be had for reasonable prices; thus, why buy a Riv, which is pretty close to what you want, when you can get a hand-made which is
exactly what you want?
In many ways, I see GP being a victim of his own cult. His message has been seized upon so fervently that he is, himself, being driven by it. If Riv still ran the Rambo, Atlantis, Quickbeam, Saluki lineup like they did from a few years back, they'd still sell plenty, but there would be no room for growth. At least going the 650B route means that the cultists will still have to get their stuff from him, rather than following his ideals aboard a Surly or somesuch.