Why 650B Instead of 26?
11-04-12 | 10:07 AM
#27
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Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Seattle
Bikes: Kuota Ksano. Litespeed T5 gravel - brilliant!
After living with a mountain bike on road tires for several years, I decided to build a 26" road bike from scratch. (My mountain bike was a dual suspension model which I purchased with the hopes of getting into mountain biking.) I choose a frame made by Kinesis which I stumbled across when shopping parts from the British company ProBikeKit. The Decade Tripster is a hybrid frame that combines disc brakes with road geometry and light weight AL and carbon fork construction.
While I have built it as a flat bar bike using some of the components from the mountain bike it replaces, I choose a road version of the disc brakes so that I could convert it to a touring bike with drop bars and lower gearing in the future. Selecting a tire that would take advantage of the added clearances available was an important consideration. I went with the 26x1.75 Continental City Ride because it features a smooth center, like a slick, and high puncture resistance.
While I have built it as a flat bar bike using some of the components from the mountain bike it replaces, I choose a road version of the disc brakes so that I could convert it to a touring bike with drop bars and lower gearing in the future. Selecting a tire that would take advantage of the added clearances available was an important consideration. I went with the 26x1.75 Continental City Ride because it features a smooth center, like a slick, and high puncture resistance.
Last edited by cale; 11-04-12 at 10:17 AM.
11-04-12 | 05:33 PM
#28
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 7,176
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From: Clev Oh
Bikes: Specialized, Schwinn
After living with a mountain bike on road tires for several years, I decided to build a 26" road bike from scratch. (My mountain bike was a dual suspension model which I purchased with the hopes of getting into mountain biking.) I choose a frame made by Kinesis which I stumbled across when shopping parts from the British company ProBikeKit. The Decade Tripster is a hybrid frame that combines disc brakes with road geometry and light weight AL and carbon fork construction.
While I have built it as a flat bar bike using some of the components from the mountain bike it replaces, I choose a road version of the disc brakes so that I could convert it to a touring bike with drop bars and lower gearing in the future. Selecting a tire that would take advantage of the added clearances available was an important consideration. I went with the 26x1.75 Continental City Ride because it features a smooth center, like a slick, and high puncture resistance.
While I have built it as a flat bar bike using some of the components from the mountain bike it replaces, I choose a road version of the disc brakes so that I could convert it to a touring bike with drop bars and lower gearing in the future. Selecting a tire that would take advantage of the added clearances available was an important consideration. I went with the 26x1.75 Continental City Ride because it features a smooth center, like a slick, and high puncture resistance.
11-04-12 | 06:05 PM
#29
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 3,248
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From: Seattle
Bikes: Kuota Ksano. Litespeed T5 gravel - brilliant!
Thanks for the compliment, I've enjoyed this bike so much, it's just great fun to ride.
Last edited by cale; 11-04-12 at 06:12 PM.
11-23-12 | 11:51 AM
#30
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Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Armenia, Colombia
Bikes: 1961 Raleigh Sports
Drum brake setup solves a lot of problems at the same time for not as much money as any solution which requires welding and repainting; cleaner than some bodged brake bridge.
Not arguing, just offering another alternative. I have an older Schwinn Super Le Tour which might get drum/650b treatment.
Not arguing, just offering another alternative. I have an older Schwinn Super Le Tour which might get drum/650b treatment.
On a Schwinn World Sport, the frame clears 47mm tires on 26" rims, the same tires are the largest that can fit a Raleigh Sports, and the overall diameter is the same as the cheaper 26 x 1 3/8 tires available.
11-23-12 | 12:35 PM
#31
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From: Sacramento, CA
Bikes: old ones
[h=2]Why 650B Instead of 26?[/h]I have spent a lot of time lately cruising the BF archive and the web in general to learn about 650B wheels. I can totally understand the desire for a ballonish tire that will give a comfortable ride while carrying some weight and having the benefit of fenders. What I can't understand is what is the driving force to revive an old standard rather than modify an existing one. A 650B conversion (either of an 700c road bike or 26 mountain bike) is expensive. 650B wheels and tires are significantly more expensive, and options are fewer than 26" wheels and tires. They are insignificantly different sizewise, and should not provide any different ride qualities. I understand that the 26" tires are often made for rugged conditions and don't have the supple sidewalls desired by 650B enthusiasts. Why isn't the drive to get 26" tire manufacturers to make supple tires in 1.5 or 1.75 widths? Seems like it would be the path of far less resistance. And it would allow one to simply change tires and be able to go from wide knobbies for the trails, to narrower slicks for the road.
To extend the question, why are conversions often of 700c to 650B? Isn't converting a 26" mountain bike far easier?
Regards,
Steve
To extend the question, why are conversions often of 700c to 650B? Isn't converting a 26" mountain bike far easier?
Regards,
Steve
11-25-12 | 04:24 AM
#32
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From: Clev Oh
Bikes: Specialized, Schwinn
Surly has offered 26" (ISO 559) rims on their small frame LHTs for quite a while and predate the current 650b fad. I assume they did it to achieve adequate toe clearance on small frames without distorting the geometry too much. The same reasoning Georgina Terry used for fitting 24" front wheels on her small bikes intended for women.
11-25-12 | 07:21 AM
#33
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: England / CPH
Bikes: 2010 Cube Acid / 2013 Mango FGSS
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