Specialized Sequoia 650b Conversion
 

Probably out of overweening pride, I'd like to share the results of my first 650b conversion. I'd been planning to do one for over a year, and had even gone so far as to build the wheels for it (twice) before getting sidetracked and selling the wheels to find other projects (twice). This time around, I settled on a frame first and then built the wheels. The frame is a 1984 Sequoia that I had powder- and clear-coated. For the wheels I used a set of NOS Suntour XC Pro hubs--that was the first time I'd broken down and bought NOS anything on fleabay--and a set of Velocity Synergies with mismatched stickers :)

I only had the original crank arms and headset, so the rest I pieced together from the parts bin. I already had the Silver brake calipers in a recessed-nut version, so I drilled both the fork and the seatstay bridge to accommodate them. For that I borrowed a right-angle drill and a short bit, which were fun to use. Prior to that I'd measured everything out and satisfied myself that the brake pads would just reach the rim when in their lowest position. Turned out I was wrong, and they barely didn't reach. That's why the funky Kool-Stop Eagles, which can be angled ever so slightly downward.

The VO rack I'd gotten a good deal on and it seemed to fit this project well. I reshaped the mounting tang and drilled it so it could be attached at the brake bolt without a daruma for a cleaner look and extra fender clearance. (I had seen it done somewhere online and it looked like a good idea.)

Riv-***** that I am, of course I cloth-wrapped and twined the bars with wine corks for bar plugs.

Last Friday, she got her first real ride when I took her to East Bay Bike Party ("bike parTAY!"). I was a little concerned about the low pedal clearance owing to the bottom bracket drop, but it proved not to be an issue. She performed admirably and felt great to me. Next on the docket is a dirt ride.

http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0f72d592.jpg
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4b1e02d9.jpg
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps7a269ad8.jpg
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps18132ee2.jpg
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8b29cca5.jpg
http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc96f0493.jpghttp://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...psfd22176d.jpg

Nice, looks like it will be a lot of fun to ride! I'd really like to try out one of these early Specialized (Sequoia or Expedition) frames one day.

http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0f72d592.jpg

If they barely don't reach, and the braking suffers from less square contact with the rim, you can probably file a few mm in the slot.

Nice bike btw. Try out some Hetres soon ;)

+1 on all counts.
I have a pair of cream/white Hetres with ~1k miles for sale if you're so inclined. :innocent:

...and when it's time for new tires, try Soma B-Lines. You won't believe the difference! I was amazed. Just DON'T get the Hypertex (armored) ones.

SP
OC, OR

ps - when you gonna put some fenders on there? It looks goofy w/o, and VO Zeppelins would look just right.

pps - The "hazards" of low bottom brackets are FAR overstated IME. I rode a bike with < 10" bb height, 180mm cranks and Campy quill pedals for several years during my racing days and had exactly ONE pedal strike - on some "road hardware" sticking up out of the pavement.

This might be true for freewheeling bikes. But, I just converted a bike and with 650bx42mm tires the BB height is 10" (255mm) and with 170mm arms I'm going back to 700c. Three pedal strikes in a 15 mile ride. . . . . I just don't want to ride a bike on which I'm going to fear pedal strike.

+1. 260mm is my limit for a conversion. If a candidate frame has less than 260mm BB height with the desired 650B tire/wheelset test-fitted, it doesn't make the pick.

But there are other ways of mitigating pedal strike, for example going with a crankset with a very narrow tread (Q), and clipless pedals.

And to the OP: Beautiful conversion! Nicely done.

Shameless pug!

http://ct.fra.bz/ol/fz/sw/i53/2/11/2...pug-2e3790.jpg

Ha! I know, I was ashamed of myself for a minute, but the OP has already paid for them. Sucka!

Very tastefully done, and it looks like a whole load of fun.

You can mitigate pedal strike by not pedaling through turns. This is not an option when you're riding fixed. Pedal strike while riding fixed is a serious hazard.

I think I'm the sucker here, but it was a GOOD DEAL and an easy way to try out an expensive tire. Politesse aside (as it tends to be with me), thanks for making the shameless pitch, Justin.

Looks nice! I'm surprised that the brakes barely reach -- did the bike originally have 27" wheels? (A little too late now, but a 650A conversion would have worked perfectly. ;))

Specialized Sequoia 650b Conversion
 

The original wheels were 700c but the frame was designed to have plenty of clearance for
fenders. I went ahead and filed out the brake arms as someone suggested and all's well now, even with regular road-style brake shoes. Thanks for the tip!

I have to double check, but I think the bb height with the CDLV tires is around 264mm, so above Southpaw's recommended minimum. As I said, I haven't had any trouble with pedal strike so far, even when I was more than a little inebriated the other night and probably not too concerned about not pedaling through corners.

$5 dolla, please.

I'm gonna need $1 for my +1.

Again, this is a really nice conversion. Great color, nice components, etc. I'd probably put indexing Shimano DT shifters on there were it mine; they can switch to friction, but they're really nice especially at the end of a long ride or on the way home late at night after a few.

Nice job on the rack as well. I see a lot of those mounted unlevel.

Thanks for the compliment, Colonel. It means a lot to me, really. I may switch to indexed bar-ends, we'll see. For now I'm enjoying the current setup.

What handlebar is that?

It's a Nitto "Dreambar," one of the models that Rivendell used to sell. Model #176

I had the pleasure of building up this '83 Expedition frame for a good friend. He loves it. Actually, he and I rode together on these "sister bikes" last Friday. It wasn't until we met up that I realized I had chosen the exact same color scheme for the two bikes. The saddle on the Expedition had even been replaced with a black one :)

http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf624b23a.jpg

Oh, you're fine, then. Perfect, actually. And with Justin's Hetres :innocent:, you'll be up around 268mm-- same as my Shogun 650B conversion and higher than many road bikes with stock wheels.

Nice work! As someone that has many 650A machines in my stable, I like wheels around this size. I have only one 650B bicycle, my Bilenky tandem, and it is purpose built as a 650B. I have a Dawes frameset, for which I've been trying to plan a build plan and I'm thinking that a 650B conversion may be in the works for this machine. A guy at the LBS has a 650B wheelset available that I can get as a starting point, but I digress...

So are you planning to put fenders on the bike, or will you leave it naked?

I don't think fenders would fit well with big tires since left-to-right clearance is pretty tight. Honestly, I'm not even sure the Hetres will fit. I've got about 46mm of width under the fork crown (at the spot corresponding to the widest part of the tire) and 44.5mm or so between chainstays. With Zeppelins, for instance, even if I indented the fenders to fit within the fork and chainstays, there would be no room betweeen fender and tire. I suppose I could stick with ~36mm tires (like the ones I have now) and get 45mm-wide fenders, but fat tires are more important to me than fenders.

VERY SANO conversion !.................Stunning !....what are your thoughts on those col la vie tires?how many miles or rides on the tires?

Thanks... I think. Only about 20 miles on the tires so far, all on pavement, so I hesitate to comment. I will say, as others have commented, they make a discomfiting sound in corners that has so far kept me from leaning in very much. I got them used from an acquaintance as a cheap stopgap until I could get better tires. I've got my fingers crossed that the Hetres will fit. If they don't I'll probably go to B-lines.

Zeppelins and Hetres should work fine, at least in front. In the rear, where are you getting the 44.5mm clearance figure? You should take the measurement 320mm from the axle center, as that's about where the fattest part of the Hetre will be. And the fender will not interfere with that clearance because the fender lip will pass between the stays forward of the fattest part of the tire, more like about 325mm from axle center.

My Shogun 650B conversion has Hetres with Zeppelins, and I had 46mm at the crown and at the stays @ 320mm from axle center. But if I measured closer to the brake bridge, that number would decrease. My Hetres fit snugly, with about 2mm clearance on each side, but that hasn't resulted in any rubbing issue at all, and the bike sees plenty of rough-stuff. For the fenders, I had to dimple them between the stays and fork, but that's not too difficult:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5019/5...acf2c8b5_b.jpg

And Hetres with Zeppelins just look so classic:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5137/5...c7f65881_b.jpg

Thanks for the info, Southpaw. It looks like I mis-measured. 320mm from the axle center, I've only got about 41mm of width. I could move the axle further back into the dropouts, but most likely not enough. Doesn't look good for the Hetres.