bikemig 

I have way too many bikes. That miyata 1000 is a heck of a bike but I just picked up a used fuji touring . . .

52telecaster

The Fuji is probably better. My miyata is an 81. It has short stays for a tourer. It is real comfy tho. It absorbs road shock real well.

Snuts

Talking about one bike, only sounds crazy.
Actually doing it, is. . . . . .









-Snuts-

RECfromPA

If one gets the same width 650b tire as a 700c tire, would the ride the same? What would be the differences?

tbo

But... But...

rhm

The 650b rim is 38 mm smaller diameter, so 19 mm smaller radius, so you will lower the frame (and everything attached to it) by 19 mm (3/4"). So unless you reduce your crank arm by about that amount, you will risk your crank arm or pedal hitting the ground on turns. 6" cranks (152 mm) exist, but are not widely available. Not very many cranks are available in such short sizes.

Riding with short cranks is a little odd at first, but I've done it, and I found I didn't notice the shorter crank after a few minutes; but when I went back to longer crank arms I noticed the unnecessary length for much longer, and strongly disliked it. I got over that; but the switch to short arms was much easier than the switch back. I still feel I am faster with shorter crank arms.

Other than that, assuming the same rim and equivalent tires, the smaller wheel be lighter and will require less energy to get it spinning and less force to slow it down, so you 'should' get faster acceleration and faster braking; but the difference will be so marginal that I think you'll never notice it.

Furthermore, most 650b road tires are pretty expensive, high quality tires. They will ride better than cheap 700c tires. But they will not necessarily ride better than 700c tires of the same quality.

noglider 

@rhm, I can't remember if I ever told you, but those 155mm cranks you convinced me to buy feel normal to me. I don't notice when I switch to them or back to 170mm cranks.

rhm

Ha! No, you didn't. Well, too bad (I was hoping you'd hate them and I'd get to buy them off you for a song ).

Okay, no, serioiusly, I'm glad to hear I didn't give you a bad tip. I have 160's on my daily commuter, and I don't notice the difference at all. I don't ride anything shorter than 160 at the moment, but I don't think I'd notice if I did.

noglider 

Now here comes the weird part. Every so often, I'll try a new bike, and I'll say, Hey, something is weird here. I'll look, and sure enough, the cranks are 172.5 or 175. So my legs think 170 and shorter are all the same but 172.5 is too long for me? Even I can't believe that.

rhm

What I think it is, is that the longer the crank arm, the wider the range of motion in the knee. So even if none of my bikes had 170's, I'd maintain that range of motion by riding CitiBikes. But if I ride a bike with longer cranks, even just a little longer, I'm pushing my knees to the edge of unfamiliar territory. It's not painful, it doesn't do me any damage, and it doesn't seem to slow me down; but I definitely notice it.

noglider 

Good theory, Rudi. I like it.