Hey all. I went to get the fit worked out on my road bike and a couple people, friends and teammates, said my frame was a size too big. Makes sense, I suppose, if you look at the numbers. So my friend offered to lend me a smaller frame for the season at least. Alas, I will soon have a newish road bike frame getting lonely in the garage. So, I decided to do a 650b conversion on it, so I can use wider tires and real fenders for a geared commuter, and also because 650b bikes seem like an interesting thing to try out, if only for the summer if I don't like it. I figured it out, and I just need to pick up some long reach calipers, and of course the rest of the bike components, most of which I have lying around, or can get for cheap. No need to go too expensive on a commuter anyway, probably gonna go with eight speed indexed downtube shifters and a Sora front/Tiagra rear setup.

I think a geared bike would compliment my fixie well. It's a pain in the butt to haul stuff on it, and I like to take off the racks and panniers when I'm done carrying stuff, so I can zip around more easily, which is a hassle to do every couple of days. Having a geared bike setup permanently for hauling would be good, especially in the summer, when I hope to do lots of grocery shopping and errands by bike. Even if the geometry is not ideal for hauling, it'll be fun to have a geared wide tired gravel/adventure bike in the summer.

Does anyone else here commute on or utilize a 650b road bike? How do you like it? Is the greater rarity of tires and tubes annoying? How does the wheel size feel compared to other, more common sizes? Any cool pictures? Thanks.

650lb commuters? holy **** that's... oh wait I read that wrong.

That is what I thought too. Only time I ever hear of ever using 650b wheels is for short riders racing on road bikes. Why limit yourself to a size that isn't as common and has less selection for tires than the 26" or 700c?

You're thinking of 650c wheels. The 650b wheel size is promoted by Rivendell and Sheldon Brown as a way to retrofit racing bikes to be more versatile, and is seeing increased popularity in the world of mountain bikes. I wanna use my road bike to commute and haul, and would feel safer carrying loads on wider, lower pressure tires. There is an okay selection of tires, and it will only grow as the years pass.

Whoa!
For some reason I misread the title as "Any 650lb commuters out there?".

EDIT: I see SnowJob is a fellow intelligent gentleman of impeccable discernment.

My primary road bike has wide 650b wheels. The wheel & tires allow this bike to be more versatile than my skinny tire bike. Grand Bois Hetre tires & Michelin AirCOMP Ultra-Light C4 tubes 26" 1.6-2.1 are what I use, the tire can do most anything you've mentioned. I much prefer a wide tire in 650b than 700c.

So, what are the benefits of 650b? More clearance for fenders and looks better than 700c wheels on a smaller frame?

650b conversions allow you to put wider tires on a road racing bike, and fenders, making them more suitable for utility usage, while having a similar wheel/tire diameter compared to a skinny tire setup, so the handling isn't too different.

at one time 650b was the size tire that came on European utility bikes, i.e. commuters. It's a perfect size tire for a city bike or commuter. I'm building myself a 650b road bike, I'm sure I'll commute on it

The french number scheme In 650, a,b,c, are 3 rim sizes ,590, 584, 571

3 tire widths, to arrive at the approximate similar outside diameter.

Quoted were three bead seat diameters, not tire widths.

I'll attempt claification of the second sentence in the quote. For the same bead seat diameter and nominal size tire, varying rim width will produce different tire diameters and tread profiles.

FYI, there are more than three tire sizes & rim widths available in 650b.

Glad I am not the only one that saw 650lbs. Whew!

Just started 650b commuting.
Right off the bat, I can say that it is a tremendously more comfortable ride than I have had on my aluminum/composite 25mm tire road bike.
Whether from the wheel size, tires, or the fact that it is a lugged steel frame, or a mix of all of these factors.
On the 700x25c roadie, I get jarring pounding up to the back of my neck from bumps I hit that I wasn't out of the saddle for. Lotsa road vibration in hands. But it feels light an fast.
On the 650b road bike (which weighs only 2-3 lbs. more), no neck pounding anymore, and I cruise along like on a cushion of air. It is a very soft an smooth ride.
More control when going onto grass/dirt, too.
Not sure if there is a speed deficit. I am curious and am tracking my average speed on my commutes for comparison.

Yes, it is annoying that I cannot get Gatorskins in 650b size and have to use tires I have never heard of before. I am waiting for someone to make a light, 32mm, bombproof, slick 650b tire.

Nice! I've been wanting to do a 650B (or A) conversion for a while now, haven't built the wheels yet.