Remember seeing guys say that 650b wouldn't last?

Rivendell is selling 10 different 650b tires.

https://www.rivbike.com/650B-Tires-s/111.htm

Not bad for a flash in the pan.

The wife and I are both riding 650b now, it's a little nicer.

I thought Rivendell was a fad or had been passed by.

Both 650B and Rivendell are here for the long haul and have great appeal to a limited population. Not everything has to be all things to all people to be successful.

First time I have went to their site. Intersting in a sort of amusing way. What constitutes a medium size bike that would use a 650b tire?

Although I haven't purchased a 650b bicycle (yet), I certainly don't think it's a fad. I'm seriously tuned into Rivendell, Velo Orange, et al.

Of course I was being facetious, I don't care what anybody wants to ride. Rivendell has its supporters, some quite fanatical. Not a bad thing if you're Rivendell.

Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live

They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet

They got little baby legs
That stand so low
You got to pick em up
Just to say hello
They got little cars
That go beep, beep, beep
They got little voices
Goin' peep, peep, peep
They got grubby little fingers
And dirty little minds
They're gonna get you every time
And ride bikes with 650 wheels...
Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
'Round here


Randy Newman

26" tires?

Yeah, that's just what we need is another size of 26" tire that does what one of the sizes can already do.

Huge selection to choose from, too.
None of which might be available when you really need one in Smallville, USA.

(Kinda like trying to find a recumbent-specific part in Smallville. )

I might be limited in what I have tried on the road bikes but I use 700c. When I was looking to go road I tried a 26" wheeled road bike alongside the 700C version. The 26" did not perform as good so disregarded that for use on a road bike. Can't see any reason to go 650b so will stay with the 700c.

Market segmentation has always been a way for small businesses to thrive and sometimes grow into large ones.

I backed into a 650b conversion while trying to avoid it. I love my 650b mixte


A new twist exists now. It started as a way to convert 700c frames to city bikes,now an LBS tells me he is converting old mtn bikes from 26" to 650b for larger wheels on the street.

Marc

I have been putting more miles on my 650b bike than anything else in my stable of bikes. It is the bike I took for my Tour de Tucson trip and I may take it again.

Were any bicycle companies exhibiting factory equipped 650B bike models for 2012 @ Interbike?

I heard 29ers were all the rage @ Eurobike and Interbike for the coming year.

It just seems to me that instead of bringing out another size rim, the simpler solution would be to make a wider tire for the existing 650C size. 650B was obsolete for a reason. It's right between two popular sizes and does nothing that the existing sizes can't. For instance, it would be simpler to make a wider tire for the 571 rim than to make a wide tire for the 584 - and make the rim too. Ah, but then they couldn't sell both to a gullible public.

The additional 6.5 mm would make it really hard to fit brakes on a conversion.

Marc

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. It sounds like the justification for the new rim size is that it needs a new frame, too?

The greatest popularity for the 650b comes from converting old road bikes into more versitile city bikes.

Marc

No, the deal is that with 650B you can fit wider tires onto an existing road frame, where there wouldn't be clearance for wider 700C tires. The problem with going with too small of a wheel is that you have a limit of about 750 mm from brake bridge to the rim. 650B is therefore a compromise for a conversion of an existing design. You can use any wheel size you want if you design for it.

I have an inkling to try a conversion on my commuter bike.

-Gary

So in theory, I can put a set of 57mm long reach brakes on my Soma Smoothie, run the brake pads high for 700c wheels, then buy a set of 650b wheels, in say a 32mm tire, set the pads lower and be good to go ?.

Just toying with the thought

Congratulations to Rivendell for their survival.

My vintage bike is not suitable for a wide tire/rim option beyond 25/23, but for my new bike application, frame clearance and brake alteration considerations were off the table for the most part. The initial build began in traditional 700c style with 25 nominal tires (actual 24mm), progressed to a different 25 (actual 28mm) tire, and on to a much more comfortable 32 (actual 33mm+). The 32mm was an eye opener to comfort possibilities, and I wanted more, but reduced tight turn radius and increased overlap were trade-offs. Part of the overlap was from 175 crank arms, which were good for my standing climb style up to that point. Long crank arms also provided increased leverage required for the new 32's greater rolling diameter, so it was a shame the crank had to go. I could also see a fatter 700c tire would introduce less than ideal compromises; precarious top tube proximity being one of them.

For disc brakes, 26 inch is the first option I considered for tires beyond 32mm width. However, to attain a similar rolling diameter as a 700c/23 in a 26 road tire, the tire would be too wide for this frame's rear stays, and the tires in that size were very thick & heavy (puncture resistance is not one of my priorities). A consequence of reducing tire width in a 26 to provide frame clearance, thereby reducing rolling diameter, would mean no more pedaling while leaning over.

A 650b rim & 42mm tire would appear to satisfy most objective requirements, and it did, along with subjective wishes; top tube stand-over is preserved, maneuverability improved (partly due to rim selection), stability improved, and overlap eliminated. I found many reasons to think it would work for my application when other wheel sizes wouldn't. I'll go a step further and say, Grand Bois Hetre (42mm) tires are a good enough reason on their own to go 650b for road use.

Well, if you call more than a 50 year history a fad, then maybe? https://twentynineinches.com/2008/05/22/history-of-650b/

I guess Sony thought VHS was a fad although Beta was vastly superior. Problem is VHS players were cheaper and people bought them. But all that is(mostly) moot now anyway.
Apple probably thought Android was a fad too...