a 650 wheel on the front - questions
 

Howdy folks

I'm thinking of popping a 650 wheel (and shorter fork) on the front of my bike, curious if anyone on here has done it... I'm concerned that my pedals will scrape. Was wondering what length cranks folks who have run a 650 in front have used... thanks for any info!

a 650 is smaller than a 700 so you wouldn't have any more toe overlap than with a 700 but if you are concerned with them scraping the ground I doubt that would be an issue however I have not exchanged a fork and wheel before. What is your crank length now? I would think you won't have a problem except maybe a small chance there would be an issue with 175's.

Is it so you can do sweet bar spins?

Sweet & sour, I'm sure.

Nah I like being more forward, I rode someone else's bike with a 650 and it was just really comfortable for me.

oh and I'm riding 165s

don't do this. There is a reason they don't make bikes with 78-80 st/ht angles. There is also a reason why do don't see people who actually ride bikes with the crazy saddle to bar drops of the idiot hipsters.

Don't do this. If the other bike was more comfortable there may be something wrong with the way yours fits or you may just be one of the many fools who want something absurd to be comfortable and so convince themselves it is. Either way dropping the front 5cms is not the solution.

assuming you use a 650c fork and wheel, you will:

increase your chance of pedal strike
steepen the effective frame angles by a couple degrees
change the way the bike fits you, and may prefer a different stem or bar setup

you will not:

substantially alter the wheel-to-downtube clearance
necessarily be able to barspin (cf. the above)

yeah, I'm basically just worried about pedal strike is all

i have a 650c wheel + fork and 165 crank, no prob! it looks wicked ; )

This would increase both the ht angle and the trail. I know more about motorcycle geometry than bike, but I'm sure a lot carries over. This would make your bike really unstable, especially at low speeds.

Am I correct?

It also doesn't seem like it would make bar-spins any easier, since the proportionally shorter fork should keep the wheel just as close to the down tube. (not that the OP said he wanted to do barspins)

I think this is a bad idea. There are better (and cheaper) ways to adjust the fit of your bike.

Thanks na975, that's what I was looking for, I'll have to call the kid whose bike I rode and see what he says too about his arm length

Ah yes another jackass who comes up with some harebrained scheme to improve his bike and asks about it. Then cherry picks the advice of the other jackasses who are to ****ing moronic to see what a bad idea it is out of the chorus of reasonable objections.

No not do this. If you do please post the bike in jackass bike thread when you're done so we can laugh at what a ****ing tool you are.

dutret I asked if my pedals would scrape and that is all

sorry to have offended your delicate sensibilities for wishing to experiment with a, you know, bike intended for experimentation. sheesh. you act like it's a personal attack that I didn't take random advice not relevant to my question.

FWIW I will admit I did not mention that this was not my main bike, which is already set up quite nicely and will not be screwed with.

Dutret might be a bit grumpy, but his statements ring true.

What you are doing is similar to asking whether it is safer to carry your pistol in your waistband or in the seattube cage (pointing up of course)

Geometries have become standardized with little variations after more than 100 years of trial and error.

There is a reason for everything.

No I am asking if my pedals will scrape if I put a 650 in front and what he is doing is like answering that question by saying "Well, you know, Chris King headsets are far superior to Aheadsets"

Consider it bonus advice.

Putting a 650 wheel in front makes it no more a pursuit bike than taking the front wheel off entirely would make it a unicycle. It may make the bike handle very strangely, but I doubt very much that this is really about comfort.

We're all telling you it's s dumb idea because your friend's bike was built for a 650c front and fork, not yours. Don't do it.

scraper biiiike

no, my friend's bike was not built for a 650 specifically, it originally had a 700 in front.

I've got a 650 on the front of one of my bikes which has a 700c fork. Yes, this was for barspins, so ****off.

It is annoyingly unstable at low speeds, so if I'm going for an actual ride it gets a 700 thrown on. If I'm ****ing around at a park or whatever, it gets the 650.

All in all, if this is for barspins, which I assume it is, go for it. If not, then there are much better ways to make your bike fit better.

I have a 650 araya wheel I throw on sometimes (same as the guy above), if I go down to the river to mess around with tricks. Never for normal riding though.
If you use a 700 fork, you will greatly reduced the chance of clip hitting tyre (it won't happen), and you will clear the down tube for bar spins.

do it. have fun w/your bike. who cares what a few grumpy know-it-alls say on here. I've seen a few people put 650s up front and it looks mildly cool. I guess they do barspins that way, etc. The sky isn't gonna fall because you do something others on here have never tried. I'm sure people said it was dangerous to put a carbon wheel on your streetbike when that first started, too.