How Many of Your Ride 650b wheels??

[MMcG]

I did a short little jaunt today on my 650b wheeled mountain bike and man I gotta say I dig this wheelsize.

How many of you Serotta-ites ride a 650b wheeled road/touring/rando/mountain bike?

Tell me about your set up and how you got into 650b and also throw up pics if you've got em.

Cheers,

Mark

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n60/MMcG25/Access%2029er/Carver%20650ber/DSC01380.jpg

[Wilkinson4]

Purchased from my friend Tom T. So much fun, I wish we had country dirt roads like in the midwest out here to take full advantage.

Mike

[MMcG]

I wish I could see a larger version of your attached image. Can you provide more details on the bike?

[witcombusa]

Here's a pic of my 1971 Raleigh Grand Prix 650B conversion. She was my D2R2 bike for the first two years of the event.

[MerckxMad]

650B is the way to go. These are Sun CR18 laced to Shimano hubs and tread with Panaracer Cole de la Vie tires. Smooth like butta.

[palincss]

I have three: a Riv Saluki and two Kogswell P/Rs.

My first P/R, a 1st gen, was my commuter for 2 years and is now my touring bike. Here is is on tour in the Shenandoah Valley last spring:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/3624693489_ab95227ac9.jpg

XTR M900 triple, friction shifted 13-30 7speed.

My second P/R is set up as a porteur/city/shopper. It's got the 7x2 drivetrain (39/53 crank, 14-32 7spd cassette) the first P/R had when it was my commuter, 7 speed indexed downtube shifters.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2436/3763499416_1c356b6698.jpg

It's got 650Bx42 Hetre tires and is my main ride for dirt road rides, which we call "Rustic" in the Potomac Pedalers.


And my Saluki, seen here on a ride in the Amish area in Maryland's St. Mary's county last autumn:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2459/3956361997_7e10637582.jpg

[Erik.Lazdins]

A rainy Saturday - I rode the Bleriot for 2hrs 45min - The bike fills its mission really well - a fun bike- I will say its nowhere near as clean anymore!

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=28569&highlight=tulsa+rain+machine

[billrick]

Here is mine . . . I'm looking for a used Kogswell or Bleriot now to turn into a
commuter. And in my dreams, I will have a Curt Goodrich-built 650B Allrounder
with a bi-plane fork. Love the 650B.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_uW6-u-XnwXc/Svv3j_xEvWI/AAAAAAAADc8/XTSr9U6y4S8/s512/IMG_0057.JPG

[rcnute]

Exclusively! http://www.flickr.com/photos/30684316@N08/

[Jack Brunk]

Building up a brand new Coconino 650B frame with a Cannondale Lefty fork. Waiting on some stan's rims and it has parago drop outs. I'm going with the White Industries double set up. 2 rings up front and 2 cogs in the rear. Pics will coming in a couple of weeks.

[weaponsgrade]

Here's mine:

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k60/manpossessed/650b%20Lobster/P1020144.jpg

I'm about to replace the rigid w/ a suspension. The rigid tracks beautifully and you get a lot of nods, but on certain trails I get beat-up. I think 26, 650b, and 29er all have their place, but based on the type of trails I ride it's 650b for me.

[Ray]

Here's my Bleriot, running as a townie. It usually carries rear grocery panniers and, at the moment it has a big-ass platform rack on the front (http://www.rivbike.com/products/show/gamoh-cargo-rack/20-028) but that's likely to come off - it weighs a ton even empty and throws off the bikes handling with any weight in it at all. Overkill.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh252/ramboorider/Bleriot/IMG_0092.jpg

I've tried road riding on 650b and didn't like it. Converted an old Bianchi once and have ridden a Saluki. Even on bad roads, those wheels and tires just weigh too damn much and feel like they slow things waaaaay down. Maybe its perception more than reality, but since I ride for the sensations and not for any quantifiable speed, it matters. But for this kind of bike, perfect. And probably good with knobbies for mountain biking - seems like a good mix of the attributes of 26 inch and 29ers.

-Ray

[MMcG]

Exclusively! http://www.flickr.com/photos/30684316@N08/

That one set of Mustache-like Nitto bars - where did you find those and how wide are they?

These ones:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30684316@N08/4182850310/

[MMcG]

Here's mine:

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k60/manpossessed/650b%20Lobster/P1020144.jpg

I'm about to replace the rigid w/ a suspension. The rigid tracks beautifully and you get a lot of nods, but on certain trails I get beat-up. I think 26, 650b, and 29er all have their place, but based on the type of trails I ride it's 650b for me.

Nice Rock Lobster!

What fork are you going to go with up front?

[Tom Matchak]

Since building this one five years ago, it has seen about 40% of my annual miles. Used mostly for mixed-surface and crappy pavement riding in New England, but it's also seen some touring in the Rockies. Built with a set of test forks with different offsets, but I've settled on using the 65mm offset fork in the photo.

It makes me smile to hear those big soft tires make that hushed "bah-boof" sound when I run over a big crack in the road. People usually comment about the candy apple red paint job before they notice that there's something different about the tires.

[rdparadise]

sorry, responded to wrong thread. duh!

[RPS]

Nice bikes -- I especially like the conservative paint schemes. Is this part of the class’s image?

[palincss]

For the road bikes, certainly. Fenders are also a key part of the "typical look." All in all, it's quite classical, like something straight out of the pages of The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles. Here's a link to the Flickr 650B bicycles group pool:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/650b/pool/show/

[Erik.Lazdins]

Snipped..................
I've tried road riding on 650b and didn't like it. Even on bad roads, those wheels and tires just weigh too damn much and feel like they slow things waaaaay down. Maybe its perception more than reality.........

Ray,
My Honjo equipped Bleriot feels and is significantly slower than my Serotta not to mention the Bleriot doesn't handle near the same - no comparison - If its dry or just a little wet I'll take the road bike - if its wet and cold I have found the Honjos to be a must have. There is a lot to be said for keeping all the road water off of you.

Very nice built on your townie

Erik

[Ray]

Ray,
My Honjo equipped Bleriot feels and is significantly slower than my Serotta not to mention the Bleriot doesn't handle near the same - no comparison - If its dry or just a little wet I'll take the road bike - if its wet and cold I have found the Honjos to be a must have. There is a lot to be said for keeping all the road water off of you.

Very nice built on your townie

I agree about fenders. But I have a Spectrum road bike with skinny 700c wheels with fenders too. It keeps me dry AND it still goes sort of fast (the sort of being MY limitation). If I had the Bleriot set up for longer rides, I'd take it on dirt, but I wouldn't spend much time on the pavement with 'em. Just personal preference. Some folks love 'em.

-Ray

[billrick]

My comparison is skewed a bit, but I had a Riv Allrounder that I converted from 26 inch wheels to 650B. On the road, the 650B felt much faster and carried momentum better than the 26 in. For a rough stuff bike, riding on both pavement and rail trails or canal paths, the 650B is just about perfect. My 700c bikes did feel faster, but looking at my times for my commute, there was only a four minute difference on average over 11 miles.

[goonster]

Tandem:
http://www.picpile.net/ims/pic_264UD99M/34543.jpg

Randonneuse in the works:
http://www.picpile.net/ims/pic_264UD99M/49337.jpg

[MMcG]

Who's building the Randonneuse?

[weaponsgrade]

Nice Rock Lobster!

What fork are you going to go with up front?

A Reba Race 29er. The geo was designed around a 100mm 650b fork, so I'm going to set the travel on the Reba at 80mm. There aren't many true 650b forks available. There's the White Bros and then the Velvet, but that isn't supposed to be out for another few months. The White Bros seems to get mixed reviews, plus it's pretty pricey.

[goonster]

Who's building the Randonneuse?
Bilenky.

[MMcG]

A Reba Race 29er. The geo was designed around a 100mm 650b fork, so I'm going to set the travel on the Reba at 80mm. There aren't many true 650b forks available. There's the White Bros and then the Velvet, but that isn't supposed to be out for another few months. The White Bros seems to get mixed reviews, plus it's pretty pricey.

That's a good idea to use the 29er fork. I did that briefly on a Haro Beasley and it worked great.

[Tobias]

Here's my Bleriot, running as a townie. It usually carries rear grocery panniers and, at the moment it has a big-ass platform rack on the front (http://www.rivbike.com/products/show/gamoh-cargo-rack/20-028) but that's likely to come off - it weighs a ton even empty and throws off the bikes handling with any weight in it at all. Overkill.

Are the gamoh cargo racks made to also mount on the back?

[Ray]

Are the gamoh cargo racks made to also mount on the back?
They're not made to. I'm not sure if they could or not - it would definitely need some home-made hardware to make it work, and it would be pretty heavy to have a lot of weight up that high in back too, although people certainly do it. Call Riv - they've usually played around with most of the stuff they sell and you'll frequently see stuff in the Reader about different ways to use front bags on back or saddle bags on the handlebars or whatever. If its reasonably doable, they could probably tell you.

-Ray

[weaponsgrade]

That's a good idea to use the 29er fork. I did that briefly on a Haro Beasley and it worked great.

Yeah, I figured spec'ing around a 100mm 650b fork would give the most flexibility - either a 100mm 650b fork or an 80mm 29er fork. Now if only it would stop raining I could try it out.