[false_Aest]

Last year I got the OEM offerings from WTB, Kenda, Schwalbe, CST, and a few others.

650B in 32 - 45mm exist.
45+ w/out a significant knob profile is a little harder to find if you don't want to blow an extra $3-$5 on the FOB cost.

FWIW $3 FOB = $12-15 at the retail level. Multiply that by 2 depending on tire spec and you can see why brands have been a little hesitant to spec it.


If I could have, I would've specced the "low end" OEM WTB Horizon tires. The problem was that compared to the Kenda offerings I was still about $5 over where I wanted to be.

For us bike nerds $5 (lets just say that turns to $20 at the LBS) doesn't seem like so much but for the folks that buy a bike "off the peg" its a huge deal breaker. Esp if they're not brand loyal.
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I'm also going to add that I and one other prod. mgr I know have spent a good bit of time trying to convince our employers that different sized bikes need different sized wheels. Esp for the sub-$1000 market. Your average fitness / comfort / commuter bike should be available in 559x35, 584x32 and 622x32. Esp if you're a small brand that can't offer 5-6 sizes from XS to XXL