Do you ride 650B or 700c with your gravel bike?

[RobJ]

So the Jan Heine article I linked about which size tires are faster generated some interesting discussion and I liked hearing the anecdotal reasons why running one versus the other.

With that in mind, what size are you running for your gravel/dirt/off-road adventures? Why? And what's your experience been (e.g. hated 650 never going back...). Not having logged many miles to speak of lately I like hearing feedback from those who have.....

[Davist]

I recently got a new gravel bike and specifically wanted to try 650b (and 1x), kind of a drop bar MTB that I can ride to the trail. I'm very happy with it. (It has room for 700c, I have extra wheels, but haven't been inclined to swap yet)..

As gravel means a lot of things, I wanted something more trail capable, and the 2.1 thunder burt Schwalbe's I put on it are great, as well as being surprisingly capable on the road, I think they're "as fast" for all intents and purposes as the stock 47c Horizon's. I've been able to do everything I wanted, including single track, recommend giving 650s a try.

I don't wish to use it as a fast road bike, and the local "events" like Hell of Hunterdon (~20% light gravel or something) would be better served with my regular bike with 28s or 32s as I've ridden in the past, BUT the local Gravel Grape Crusher (90% off road, plus single track, rocks, roots) would be great for this bike. Hope this helps..

[spoonrobot]

I ride both, 650b for rando gravel adventures and 700c for racing. Same size tires; 650b is always a little slower and less comfortable. Doesn't handle roots and ruts (large diameter bumps and small diameter bumps but elevated so the approach angle is at or above the rim) very well - I've been thrown to the ground more than once at 5-7 mph by a root I didn't see clearly. Those roots on 700c are no problem.

For example, something like this on 650bx42 is more of a handful than on 700xc40:



650b shines when you can get a ~20% larger tire, that gives about the same rollover for much more comfort, speed on the rough stuff but at slight penalty on smoother stuff. So I like 'em both but prefer 700c - when I raced with 650b I was having a harder time staying with more normal pack buddies.

[sparky33]

I ride and like both 700x42 and 650bx48+ on gravel.

Some of it is a preference for a specific tire for specific stuff, some of it is because one bike is 700c specific (Lauf, sort of) and the other is not, some of it that I just like variety.

One size is not better than another overall, but my observation on how sizes relate from handling, comfort, quickness, etc:
larger diameter, skinnier rubber (700x42) = smaller diameter, fatter rubber (650x48) ....sort of what was just said above

[Blue Jays]

Interesting topic, thank you.
Will watch this thread for ideas when considering specs for next bicycle.

[Hilltopperny]

I have three sets of wheels for mine. I am currently running 42mm somas on the 650b and my 700c have 35mm Bon Jon’s and 36mm challenge gravel pro.

I have found fat 650b to do well over rocky and tougher terrain and 700c 35-40mm to be better at keeping speed on dirt/gravel, but it’s pretty insignificant. I am heavy enough that traction is not much of an issue for me, but for rides like the Farmers daughter I brought along 650b 1.9 GKSKs. I don’t know if I would’ve been able to ride any of the heavy muddy sections on 700c with the clearances on my bike.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Spdntrxi]

Both...

700x35

650x42 and 650x47...

[BryanE]

700 x 38
I still race.
I did the 650 thing in the 90s.
Once is enough.

[simonov]

My 650Bx42 bike is way more versatile as an all road bike than my 700Cx38. I can ride the 700 bike on 32s and it's nice enough on the road, but then it's not great for more gnarly gravel. With 700x38 it's awesome on chunky stuff, but the paved riding to get there is tedious. The 650B bike just does all of it really, really well. I'm fortunate to have both, but if I could only have one it would be 650.

[laupsi]

just put an order in for Open WI. DE. going w/650x2.2. Can’t wait!

[glepore]

650b, but I ride on mostly mountain gravel and need the cush, along with a front suspension fork and a vcls seatpost. Cause I'm old and a wimp.

[d_douglas]

Not specifically on topic, but I am curious how many people ride smooth 35-38mm tires? As in, not gravel tires, but effectively road treads, but really wide?

Though I am not inclined to have one bike , I wonder if a nice balanced gravel bike like an Open UP width some of those high end Herse tires (Jon Bon Pass, I think?) allows a bike like that to pass as a road bike (not for racing, but for riding fast and having the sensation that we all love of flying along on paved roads.

Anyone?

[nesteel]

Originally Posted by d_douglas

Not specifically on topic, but I am curious how many people ride smooth 35-38mm tires? As in, not gravel tires, but effectively road treads, but really wide?

Though I am not inclined to have one bike , I wonder if a nice balanced gravel bike like an Open UP width some of those high end Herse tires (Jon Bon Pass, I think?) allows a bike like that to pass as a road bike (not for racing, but for riding fast and having the sensation that we all love of flying along on paved roads.

Anyone?

I run 700x38 smooth tires on pavement/pea gravel trails on my Journeyman. The 650X2.125 tires/wheels I reserve for the more serious gravel/off road excursions.
I could see myself getting down to two bikes; the Journeyman and one dedicated roadie when I want to travel light.

[HTupolev]

Originally Posted by RobJ

With that in mind, what size are you running for your gravel/dirt/off-road adventures?

2.1" 26ers.

Why?

Because the bike's 1984 Stumpjumper frameset was designed for it, both in terms of clearances and the height of the canti posts.

I'm currently building up a Black Mountain Road+, and it will similarly use 650b. I could stick 700c wheels on it, but the tire clearance wouldn't be nice for the regional double-track roads.

My hardtail is a 29er, but I don't use it much.

And what's your experience been

Fine for the most part. When dealing with something like a log over the road, it feels like some more rollover would be nice. For dealing with typical gravel roughness, tire choice and setup seems a lot more impactful than wheel diameter.

Originally Posted by d_douglas

Not specifically on topic, but I am curious how many people ride smooth 35-38mm tires? As in, not gravel tires, but effectively road treads, but really wide?

Depending on the gravel, I wouldn't call a wide slick "not a gravel tire."

I'm running Rat Trap Pass ELs on the above bike. They have an extreme lack of traction on some types of snow and wet organic surfaces, but grip fine on rocky aggregate whether wet or dry. If your gravel is a mud bog, they're a terrible gravel tire. If your gravel is hardpack and crushed rock, they do the job well.

allows a bike like that to pass as a road bike (not for racing, but for riding fast and having the sensation that we all love of flying along on paved roads.

"Sensation that we all love of flying along on paved roads" depends in large part on you. Different people identify and value different sensations of flying along on paved roads.

A big consideration here also is that gravel bikes often have very different geo from traditional road bikes. From a performance standpoint the implications of this are subtle, but from a feel standpoint it can be dramatic. An Open UP is basically a road bike with wide tires, a Salsa Cutthroat is more like a rigid mountain bike with drop handlebars.

My Stumpy's geometry is basically that of a beach cruiser: mountain bikes in 1984 were still closely inspired by the old Schwinn cruisers that had been built into klunkerz in the 1970s. Sticking an aggressive road fit on that beach cruiser geometry has some whacky consequences. Out of the saddle at low speeds it's floppy, steering at cruising speed feels deliberate and weighty, and keeping the bike leaned in tight paved corners can require conscious counter-steer. On the whole, the handling doesn't fall anywhere in the remote vicinity of "lively", although I'm not sure where I'd put it on the bicycle spectrum: I don't think it handles much like any bicycle that's been set up for its frame's intended purpose.
But.
When I'm trucking along at road cruising speeds on it, I feel like I'm trucking along at road cruising speeds. To me, it doesn't feel "slower" than it is, and its performance is close enough to my skinny-tired road bikes that I often use it for spirited road riding. There are days when it's a blast, and days when I thirst for something that handles lighter.
...It'll be interesting to see how the Black Mountain Road+ ends up, its steering geometry is much more road-like than the Stumpy. It should handle quite light, even with tires nearly 2" wide.

How you respond to the feel of the tires is a big factor in perception of speed. The first time I rode with the Rat Traps on the Stumpy, I wondered if the speedometer was reading high, it felt like I was going slower than I was. But that feeling soon went away.

[owly]

Two years or so riding my 70mm bb drop frame and I've come to feel the sweet spot for me, being 700x32 or 650b x 2.1/2.2.

Riding a 35mm I feel too tall in the saddle and just don't like it. I'd like to be able to ride something like a 700x40 knobby mainly for the extra rollover, but I'm stuck with my frame for the time being.

Smoother gravel, I'll stick to a 32mm, or a 650b x 48 filetread.

Doing a lot of exploring rides lately though in steep, rough places. The volume 2.1/2.2 combo is great for that.

I know there's other frames out there with 80-85mm drops, so maybe in the future.