Yeah, this is probably a dead horse, but I can’t find the other dead horse threads…

I was in evans cycles and the mechanic was telling me they are the future.

What do you think guys? : )

My next bike will be a 650b MTB

😀

He is probably right, but seriously 3 different wheel / tyre sizes???

Not to mention 3 differently designed frame / forks???

Not to mention 3 differently designed frame / forks???

Yeah, that’s what gets me, gets real pricey real quick (more so than regular MTB), hopefully it’ll become more mainstream and then cheaper.

On the plus side, some new 26er forks are 650b compatible which also means you get more mud clearance for big 26er tyres (which measure 27″ btw).

please tell me 650b and 27.5″ are the same

It does look like the concept of universal bike parts is really in its coffin with people madly banging nails in

which is for the most part fine but less good when travelling or touring

I assume the new trend will be 2 sets of wheels for each of your bikes. Fat tyres on 26 inch rims for gnarr and thinner ones on 650b for less gnarr and more speed on the easy bits…

and then on your less gnarr bike it willbe fat tyres on 650 b for gnar and thin tyres on 29 er for less gnarr more smooth…

So soonwe’ll have threads off to “LLlangella which tyres and rims”

oh know then there’ll be times when folk run a 650b up front with a High Roller 2.5″ and a 29 er rim and 2.25 cross max on the rear. For slightly damp Thursdays in August….

Just fit tall tyres like Rubber Queens and you’re almost there any way.

I was in evans cycles and the mechanic was telling me they are the future of profits for bike shops

FTFH

Less tweaks are needed to run 650b on 26er frames than 29er wheels, the new intense farme have swap out chips to do just this. I can see the smarter farme builders doing this but do we need it who knows. All I know is that my 26er feels wired when swapping from my 29ner and I can see a 650b bike in my future I was almost tempted years ago when building some for customers but at that stage there were no specfic forks.

Yeah 650b makes sense to me, the fact you can fit it into existing 26 FS designs with little or no redesign required is a huge selling point. I can see the future being 650b for middle-high end FS and some HT, 29″ for most HT and 26″ for lower end stuff (where manufacturers just want to change the colour each year rather than design).

They’ll be big in the States by the end of this year & beginning of next, we’ll see loads more 27.5 bikes at Interbike.

Apparently the Turner Burner (27.5 5.5”) will be ready in 4to5months!

I tried to test an Airborne 650b when in the States last year – it was booked out solid for 9 weeks!

All this squeezing 650B wheels into a 26 inch frame is balls! If you want to raise you BB height by an inch and a half (assuming same tyre volume size) then fine. If you want to go 650B then get a proper 650B frame. I’ll be sticking with 26 inch wheels.

A 26″ wheel is 559mm diameter, a 650b is 584mm. Thus change in BB height with equal width/sidewall tyres would be only 12.5mm or 0.5″. 650b on skinny mud tyres would have the same diameter wheels as 26er on the biggest volume trail tyres you can buy (2.4 RQs, 2.35 XR4, 2.4 Purgatory etc).

So, it’s just the Emperors New Clothes then?

Well it isn’t a paradigm shift, that’s for sure!

So, it’s just the Emperors New Clothes then?

Shhhhhh! Don’t tell them they’re naked.

the fact you can fit it into existing 26 FS designs with little or no redesign required tells you how is a huge selling pointless it is

FTFY etc 😉

650B keeps getting pitched as halfway between 26 and 29, but it really isn’t — it’s a lot closer to 26 than 29, with equivalent tyres.

Note how the late Sheldon Brown grouped them under 26″ tyres: http://sheldonbrown.com/26.html

Active Revision:Shoe box theatre, Puppet shows, Speed dating
What is in a Dyslexia Assessment

isn’t that 3/4 of an inch….

Active Revision:Shoe box theatre, Puppet shows, Speed dating
What is in a Dyslexia Assessment

isn’t that 3/4 of an inch….

Mike_D – Member

650B keeps getting pitched as halfway between 26 and 29, but it really isn’t — it’s a lot closer to 26 than 29, with equivalent tyres.

well 26″ wheel is 559mm diameter, a 650b is 584mm and 29″ is 622mm

so its a jump of 25mm for 650b cf 26″

and a jump of 38mm 650b cf 29

i wouldnt say its a lot closer to 29, but it is closer

shirley 650A at 590 mm is the one we want!!!?

“A lot” is probably pushing it, to be fair. The gap between 650b and 29in is 50% bigger than the one between 26in and 650b, though 😉

My current feeling is that the difference between 26 and 29 is big enough to make a difference but not really big enough to need splitting.

What’s Driving the 650B Explosion? Interviews, Tech Breakdown & More!

http://www.wightmountain.com/wordpress/?feature=tation-ullamcorper-suscipit-lobortis-nisl-ut-aliquip

“a 650b bike doesn’t feel like you’ve stolen your dads bike when you were 8 like a 29er!!”

My thoughts….

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/salsa-ala-carte-titanium-650b

GB

about as revolutionary and unexpected as Gillette sticking another blade on their razors. Pure marketing to drive consumerism, like all the other changing standards (headsets, steerers, bottom brackets etc ad nauseum). Giving the consumer better product?…

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X1cKMKcHmg[/video]

Why would you want to make a regressive step from 29er to some halfway house and loose some of those benefits?? I don’t miss those little wheels at all!!

I strongly suspect that over the next few years we will see a number of brands with no 26″ wheel options across some models. XC /AM models, gravity stuff will stick with 26

Why would you want to make a regressive step from 29er to some halfway house and loose some of those benefits?? I don’t miss those little wheels at all!!

keep up at the back. Your clown wheels are too cumbersome. My training wheels are too twitchy. Last one to buy a new bike is not a gullible fool loses.

They will end up on AM bikes as there isn’t the room to fit in long travel and 29″ wheels – or if there is enough room there are too many design compromises to make them fit.