Hay guys,

Been looking into the 650b concept. Have been seriously looking at getting a Sight killer B 2 but not convinced about its climbing ability.

What other 650B bikes are out there that have a reasonable 50:50 climb : decend ability?

Mainly for UK riding natural and trail center

The killer selling point for me was how planted the Tracer 275 was when climbing. Despite 6″ travel and 30lb in weight, it’s the best climbing bike I ever had. I put it down to the overall balance of the bike and the action of the VPP. It likes to go fast downhill too. Not convinced Wheel size is the important element of the bike but I’d have to try the 26″ version and compare to confirm that.

That tracer looks good!

Where did you get yours from? Frame only? Build kit? Or custom?

I’m waiting for the next installment of this when Box gives us a demo: http://mpora.com/videos/AAdg3yly0x4t

😀

That vid is class, wanna see the second part now!

Scott genius in 640b?

Turner Burner.

I’ve just got a scott 710 and really rate it. Only ridden the brecon gap road and cwm carn (not bad considering I’ve only had it one week and Ive got a 6 week old baby!). Its a really sorted ride, I love the genius twinloc concept and it climbs like a goat. The rear shock is fine (slightly firmer than the old s works stumpy). The larger wheels definitely roll over bumps better than 26 inchers but I’ve not ridden a 29er to compare.
Ive got a large and it weighed in at 26lbs on the scales which surprised me (lighter than some published figures). Possibly down to scale error I admit but its not a heavy bike.

Box and Nath at Bad Ass Bikes in Somerset built it up to my spec for me: Shimano SLX , Easton and Hope. They are now selling my spec for ~4k. Give them a call and mention my name: Stewart

Sweeeet Jesus….I like that Nicolai – I’m in the market for a new 650b bike too, so watching this thread with interest. Out of interest Yeti, have you ridden one of the Nicolai’s? I’d like to hear if you like it or not?? 🙂 Cheers mate and soz for hijacking the post Crush 🙂

wooly – no, unfortunately I haven’t had the pleasure of riding one of the new 650b AC’s. I almost bought one, but plumped for the 29er version instead. The Pinion version is also rather nice 8)

Santa Cruz Bronson.. for the wealthier cyclists out there.

Santa Cruz Bronson.. for the wealthier cyclists out there.

The alu Bronson frame is £100 cheaper than the tracer 275 frame.

If your in the south, there is a demo weekend at QECP and they have
650b’s.

Full size range of Cube Stereo 650b’s And Stevens Sledge 650b.

Info here: http://www.qecyclefest.co.uk/

I really like my Saracen Kili Flyer, it’s a really fun bike.

If I had the money I’d be getting a carbon bronson 😛

I love the look of the Bronson and the Kili flyer but can’t find anywhere that will sell me a kili flyer and I’m far too cheap to buy a Bronson.

Cheers Yeti…not sure about the Pinion, then again I know next to nothing about them 😀 …liking the colours though.

Cheers Yeti…not sure about the Pinion, then again I know next to nothing about them 😀 …liking the colours though.

My 650b Nicolai AC

I’d hold off until they release a 673c wheelsize. Oh, and 2×11 gears. That’ll be the golden bullet, in my opinion.

I’ve never been able to ride CwmCarn in less than an hour, and it’s definitely my gears and wheelsize holding me back.

Don’t be a **** duffer….

Got a cube stereo 650b – love it, 160mm of travel but is carbon so very light, no trouble climbing and descends a treat, best bike I’ve ever owned! You’ll love it!

can’t find anywhere that will sell me a kili flyer

Worth giving these guys a shout, if Madison have any then they’ll be able to get it next day.

Stonehenge Cycles in Salisbury had a kili in yesterday

Don’t be a **** duffer….

I’m allowed to be a dick because the OP is a friend of mine 😉

That said, i do think the 650b idea is fundamentally ridiculous. I’m glad you enjoy you’re new bike, it’s just not a format i would have bought into.

just bought myself a 650b Saracen Kili flyer, I’ve got to say; speaking with an open mind and having ridden 26/29 and now 650b, it ticks all the boxes. Still chuckable so not a problem in technical, and rolls better than a 26 so, despite my reservation its fantastic.
650b all the way RIP 26″ as much as it saddens me.
Can i just say this is my experience not hype for all the knockers. 😉

That said, i do think the 650b idea is fundamentally ridiculous.

Forks come in
80, 100, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 200, +on the fly travel adjust options, single air, dual air, coil, ti-coil, air assisted coil, rebound, +compression, +high speed rebound, +high speed compression, manual lockout, remote lockout, 1-1/8th, tapered, 1.5″, QR, 15mm, 20mm.

Yeah, giving buyer choice of only 3 wheel sizes is daft.

You make a good argument. However, I am loathe to buy into a format that restricts tyre choices, frame choices, fork choices, etc. with nought but hyperbolic justification.

let us not forget that this 650b thing is being driven purely by the industry; nobody ever asked for a third wheelsize. Meanwhile the marketing men are helping themselves to everything in your wallet.

You are entitled to your opinion, but i’m out.

Surely everything is driven by the industry, that’s how it works.

Given that 29ers became popular, someone probably thought, hmm what if we had something with good elements of both 26 & 29 and came up with 650b…I very much doubt they all got together in a dark dungeon and plotted how to rip us off (or maybe they did) either way it works very well!

The restricted tyre choice did bother/worry me before I bought mine but it looks like the pros will use 650b in enduro & DH so us minions should be okay

I think hyperbolic justification is a touch harsh, you could apply that to many things in MTB world, for most of us I suspect that if it ‘feels’ better that is enough

I am totally biased though

As above, i’m glad you’re enjoying your new bike; don’t let my prejudices spoil it. However, i’m going to carry on with 26″ wheels until it becomes cheaper to switch to a different format.

all things being equal there is an 11mm difference between 26″ and 650b wheels (radius).
if you genuinely think that will make a difference to how a bike rides or feels your either crazy or you have measuring instruments used to weigh atomic particles instead of an arse.

An interesting extract from an MTBR thread:

“Larger wheels roll over obstacles more easily”
Here are some screen shots of the impact angle of the three different wheels hitting 1”, 3” and 6” rock.

There is less than a 2% improvement in approach angle going from a 26” wheel to a 29” wheel in all cases.

For rererence.

@ b45her – thanks for letting me know how I feel when I ride, and no I didn’t notice until I went back to 26 when I very much did notice, thanks

purchase justification can to incredible things.

Interestingly, I watched a video with Nico Vouilloz talking about his new 650B Lapierre Spicy.

He reckons, when racing it made ~1 second difference over 3 minutes.

So in other words, for mere mortals, learning to ride your bike properly is likely to have a considerably more profound effect than having a wheel a few mm bigger.

I would stay clear of the Tracer 275.

I was very close to buying one but the rear tyre clearance is a joke.

To try and keep the rear end as short as possible, they have only lengthened the swing arm by 0.1 inch over the 26″ model. This is clearly not enough.

Massive design floor. They are basically trying to use a 26″ frame and stick bigger wheels in it.
Says it all to me…… 26″ is king..

@nicolaisam

Nice bike mate, any chance you can give me a brief overview of it as I am thinking of chucking up the cash to order one either this week or next. Are you happy with it/live up to the expectations etc??? But overall, would you recommend it???

Cheers Sam.

Wooly just posed the same question, for the same (or at least similar) reasons, I was about to ask 🙂

Would love honest real life perspective

Thanks in advance Sam

Friend of mine and I bought a Tracer 2 in 26″ flavour before the big wheel thing really took off. He has designed a new rear dropout to replace the original to allow him to run a 650b wheel. It has increased the wheelbase slightly, but kept the BB the same height. He’s more than happy with the results of the increased wheel size, to the point that I’m going to have to follow suit and get him to make me a set. Clearance on the Fox 36’s is a bit tight though.