‘The Industry’ that you guys seem to want to denigrate, is a genuine force of innovation and improvement.
Without ‘the industry’ – you wouldn’t have bikes & kit.
650B had its renaissance about 6 years back when Mr. Kirk Pacenti was looking for a way to use the largest possible wheel-size – while retaining time-proven MTB geometry.. having become frustrated with the design compromises necessary to fit 29″ wheels.
Myself and others have been riding and pushing 650B for these last few years – lobbying the big guys to get on board and take up the standard. Most haven’t wanted to know – Fox even forbade the use of 650B wheels in it’s forks. The risk of confusing the consumer (and the retailer) with 3 different wheel-sizes was also a major concern.
I, for one, am chuffed to bits that 650B is finally getting it’s day in the sun.. Why would you not want the choice??
The ride is very similar to 26″ bikes – all the whippy-ness but smoother and grippier IMO