650B Wheels – 198’s Thoughts…
Honestly…how many different wheels sizes do we need? With the introduction of the 650B (27.5″) wheel size, we are now up to 3 different available wheel sizes for mountain bikes if you don’t include the 24″ variety. The idea is that you get the same rolling power seen in 29″ wheels with the agility of 26″. I am not jumping on the bandwagon that fast for several reasons.
- When you take most 26″ wheels and add large volume tires, you are almost in the 27.5″ range already.
- Tire Manufacturers – Remember how long it took to get some decent tires for the 29ers? It is going to take at least that long to get them for the 650B’s. Molds have to be created, more part numbers and fewer quantities mean higher prices for the end user. I understand trying to give the riders more options, but at what cost?
- Frame/Forks – For the most part, you are going to have to use the 29er frame and forks that are already on the market to accommodate the larger wheels. There are some circumstances that you can use 26″ forks with 650B wheels. I have seen pictures of Rock Shox Pike’s with the new wheels mounted to them, but the clearance under the arch is extremely small providing little to no mud clearance. So in the meantime, the 29er forks are going to be the best to use for these wheels, and there is still a shortage of these forks available that are really worth riding.
- Rim Manufacturers – Basically the same argument can be made for the rims that was made for the tires minus the molds. The more we force manufacturers to into more product lines at smaller quantities, the more we are going to see our cost rise.
So why is there a 650B wheel hitting the market today? Everyone has to have something different these days to get noticed. It is almost starting to seem like everything has been done already in the mountain biking market, so to get your name out there, it has to be something new and different.
Will the 650B wheel hold or fizzle off? Time will tell. I’ll be honest, I didn’t jump onto the 29er craze right away either, but after riding several, I can say that I do see the benefits in cross country hardtails with the most benefit going to singlespeed rigids. One thing that the 29ers have that really helped them in the market is that they are extremely different than 26″ bikes in the way they handle. I have a feeling that the 650B is going to be too similar to what is already out there, and this will make it difficult to get everyone on board. Right now it is getting headlines because it is something different. Over time, we will see if it sticks or not. Who knows…I could be completely wrong…but in the meantime, I will hold out for the 28.25ers.
As always, Sherwood has kept ahead of the curve with his new addition…the 650B El Bastardo.
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Tags: 198, 26, 27.5, 29er, 650B, el bastardo, mountain bike, mountain biking, rims, Thoughts, tires, ventana, wheel set, wheels, wheelset
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I look at the introduction of the 650 size as another option.
26 small
27.5 medium
29 large
Hopefully it will also allow builders to expand on longer travel bikes with bigger wheels
I’d agree with you both. After building up a 29er, I enjoy the fact that it rides noticeably different than my 26″ bikes. That said, if you were to put any kind of rear suspension on it, it would soon get too tall for my 5′8″ body (heck, the 26″ bikes already do!). Do we need 650b wheels? Probably not. But that can be said for a whole lot of things.
I don’t think I am going to rush out and buy one anytime soon though.
I always thought it was less about us forcing the manufacturers into new products with smaller stock and higher prices, and more about manufacturers looking for more products and minute changes to keep prices high and force us to constantly upgrade. Perhaps I am a cynic.
One other thing that has left me skeptical of 650b is the bikes I’ve seen where a brand thinks if they can fit a 650b wheel on a 26″ frame that’s all they have to do.
I see it as an important step for us medium size guys 5′8″ to 6 ft that 29ers are just a little too large.
@Gerr: I also think it is a way to get bigger wheels to longer travel bikes. The 650b movement has gotten a little stale over the last couple of months. Things will probably get kicked back into gear with Interbike next month.
What seems to go unsaid is that the 650B with narrow rims and decent tires came before the 26inch. Superchampion made rims as did others, Nokia made sweet tires (I even could get studded tires). The problem was that all the stock came from Europe and therefore was not as quickly available as the not so high quality 26inch stuff that was made in the USA. It took Kieth Bontrager to cut down some 700c rims to make some of the first narrow 26 inch rims available in the US. Many of the guys who first built mtb’s used the 26 because that was what was available and they didn’t know any better. If I had my choice as from the beginning, I would be riding 650B. They roll better than the 26, they don’t screw with the bike geometry as much as the 29’s. The bike handling can be tuned by a good frame designer. I’m 5′8″ and the 29’s with suspension are just too tall for me. I hope the 650 becomes as popular as I think it should.
@tomas
Thanks for the background info! That is some great stuff! Unfortunately, I do not think the 650b movement is going to gain much steam until the fork manufacturers get on board. Right now…they are still trying to recoup the costs for the 29er’s.
650b has been around in europe , (particlarly in frace) for ages
if it rolls over things better, climbs & corners with more grip etc then it’s a win win for us bikers. ummm! nice one