The B-Side cross country frame has arrived, so if you want one, ask your bike shop or distributor to order. Less than 100 produced in this first run.
Geometry has been up on the main site for a while. This project was our first foray into the 650b MTB platform. Kirk Pacenti approached us with his vision for 650b mountain bikes in the summer of 2007. Some of the benefits of this new platform:
- Allows shorter riders to experience the enhanced ride of bigger wheels (stability, greater obstacle roll-over capability)
- Allows frame designers to build frames with more tried and true 26" tire geometry
- Might be a little more agile than 29ers in tight switchbacks
The B-Side frame features a pure cross country geometry. You can only run disc brakes on it, but you can set it up single speed or geared. There is plenty of tire clearance for the 2.3" Pacenti Neo Motos, the fattest 650b tires currently made. To increase standover clearance, the seat tubes run extra short, so a long seatpost is recommended. A suspension-corrected rigid fork is available.
Though this totally unrelated to our frame or Soma, I thought it be cool to plug "Record Store Day" which is celebrated on April 18 this year. The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. The Bay Area's own Amoeba Music and Rasputin Music are having special guests and give-aways. Go to the site to see how participating indie record stores in you neck of the woods are celebrating.
Vinyl and steel -- both rule.
7 comments:
Sure would be nice to see vertical or semi-horizontal dropouts on this bike. Not a big fan of track dropouts....
Why no 21" frame!?! A 19" frame with 620mm horizontal top tube can't realistically be considered an XL frame...disappointment abounds...
Couldn't your new 26r frame with sliding dropouts accomodate 650b?
Why two separate frames?
While 650b geom is very close to 26" geom in angles n' stuff, the BB drop is significantly different. Jacking up the BB ht by slipping in 650b tires on a frame designed for 26" tires can affect handling quality.
Nothing in my size, bummer.
Still, you could've have split the difference, say lower the BB by about 8mm.. I am yet to hear anybody say that sliding 650b wheels into a 26r frame resulted in poor handling, quite the opposite. I am all for a 650b specific frame, and hopefully the market will reward you for doing it, but I am concerned that the demand will not be there and you will pull the plug, and that is not what 650b movement needs. Besides, the new frame is simply not a looker imho. I look at the new Groove and say "I am interested", I look at the 650b frame and say "we waited two years for this?" just my 2 cents.
Just because 650b fits into a 26 frame doesn't mean that it will continue to ride well.
I have a steel Ibis Mojo that handles great as a 26. After putting 650b on it I didn't care for the handling and the bb height was over 13" for a hardtail. I felt like I was sitting on top of the bike rather than in it.
That said, I also had another 26 that rode well with 650b but I'm currently on a dedicated 650b bike that is perfect for me.
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