Alex Rankin asks the above question and more as he questions various players in the industry about the industry's sudden embrace of 27.5/650b tire size for mountain bikes.
Our own Jim Porter was one of those interviewed and he did a decent job giving a micro-history of 650b. For the record we have no frickin' opinion whether 650b will/should replace 26". That was one of the 'other guys'. (Interviews took place at Eurobike. Via Pinkbike)
Eurobike did have on display a ton of 27.5 frames and components. There might be more 650b offering in Europe than in the USA in 2013. Schwalbe, Maxxis, Scott, Rotwild, Ghost, Silverback, Rocky Mtn., Rockshox, SR Suntour. We are kinda pissed that RS is releasing their 650b fork with a tapered steerer. I guess we have to steer our B-Side customers toward X-Fusion.
Yeah, definitely a lack of non-tapered steer tubes in the market, even for rigid carbon forks. I have an old hand-me-down RS Duke on my B-Side at the moment, might have to start hunting for a used Fox or XF.
ReplyDeleteWould you guys ever do 44mm head tubes on your mountain bikes?
I ride a KHS 650B and put a Reba RL 29er (non tapered) fork on it, works great. The axel to crown was actually a 1/4 shorter than the X Fusion Velvet that I had on the thing. It is ultra stiff and responsive, being made to handle a 29er wheel.
ReplyDelete559 + 31 = 590
ReplyDelete622 - 32 = 590
So the in between size is really 650A. Shhhhhhh.
@Anon 7:36 AM: Thanks, I'll have to check that out. A friend recently sold his 29er with a Reba, dang.
ReplyDelete26" wheels for the smallest frames/riders, 650b for the broad middle, 29" for the tall folks. Makes sense to me. 650c/700c works that way on road bikes, or it did until 650c started waning in popularity.
ReplyDelete