Kogswell 650b

Pictures from last weekend's campout are in the works. In the meantime, check out this classic Kogswell build submitted by Greg in Seattle. 38mm Soma New Xpress tires FTW.

For the uninitiated, the Kogswell P/R was one of the first modern low trail production frames built around 650b wheels. Based on experimentation by Bicycle Quarterly using vintage French touring bikes, it offered an affordable way for people to experiment with the then "obsolete" wheels size, and it's flexible configuration allowed it to be set up for touring, randonneuring, or commuting with an internal gear hub or as a single speed.

Like most Kogwells, Greg's wife's P/R is built up with a mix of classic MTB parts and modern throwbacks like the mammered Honjos, IRD Defiant triple crankset and the Nitto M-12 mini canti front rack. The untimely demise of Kogswell was what originally inspired us to develop our own 650b frame set, the Soma Grand Randonneur. These days the options are plentiful in 650b land, but we still appreciate what Kogswell did to kickstart the low trail market way back in '06.