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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19079
Location: PDX2/15/20 12:25 PM |
A mention in that article is the 650b. Ttwo of mine are sitting with 47x650b now. One gravel tires one smoother gravel [solid centers].
I find there is a comfort with the combo, mostly due to volume I suppose.
That bike sez "ride me across the county" all over it.
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KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3236
Location: Midland, MI2/16/20 9:21 AM |
Resurgence
The first time I ever heard of 650B wheels was in the late '60s, about the same time I learned about tubulars. In Gene Portuesi's Cyclo-Pedia catalog (7th Edition), he listed a pair of 15 speed 650B touring bikes complete with generator lights, seat bag w/tool kit, fenders, pump. partial chain guard, and racks weighing 32 lb. with steel cottered cranks & steel rims. There was a 2-page article on cyclo-touring including equipment list noting that a full kit for a solo tourist could come in at 35 lb. The bike was $95, which would be about $750 in today's money.
The tires were 38 mm. With wider tires and modern components, this is pretty much Jan Heine's bike today. These bikes were modeled on the randonneur bikes of the 1950s and 60s. You wonder how they would ride compared to a modern version.
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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5101
Location: Nashua, NH2/17/20 7:20 AM |
"I opted for steel because it’s easier to fabricate a frame that accepts all the things I need for adventures like Paris-Brest-Paris: fenders, lights, a rack, a pump…"
This makes no sense in comparison to Ti. What can you add more easily to a steel frame, that you can't add just as easily to a Ti frame?
For that matter, there are all manner of carbon gravel bike frames that are festooned with attachment points for fenders, racks and such. With a generator hub, you can add all the lights you want.
It seems like the real argument here is primarily aesthetic, not functional.
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