steve-in-kville 

Being a shorter rider, this model Surly caught my eye. Only downsides would be the lack of available tires and there are no Surly dealers in my area. I would love to hear from those who ride the 650b size, and especially about the Straggler.

Thanks.

Tim_Iowa

650b is definitely increasing in popularity. Wal-mart and other big-box stores are even starting to sell mountain bikes with 650b/27.5" wheels.

There are lots of great options for tires, besides the Surly Knards (which are pretty nice, in the 120 tpi casing). My favorite 650b tire is the Panaracer Pari-Moto, because it's cheap (~$35) and very fast, but it's also pretty flimsy (no puncture protection).
Panaracer is now offering their Gravel King tires (a little tread, a little puncture protection) in 650b x midsize widths; it's similar to the Knard tire (small knobs).
Panaracer also makes 650b tires for Soma (commuting oriented) and Compass Cycles (flimsy, high-performance, $$$).
Schwalbe also makes a lot of its tires in 650b sizes.

Any bike shop with a QBP account (read: almost every dealer in the country) can order you a Surly bike.

steve-in-kville 

Oh really? I guess I thought they had exclusive dealerships or something.

Tim_Iowa

AFAIK, any dealer that has a QBP account can order Surly.

However, Salsa is also a QBP brand but it's only available for exclusive Salsa dealers.

steve-in-kville 

Okay, good to know. Is anyone else making a 650b gravel/adventure bike? Seems like Redline had something at one time...

DarKris

I am not a short rider, however I converted my cyclocross bike to 650b and I really enjoy it. Currently running Pasela 42mm tires which measure wider on my rims and they roll fast. I like how easier is it to climb with these tires vs my 38c tires that I was running before. Also I can run these at lower pressures than usual for me, so I really like them.

kuroba

How short are you? I'm 5' but ride 700c (went with this size mainly because of availability, I'd be hard pressed to find any 650b tires that are not MTB and 2" wide in my country).

The Riding Gravel blog did a series of posts featuring 650b wheels and tires for gravel grinding, though their focus was using smaller wheels in 700c bikes to use wider tire width.: The 650B Test: At The Finish -

Lovely bicycle also has an article on 650 wheels for mixed roads Lovely Bicycle!: Notes from the Small, Yet Grand, All-Ireland 650B Tyre-Test Party

Tim_Iowa

There are lots of randonneur-style 650b frames that can work great as gravel/adventure bikes. Most of these are classic/french-styled frames of lightweight steel, most are designed for rim brakes, and many are sold as a frameset only.
A lightweight steel randonneur would be a bit faster/more responsive than the Straggler, but not as capable of carrying mega loads.
Also, pretty much all of them are higher-end (exceptions: the Soma Grand Randonneur complete is ~$1400, and the Cycles Toussaint is a $525 frameset, and Velo Orange has a couple reasonably priced framesets)
Rivendell and most smaller framebuilders (Elephant, L'avecaise, etc) will be a good deal more expensive than the Straggler.

Cannondale makes the Slate, which is somewhere between cyclocross, randonneuring, and mountain bikes. The Slate has a 30 mm travel Lefty fork, which probably works great but seems like too many compromises (weight, unique headset and hub, no fender, no racks).

Some folks have had success by just buying 650b/27.5 disc wheels and a 700c disc cyclocross/gravel frame.

vwchad

I use my Soma Grand Randonneur for camping and gravel riding with Compass 42mm wide tires on it. The bike performs flawlessly in these adventures. I recently did a 3 night camping trip on the Olympic peninsula in Washington State with some friends. I had my boxy rando style bar bag with completely stuffed panniers up front and just my tent strapped to the top of the rear rack. Bike handled great. Keep the load up front, if you go with the Soma. It doesn't do well with much of a rear load. It gets the "tail wagging the dog" feel really easily. It really isn't designed for full on touring, but for what I've used it for (1-3 night adventures) it has been great.


The geometry of the Soma GR is kind of odd. It is best described as long and low. For a shorter rider it may actually be a really good choice. Lots of stand over height. I hate to make generalized statements about sizing, but I'd consider going up one size larger than you think you'd normally ride. I ride a 55cm and a friend has a 61cm. With almost nothing more than saddle height adjustment, I can easily and comfortably ride his bike as well. Like I said, sizing is a bit odd on them it seems....


As for tire, I can't say enough good things about the Compass tires. Smooth, fast, fantastic grip. Despite the lack of fancy puncture protective devices, I get way fewer flats with these tires than any other tire I've used, and I put more miles on this bike than any other.

Sullalto

Where'd you go? Just moved to Port Angeles here. Any road recommendations?

fietsbob

Already a Common tire size in France .. Compass Cycles sells High performance tires in that size .

Schwalbe probably does too , Michelin Certainly ..




Lots of shops have a QBP account ,, You may not see Bikes ready to ride ,

As they dont sell to dealers on Rotating Credit lines ... its all charged to Businesses credit cards..
before Shipping the order.




./.

vwchad

We started by camping at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, then took the ferry to Port Townsend. Rode from Port Townsend to just west of Sequim where we turned south into the foothills of the mountains. We rode to the Dungeness Forks Campground. Next day we hiked to the Tubal Cain mine and the crashed B17. That night we stayed at the Sequim State park, and rode back to Port Townsend the next day.

Much of the ride was along, or parallel to 101, which was actually not bad with the wide shoulder. I'll PM you the Garmin data, so as not to take up any more of this thread......

Mr IGH

With all the great option in 700c frames and tyres why would you seek out an orphan size? There's a plethora of 700c frames that take 700x45 with tyre options. The 650b offers nothing unless you need a smaller wheelset, 26" tyres are a better option....

Mr IGH

The Pasela based fancy tyres by Soma and Compass get ripped to shreds out here. Our rocks and sand are feldspar granite, it's really sharp.

Henry III

I'm a bit vertically handicapped and like 650 wheel sizes better then a 700 be it B or C. You should also check out Cannondales touring bikes as the smaller frames are offered only with 650b wheels in which how it should be. Why try to make a small frame work with such big wheel and end up horrible toe overlap. What's not to love...nice plush tires but roll like as fast as a 23/25mm road tire.

The only thing I see based from the Paselas are that they're made Panaracer and available with tan sidewalls. 650b tires have around forever but the mainstream is finally jumping aboard the boat the past couple of years. Also check out the Surly LHT in the 26" wheel size.

vwchad

That is unfortunate, they are really nice tires. But, fortunately there are plenty of tires to choose from to suite different needs these days.

DarKris

It's all personal preference. I recently switched from 700x38c to 650bx42 tires and I don't know how to describe it but it feels perfect for me. I used 700x42c tires and it felt almost too big for me despite being 5'11". I haven't felt as comfortable on my bike prior to the switch.

While I'm not 100% aware of the OP's motives, I think the reason of running something you feel comfortable with is more than enough of a reason to warrant an "orphan size".

Banzai

5'6" myself. I would love a 650b Straggler, but the orphan tire size argument is why I haven't. Options are increasing, but it's still an orphan.

So I'm going to be a holdout for a while, to see what comes of this.

Case in point is buying winter studs; a plethora of options in 700c and 26", but highly limited and rarified in 650b.

steve-in-kville 

I'm dealing with wheelsize on a SS/FG project. I am a shorter rider and any 700 frame will cause toe-overlap. 700 x whatever abounds anywhere... get to the 650b or 650c wheels and everything is twice the $$ and a fraction of the options.

Part of me just wants to suck it up and make due with the 700 for now.

jeff400650

There are a lot of 27.5" mountain bike tires, and a few less knobby options. I just ordered a new bike that has 650b/27.5" tires, and am looking for options. Jenson USA has quite a few.

Fangowolf

The new masi speciale randonneur has 650 wheels

Henry III

Why not build something with 26" and drops? I've got two dropbar 26" bikes and a good majority of frames will fit a 650b wheel with clearance if you want to changeover. I bought a chinese carbon 26'' mtb frame and use that as my gravel bike and looking to pick up some Compass Rat Trap tires.