52telecaster

I tried buying a frame for a 650b project and when i started working on it i realized the rear triangle was bent. I will eventually straighten it out but meanwhile in my basement was a ratty looking but very straight 81 miyata 912. Not much is original here except the crank but i am getting started. I rode it a few blocks and its a real no hander so i am quite happy. Fenders, a front rack and full lights ought to make this about perfect.

Chris_in_Miami

Very cool, you’re off to a great start! Can you share the details of the wheelset you’re using? I’m just getting serious about a 650b conversion myself, and looking at the options.

52telecaster

i am pretty poor right now so i went with weinmann zac19 rims, wheelsmith db spokes and the rear hub is a midrange shimano cassette hub while the front is a shimano dynamo i have had laying around. If i was going to get serious i might get a shutter precision dynamo. The brakes are tektro 559.

Chris_in_Miami

Thanks for info, much appreciated! Nothing wrong with those choices, I’ll probably take a similar approach and lie to myself about upgrading some day if I like the results 🙂 I have an old Trek with 27” wheels I want to move to a tatty Paramount, and I think 650b would be a cool upgrade for the Trek.

52telecaster

when starting with a 27 inch wheeled bike you may need more brake reach than the tektros offer. They make an 800 that probably would reach.

hankamania

I did a 650B conversion on my mom's '86 912 (she bought it new) a couple of years ago. I'd bought an '88 712 and built it up as 650b, and due to some ordering mishaps, I wound up with an extra set of ZAC19s. She'd told me several times over the years that she wanted cushier tires, but couldn't fit wider than a 25. So I offered to do the conversion on her bike. She was skeptical at first, but once she rode 650x38s at 40psi, she was in love. It's the latest tweak that made her fall in love with that bike for the latest time in her 34 year history with it. She's now 72 and told me yesterday that she was going to take it for a long ride next weekend.

hankamania

Here are my 650B bikes. Both were purchased as bare frames that I repainted. The Miyata, I'd originally planned to run 700x28s on, but there wasn't enough clearance. I didn't want another skinny-tire bike, so I decided to go 650B. 3x11 Athena with Chorus shifters, Velocity A23 rims and rear hub, Shutter Precision SV9 front dynamo. Tires are Panaracer/Pacenti Pari-Moto 650x38s.

hankamania

And here's my '86 Schwinn SuperSport. Veloce derailleurs and rear hub. Centaur shifters and front hub. IRD Defiant Triple crank. Soma Weymouth rims, and 650x38 Pari-Motos.

ThermionicScott 

One of us! One of us! One of us!

noobinsf 

I used ZAC19's for my build, and I like them just fine. Nice Miyata, 52telecaster !

52telecaster

now that is a wonderful post!
At 63 i love seeing folks older than me ride. Btw, your moms pretty cute....

52telecaster

im liking them too. Might but another set of rims.

This is what it looked like today when i rode to work.

With a bell, a bag and a headlight its getting somewhere. It weighed in at 30lbs 11 oz. At the work scale but i can bring that down. Main thing is it rode lovely.

hankamania

Dad thinks so, too.

52telecaster

he'd better!

gugie 

On a budget 650b build, scrimp on rims, pay more for tires.

52telecaster

the tires on it now were just second hand from the coop. I just ordered a pair of gravel king nearly bald.

Not top of the line but i hope they are nice.

bikemig 

Good thread and good looking bike. I have a mid 70s Libertas (full Reynolds 531) I'm thinking of doing a 650 build conversion with. It too has a bent rear triangle but I don't think it will be hard to straighten it out.

Road Fan

52', can you talk about how you straightened and matched your rear triangles?

due ruote 

I had a shifted rear end on a Stella, and was able to get it back into alignment fairly easily with some careful clamp work.