Does anyone make 650B wheelsets with a 130mm rear hub? Seems like all the factory wheelsets are for MTB's with 135mm hub.

Check Rivbike.com. Rivendell has some with Tiagra hubs for around $250.

I converted a Peugeot PX-10 to 650B. Its not hard to find good rims and tires for 650B.

I have an '87 21" Schwinn Tempo I plan to convert, your post helped to verify my measurements of fit. Thanks!

Can't beat vfm and looks of the new Velo Orange rims/wheels!

CS1, finding 130mm 650b wheels is enough to make you crazy. I found an old NOS Weinmann 2120 with 130mm Sovos hubs on ebay. I've heard not so good things about Sovos hubs but figured I'd take a shot. It looks nice enough and tires mount without a problem. He's still got one left if you're interested. Other than that, Rivendell's the only (and a little pricey) option.

Yup, Velo Orange now selling VO branded polished aluminum 650b wheels with Shimano 105 hubs. The design looks a lot like old Weinmanns/Alesas and the price is pretty reasonable, especially with the 105 hubs.

These are great looking bikes! However, I am wondering what it would take to convert an old steel rigid mtb frame to 650b. I have been unable to find much advice here or elsewhere on the internet. My plan is to build a bike similar to porteurs of old with fenders and the whole lot. Any help is appreciated!

Cheers,
lverhagen

Probably not the best choice of frame to convert. You likely won't be able to use the existing canti brakes as you'll need to go from a 559mm wheel to a 584mm wheel, an additional reach of 12.5mm. You could go with hub brakes of some sort or a rear coaster brake, but then the frame might not have the clearance for the larger wheels. And the geometry of an MTB wouldn't be best for carrying front loads as porteurs were intended to do. You can put upright bars on your MTB and turn it into a cycle truck; I did that with an 80s Specialized Hard Rock or you can find an 80s road bike designed for 700c wheels as a better 650B candidate.

Neal

I didnt read through this entire thread so hopefully this hasnt already been covered...

But, out of curiosity, what is the skinniest 650B tires available? The smallest I can find is 38mm in the Panaracer Col de Vie...anything skinnier?

The Grand Bois Cypres is about 32mm wide depending on the rim.

Neal

Neal - Thanks alot! That might be just what I need!

I've been wondering the same thing. I see that Paul Components makes an expensive linear pull brake which can be adjusted for various rim diameters from 559mm to 622. Has anyone done this? And can you fit fenders if you do?

If you like it, this is irrelevant, but I'm pretty sure emery cloth and elbow grease would result in it shining up nicely.

Anyway, my real reason for posting is to say, 'Wow, that's a really nice job!'. I'm impressed by how you've set about to make the bike like you want it. The only part I wouldn't use is the stem but to be honest, I'm not sure why I don't like that style of stem. Maybe it's because they're ubiquitous here in Japan and invariably fitted to cheap, gas pipe frames and usually made of a kind of alloy that is always a dull grey.

Out of interest, did you have all the parts to hand or did you have to buy them as you went along?

Why not just have some built? Any good road hub paired up with a 650b rim. Velocity Synergy 650b rims seem to be the most popular choice that I know of. I prefer wheels built up by my LBS over anything pre-made anyhow.

It was quite a long time ago that I posted that bike, but it's still one of my primary commuters and now sports a front porteur rack. I even converted it back to 700c wheels for a while, but now it has 650B again, including a front wheel with a Shimano dynohub and a Shimano lamp mounted to the rack. I have to take some new pics, but here's one showing the rack when I first fitted it:

http://web.mit.edu/nlerner/Public/Bikes/12PackRack1.jpg

On the parts, my intention on that build was to make it French as much as was possible, so that meant gathering parts rather than pulling them out of the bin (I mostly have Japanese and British parts in the bin). Still, I swapped in and out various things over the last two years, and it now has a Weinmann center pull brake in the front and a Shimano sidepull on the rear, MKS touring pedals, and many more non-French parts. It's a bike built largely for utility rather than purity. As I was riding it home from work yesterday, I was thinking how much I like the positioning of the bars that I get with that MTB-type stem. If I had a regular quill, I'd be needing something very tall, and that in and of itself might look a bit odd, but I can understand your reaction.

Neal

Yeah, I figured that would be the case and I understand perfectly. Still, overall a very nice looking bike!

Reviving this thread to post the latest conversion: an '87 Trek 330 Elance, which I bought as a frameset plus a few original parts for relatively small money on eBay auction. It's got a reasonably high BB and reasonably short-reach for the original 700c wheelset, so it was a good conversion candidate. The tires are Pacenti PariMotos, which measure about 38mm wide, just narrow enough for the rear stays. Parts include Weinmann/Rigida Zac19 rims on old Dura Ace hubs, SunTour Cyclone II mechs, Stronglight 86bcd crankset with 48/36t rings and MKS touring pedals, SunTour 7-speed indexed bar-end shifters, Sugino seat post and Brooks Flyer saddle, Nitto stem and no-name Rando bars, Tektro brake levers and DiaCompe 750 centerpull brakes. The battleship grey finish is in pretty good shape if a bit ordinary. I'm hoping the yellow bar tape dresses it up a bit.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_GmYBBzTzcVQ/TD.../Trek330_1.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GmYBBzTzcVQ/TD.../Trek330_2.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GmYBBzTzcVQ/TD.../Trek330_3.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_GmYBBzTzcVQ/TD...Trek330_10.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GmYBBzTzcVQ/TD...Trek330_11.jpg

Neal

That looks like something I would want to ride, SWEET!,,,,BD

Yesterday I acquired (through craigslist) a pristine 1986 Raleigh Grand Prix. Except for the dry-rotted tires and the 700c araya/miche wheels badly needing trued, the bike is in magnificent shape. Photos here

I purchased the bike with the intention of doing my first 650b conversion, having done a lot of reading on some of the websites previously mentioned in this topic. I already have the Tektro R566 long reach brakes from a previous SS conversion (not 650b) and I am awaiting the $200 "budget" 650b wheelset from Rivendell (36h Shimano Tiagra hubs laced to Velocity Twin Hollow rims).

I have a question regarding the gearing, and although it is not specific to 650b conversions I figured this would be a good place to find people who have already done this... The original 700c rear wheel has a 6-speed freewheel but it is my understanding that the Tiagra hubs are spaced for a 9-speed cassette. Should I expect a seamless transition from one to the other or does that depend on the shifters, deraileur length or other factors? This Sheldon Brown page talks about using a 7-speed cassette with a spacer so I'm wondering if maybe that would work better with my older components than a 10-speed cassette? Thoughts?

disregard question, found THIS topic which pretty much covers it

lol and this. bikeforums FTW!

Nice old Trek. I used to have an old 613 and still ride an '84 420 and loved them both. Not C or V but the only 650b I've built is a Nashbar cross frame painted bright red for my neice. Sturmey-Archer hub in back and one disk brake in front.

Apologies if this was already asked/answered... Do you want 650b fenders or 700c fenders for a 700c>650b conversion? It is my understanding that the outside diameters are very similar so i don't know why Rivendell would offer two distinct sizes unless the 650b-specific frames are sized differently enough and that accounts for the difference

here is mine, just built up this week!

1986 Raleigh Grand Prix. Still have to get some fenders, racks, panniers, SS bottles/cages and faux leather bar tape
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dHoBYLjimWg/TE...0/IMG_9738.jpg
more pics HERE

neal, that trek came out great!! i think the battleship grey is a great color, and the honey brooks complements it well. if you amber shellacked the yellow tape, it may even match the brooks honey pretty closely.