Originally Posted by
branko_76
Thanks for the replies...
BSD = Bead Seat Diameter...I've never paid much attention to this stuff, now I get it
According to Sheldon Brown
27" = 630mm BSD
700C = 622mm BSD
and you guys are saying that
650B = 584mm BSD
So this rim is smaller than 27" yet many use 650B in bikes designed for 27" wheels. So, the idea is to use larger tires for comfort with the tradeoff of needed longer reach brakes.
Am I getting this right?
Yup, and you typically gain room for fenders on a bike that doesn’t have room over decently fat 27”/700C’s. I use short reach calipers with 700’s (pads at the bottom of the slots), and Tektro 556 calipers (early version of the 559’s now available) with 650’s.
The 650Bx38’s on my Marinoni, installed for about 1,000 miles so far this year, are noticeably more comfortable on Seattle’s crappy pavement and just a touch more “relaxed” feeling compared to the 700x32’s also used in this bike. Here’s the 650B setup without the fenders for best visual comparison:
And with 700x32’s:
