Show Us Your 650B Conversions
#1026
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That was the most seriously arduous fender fit ever. I think I may have done permanent damage to my carpometacarpal joints 'massaging' the radii, and I must have mounted/unmounted the wheels and fenders, oh, at least ten times!
#1027
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#1030
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#1031
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Potential Bianchi Reparto Corse excommunication
Having capitulated from riding in the face of an adverse weather forecast I eroded much of a midweek afternoon off to prove a lingering concept. Picked up some 48-61mm Gran Compe 610 centrepulls a year or two ago thinking they could almost reach a 650b rim on a close clearance mid 90s Italian racing frame. My c. 1997 Bianchi TSX barely clears GP5000 25mm front and 28mm rear under short reach sidepulls with pads near the top of the 39-49mm slots. Sure enough the GC brakes will reach the 650b rims, although I’d need to downsize tyres from c. 42mm to more like 38mm for chainstay and fork blade clearance. Also drops the bb from c. 274mm to c. 267mm for the 42s, so maybe 263mm for 38s. Getting low…
The frame although perhaps ideal with numerous touch-ups and chrome under almost all the paint is to my mind still too good to expose to the mercy of local gravel, to say nothing of breaking the 700c lineage back to at least Felice if not Fausto.
Now a close-clearance Merckx, Moser Leader AX, Gazelle or Masi in a more tired condition could be a different story.
The frame although perhaps ideal with numerous touch-ups and chrome under almost all the paint is to my mind still too good to expose to the mercy of local gravel, to say nothing of breaking the 700c lineage back to at least Felice if not Fausto.
Now a close-clearance Merckx, Moser Leader AX, Gazelle or Masi in a more tired condition could be a different story.
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#1032
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This is my 1978 UO10 Peugeot converted to 650b.
It's a great riding bike although not very lightweight.
So far I've ridden it up to 40 miles in comfort.
Tires are smooth tread Panaracer Gravel Kings in 650b x 42 on Velocity Dyad rims.
I did a thread on this bike here.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...l#post22955168
Last edited by cooperryder; 07-19-23 at 09:30 AM.
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#1033
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Just saw these nutted brakes available on AliExpress:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800338426691.html
90mm of reach! Convert your 27" wheeled road bike to 650B!
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800338426691.html
90mm of reach! Convert your 27" wheeled road bike to 650B!
#1034
Junior Member
Tektro 900A is another option at 92mm max reach, and they're a dual pivot brake. They normally retail here in the UK for about £25, so a bit more expensive than the above link, but not really mega-bucks!
https://www.tektro.com/index.php/en/product/49
I've not used the Ali Express ones above but the 900A is 'acceptable' performance wise, it's never going to be great at that reach, but DP Vs SP helps.
https://www.tektro.com/index.php/en/product/49
I've not used the Ali Express ones above but the 900A is 'acceptable' performance wise, it's never going to be great at that reach, but DP Vs SP helps.
#1035
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One more photo because I like this bike!
32 mm GP 5000s at 72 psi...such a comfortable ride.
32 mm GP 5000s at 72 psi...such a comfortable ride.
Last edited by BTinNYC; 08-23-23 at 06:58 PM.
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#1036
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tire issues
I'm on my 3rd set of tires trying to get something narrow enough to fit on the rear. The last set was Panaracer Gravelking 27.5 x 1.75 - too fat. I'm wondering at what point the tires are too narrow for the benefit of cushier 650's. I've got about 46mm space in the rear, currently have 700x40. Any advice?
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#1037
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I'm on my 3rd set of tires trying to get something narrow enough to fit on the rear. The last set was Panaracer Gravelking 27.5 x 1.75 - too fat. I'm wondering at what point the tires are too narrow for the benefit of cushier 650's. I've got about 46mm space in the rear, currently have 700x40. Any advice?
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#1038
Senior Member
Hmm- you can fit 700x40, but going to 650B and 1.75" (44.45mm) won't fit? I wouldn't think it worth what a conversion requires for a gain of less than 4mm... But 40mm should get you a darn cushy ride. Tire quality/suppleness is (almost?) as important as width- I've got some Rene Herse 700 x 35c tires on one bike that are as cushy as the cheapish 650b x 42c tires on another..
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#1039
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Minimum, schminimum. Use one of those online tire pressure calculators to figure out what you ought to use for your weight. If a tire lists a minimum pressure, I'm pretty much always under that in front.
#1040
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Minimum, schminimum, my new favorite phrase!
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#1041
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I'm on my 3rd set of tires trying to get something narrow enough to fit on the rear. The last set was Panaracer Gravelking 27.5 x 1.75 - too fat. I'm wondering at what point the tires are too narrow for the benefit of cushier 650's. I've got about 46mm space in the rear, currently have 700x40. Any advice?
A few of my conversions are from late 80’s road bikes that can barely fit 28mm 700c tires (one can’t even do that) to get 38mm 650b tires to fit - no fenders.
The other conversions are older sport tourers that could do 32-35mm 700c tires, but I can now do 38mm 650b’s with fenders. With chain stay indents I can sometimes go to 42mm.
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#1042
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I'm on my 3rd set of tires trying to get something narrow enough to fit on the rear. The last set was Panaracer Gravelking 27.5 x 1.75 - too fat. I'm wondering at what point the tires are too narrow for the benefit of cushier 650's. I've got about 46mm space in the rear, currently have 700x40. Any advice?
#1043
Senior Member
What bike is this, by the way? One thing that helps when converting older frames to 650B is that the chainstay clearance usually opens up as you move backward. But the chainstays on some newer bikes are already manipulated to maximize tire clearance with the intended 700C wheels, so going to 650B wheels is just a lateral move. If I had such a frame, I'd probably just pick some supple 32-42mm 700C tires and call it a day.
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#1044
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Persevered with the 650b-ianchi concept and got it on the road for a couple of hours this arvo. Rides pretty well with no unwelcome traits at this early stage, although the low bb is never far from consciousness. Yet to test it climbing and descending but spring started yesterday in the southern hemisphere so there’s plenty of time to come for that.
First time I’ve used centrepull brakes and there’s not much bite in them. A little more wear to the pads may help but compressionless housing is probably not far away, followed by some research into leverage ratios and such. Coming from a road sidepull/dual pivot background I’m accustomed to all levers working well enough with all calipers…
Beyond that a 170mm crankset to replace the 175 Chorus on it now could be worth a try, especially if I can track down a Victory with something like 35/50 chainrings. The rear cassette is 10-speed 13-29 but with down tube friction shifters to maintain the classic theme…
First time I’ve used centrepull brakes and there’s not much bite in them. A little more wear to the pads may help but compressionless housing is probably not far away, followed by some research into leverage ratios and such. Coming from a road sidepull/dual pivot background I’m accustomed to all levers working well enough with all calipers…
Beyond that a 170mm crankset to replace the 175 Chorus on it now could be worth a try, especially if I can track down a Victory with something like 35/50 chainrings. The rear cassette is 10-speed 13-29 but with down tube friction shifters to maintain the classic theme…
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Last edited by seagrade; 09-02-23 at 03:23 AM. Reason: typos
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#1045
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Centerpull brakes can take some dailing in.
What rims and tire size are you sporting? I’ve not heard of Grand Prix 5000 in 650b.
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#1046
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The 650b 32mm GPs are plush!
The bad news is I could only find 32mm in Tubeless Ready, and they were a horrible bear to mount on standard clincher rims. Pumped these nice little tires to a ridiculous 115 pounds before they seated. 😱
The rims on that Bianchi look a lot newer and are probably TR.
The bad news is I could only find 32mm in Tubeless Ready, and they were a horrible bear to mount on standard clincher rims. Pumped these nice little tires to a ridiculous 115 pounds before they seated. 😱
The rims on that Bianchi look a lot newer and are probably TR.
Last edited by BTinNYC; 09-06-23 at 06:14 AM.
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#1047
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Centrepulls are uncharted territory for me. I couldn’t find anything online to say some other lever than the TRP RRL SR I’m using would greatly increase braking power, so for now I’ll tinker with settings, further wear them in, and perhaps try compressionless housing…
The tyres are Conti GP5000 TLR 650b 32mm and were indeed a chore to fit on silver anodised 650b Velocity Quill tubeless-compatible rims. Three tyre levers and a tube were sacrificed in the process. I have some thin Kapton tape coming to replace the thicker Ritchey rim strips. Hopefully that will allow a repair in the field as and when the time comes…
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#1048
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I've got Rene Herse tires on a couple bikes that were an absolute NIGHTMARE to get mounted- soap & water, high/fast pressure (and a couple blown tubes...), mangled tire irons, very sore hands from kneading-pulling-pushing-squeezing-prodding, multiple types of rim tape tried.... The good thing is that they stretch out some with riding- I've since moved the tires to different wheel sets and it was much, much easier the second time around!
#1049
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Cheers thanks.
Centrepulls are uncharted territory for me. I couldn’t find anything online to say some other lever than the TRP RRL SR I’m using would greatly increase braking power, so for now I’ll tinker with settings, further wear them in, and perhaps try compressionless housing…
The tyres are Conti GP5000 TLR 650b 32mm and were indeed a chore to fit on silver anodised 650b Velocity Quill tubeless-compatible rims. Three tyre levers and a tube were sacrificed in the process. I have some thin Kapton tape coming to replace the thicker Ritchey rim strips. Hopefully that will allow a repair in the field as and when the time comes…
Centrepulls are uncharted territory for me. I couldn’t find anything online to say some other lever than the TRP RRL SR I’m using would greatly increase braking power, so for now I’ll tinker with settings, further wear them in, and perhaps try compressionless housing…
The tyres are Conti GP5000 TLR 650b 32mm and were indeed a chore to fit on silver anodised 650b Velocity Quill tubeless-compatible rims. Three tyre levers and a tube were sacrificed in the process. I have some thin Kapton tape coming to replace the thicker Ritchey rim strips. Hopefully that will allow a repair in the field as and when the time comes…
Look for Shimano brake lever models: 6400, 1055, A451. There are probably others too. I believe the 7400 dura ace models are also SLR brakes.
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#1050
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I had a pair of those Grand Cru centerpulls and was not impressed and I used Cane Creek levers. I think my Vainqueur 999 work better with Weinmann levers.
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