Moe Zhoost

Frame is mid 90's lugged steel, which based on it's original color and geometry I believe to be their Eros model. I took it frame as a partial trade for another frame and decided to go the 650B route. I was originally planning on a 2x9 drive train but I got a deal on some Shimano 105 11 speed stuff and decided to go with a single up front. With the 11 speed 11-32 cassette, it gives me a wide range of nicely spaced gears (functionally only one less gear than my 3x9 setup on the trike!). Chain ring is a 39T, but with the 11T small cog, it gives me about as big of a gear that I want to crank these days. Took the first ride today and deemed the conversion to be a success. The ride was very comfortable. I opted for Panaracer Col de la Vie tires because they had decent reviews and were inexpensive. Some folks describe them as slow, but compared to the Schwalbe Marathon Plusses on my commuting bike, they were right zippy. The tires do make some noise on smooth payment and have an annoying habit of collecting small pebbles that click with rotation. Nevertheless, I like them a lot. Gear changing was perfect. I had thought about using friction levers because that's how most of my bikes are set up, but changed my mind and opted for an indexed bar-end. I have to say that my biggest surprise was that the virgin Brooks B-17 was comfortable out of the box. The Tektro long reach brakes work great. Hope the conversion doesn't offend any traditionalists here, but I have many other older bikes that I keep stock. This was an experiment that satisfied my curiosity about 650B as well as allowed me to use stuff from my parts bin.

ThermionicScott 

Hmm, picture isn't working. Do you have it stored on a Google drive?

Moe Zhoost

Pic should work now.

clasher

Sorry to report I can't see the picture. Imgur usually works and I've never had a problem with flickr.

Moe Zhoost

Fixed I hope? Hosted on Flickr now, but for some reason still had some difficulty. Previous posts were no problem.

TenGrainBread 

Yep, pic is up.

What crankset/chainring is that?

ThermionicScott 

Boom! Looks great, @Moe_Zhoost. And it's a great exercise to build up a bike from scratch, not knowing how the end product will turn out, or if you'll even like it. You learn a lot as you go.

P.S. What method did you use for dimpling the chainstays? I've been considering it but haven't summoned the guts yet. Got any pics of the tools/process? Thanks.

clasher

Looks like a nice one for gravel riding.

Moe Zhoost

It's an older Shimano 600 (or 105, I don't remember) that I had on another bike. 130 BCD with 39T new Shimano ring. I may replace it with a 42T, but I'll need more riding to decide.

I carved a form out of dogwood (very, very hard) and attached it to a C-Clamp. Another piece of wood on the outside formed to match the stay. A few turns and it was done, although the outside shaped clamp pad split on the second one. One side is a bit deeper than the other, but the tires fit with space to spare. I imagine if I opt for wider tires, I may have to tweak it. Here's a pic.



The back side of the block has a groove in it that fits the clamp. This acts as a key to keep it horizontal as I make a crimp. In using, I snugged it up and then counted turns of the clamp screw to keep the dimples about the same size.

It handled the gravel on my street a lot better than the 32's on my commuting bike. On my ride yesterday down a local MUP, I road for a time on the crushed rock "horse/jogger" path along side. I didn't notice much difference (another surprise). On another bike with 25s, there is a definite speed difference between the two surfaces.

noglider 

@Moe Zhoost, what did you put the other side of the clamp onto?

Moe Zhoost

@noglider: The piece cracked on the second stay so I didn't keep it. It was a block of wood about 6" long into which I carved a semi-circular groove length-wise to match the radius of the stay. It surrounded half the stay and so did not squirm around as I tightened. I underestimated the radius of the stay so the groove left me about 3/8" thickness at the bottom of the groove, which is why it cracked.

ThermionicScott 

Excellent, thanks! I just came up from the basement, where I made some mini-dimples in mine. Used a pair of large curved-jaw vise grips and the outer face of an 11/16" combo wrench for the inside. I ground one of the inside faces (of the vise grips) smooth and to the approximate contour of the outside of the chainstay and covered it with a couple layers of duct tape for cushioning. I wanted to start small and just add a bit more clearance and it worked pretty well. Just gently squoze until I could feel the metal yielding a little.

OldsCOOL

Interesting bike. Love that red paint. I agree with the index shifting. At this stage of the game I'm spoiled.

Chris W.

Nice build!!! Thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Chris

Lake_Tom

My Bianchi Eros might get the same makeover. I have 6000 miles on it. I could not fit 32mm tires on it. I want to ride anywhere when we are out on our camping trips. I am considering a new touring bicycle, but I rather want a 1x11 drivetrain. I have been plagued by dropped chains on the front derailleur forever. My 1x11 dream would be 400% range, starting at 22 gear inches.

I am surprised that you had to dimple the chainstays to make room for the tires. I was thinking that typical long reach brakes would be adequate to fit 700x35 tires and I would go with that. The chainstays are a bit further apart as you move aft on the chainstays, so that inherently gives the tires a skosh more room.

noglider 

1x drivetrains can be more susceptible to chain drops. Some have to put gadgets on their chains where the front derailleur goes to prevent it. Not that it's a big deal.

mountaindave 

Try a Compass or Pacenti tire, you will be blown away.

I personally think a saddle should be comfortable out of the box...

I remember when this thread originally came out because it got me thinking about dimpling stays. Haven’t done it truer, but still want to. I have a number of 650b conversions now and don’t care if people don’t like them, they are quick, easy mods that are non-permanent (save the dimpling) so the bike can go back to stock in about an hour.

One of my favorites is my RB-1. It’s still set up as a racing bike and it still goes fast, it’s just WAY more fun to ride. It was quite satisfying to coast past friends on a 4 mile descent who had given me hell about my “fat tires” then later catch and pass a friend on the final climb who had beaten me in one of the previous climbs. I was riding Pacenti PariMotos - they don’t slow you down in the least.