650b Wheels

[hondated]

Morning everyone.Raining and windy here in Eastbourne. My question for today is ;
Given I have cantilever brakes could I replace my 700c wheels with 650b wheels.By what I have read this would enable me to fit fatter tyres which would mean more comfort.

[NetworkMan]

Surely not without moving the cantilever mountings. What frame do you have? Doesn't it have decent clearances given that it has cantilevers?

[MLJ]

The rim size for 700C is 622mm, but for the 650B it is 584mm. Your brake blocks would need to be about 20mm lower for these rims to fit.

[hondated]

Surely not without moving the cantilever mountings. What frame do you have? Doesn't it have decent clearances given that it has cantilevers?

Thanks NetworkMan, Roberts as it is the biggest tyres I can fit are 32mm.

The rim size for 700C is 622mm, but for the 650B it is 584mm. Your brake blocks would need to be about 20mm lower for these rims to fit.Thanks MLJ

[andrew_s]

The only way you can fit smaller wheels to the same frame is to swap the cantilever brake for drum brakes.

[PH]

If you have a suitable fork crown and rear brake bridge, long reach calipers may be a solution, the Tektro R559 has a 73mm drop and is popular with those converting road bikes to 650b. But IMO good 32mm tyres at the right pressure ought to be pretty comfortable. Which tyres are you using?

[hondated]

Thanks Andrew probably not worth doing then.
ph That also sounds like a lot of work so hardly worth the effort as well. I think I might review the tyres I am using Continental Touring Plus anyway as they seem like hard work when it comes to rolling resistance.
I think I have heard too much talk about marginal gains and sticking with 700c wheels really will not be too much of a problem.

Staying away from the sweet trolley will probably help as well.

[Bicycler]

If the touring plus provides a ride anything like as harsh as the marathon plus a change of tyres could make a significant difference. Trying lower tyre pressure can make a big difference too. Too many people unnecessarily pump them up to the maximum pressure written on the tyre.

[NetworkMan]

If the touring plus provides a ride anything like as harsh as the marathon plus a change of tyres could make a significant difference. Trying lower tyre pressure can make a big difference too. Too many people unnecessarily pump them up to the maximum pressure written on the tyre.

I'd wondered about that too. The Vittoria Voyager Hyper gives a lovely ride in 37 mm width and it is available as a 32 mm. However I don't know how much worse the ride will be with the narrower version and AFAIK it is not available at such a huge discount.

[hondated]

Thanks for the further information since my last posting.Very useful.

[Bikefayre]

Try using the Schwalbe Road Cruiser [35C] as it has a comfortable ride plus have had it on three bikes, still with no punctures. These tyres have a puncture proof carcass and puncture proof tread layer. They are free rolling and have an excellent four season tread that will work off road. The present owner of these tyres is really impressed and are not even perished and hardly worn.

[Brucey]

if you can't fit fatter tyres easily then there are other methods you could consider;

- different bar tape
- suspension stem (hard to find now, not always a good option anyway)
- suspension seat post
- different forks for fatter front tyre

Having said this, all these things will filter out different kinds of bumps. What kind of bumps do you think are worst for you?

chees