> Two or three years ago we had 650B bikes at Hiawatha Cyclery from at > least three manufacturers: Rivendell, Kogswell, and Rawland.
At Bicycle Quarterly, we have been testing more and more 650B bikes. It seems that custom builders really have embraced that size. Unless the 650B size > gets picked up by Trek or some other major player, I think its future > will be at best as a niche item with limited selection and spotty > availability. I'd encourage 650B bike owners and aficionados to > stockpile an extra set of rims and a couple sets of favorite tires, > just in case. I think that worry is premature. I have found in the past that whenever I stocked up on things, either availability improved, or my tastes changed. I have a good stock of Mavic MA-2 rims. They'll last me forever, because I mostly ride on 650B bikes now. And in any case, silver box-section rims are available from a variety of sources again. 650B availability is either great or spotty, depending on what you want. If you want 50 mediocre tires and rims with every drilling, then it's spotty. If you want a really great tire selection for a variety of uses, from the Schwalbe Marathon all the way to a Grand Bois, and some of the best rims available anywhere, then it's great. OK, there are no 48-hole 650B rims, but then, why would you want one? Even on tandem with combined rider/bike weights of 350 lbs. and up, 40 holes is more than enough and 36 holes is fine. 650B may have been on the brink of extinction a decade ago, but thanks to Rivendell's pioneering role, and others like the Confrerie des 650, Toei, Grand Bois, etc., who kept it going through the dark period, it's more than alive now. It's perhaps the most vibrant part of the "real-world" bicycle market. Is it mainstream? No, but neither are high-performance 32 mm tires, low tread (Q factor) cranks or square- taper bottom brackets. I don't really care about what Trek sells. I can see your perspective as a bike shop owner who orders from the big distributors, but from the vantage point of the consumer and small builder, 650B is great, and getting better all the time. In fact, we may just offer 28-hole and 40-hole versions of the new Grand Bois rims... and if those sell well, a 48-hole version may follow... When I look at the offerings in wide tires, traditional handlebar shapes, nice cranks, silver box-section rims, etc., all have improved so much in recent years that it's almost hard to believe, and every month, there are new products. Centerpull brakes, even high-end freewheels are available again. Disclosure: Vintage Bicycle Press sells 650B components and has a (small) commercial interest in this discussion. Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly 2116 Western Ave. Seattle WA 98121 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
