On Monday, December 23, 2013 11:19:50 AM UTC-5, Bill Lindsay wrote: > > Don't get me wrong, I think a 650B monster cross would be a great bike. I > own a 650B monstercross and I really like it. > > My point is that a 700c Hunqapillar is already a 29er. It is made to > clear 700x55 tires. The BB drop is correct for 700x55. Estimating that as > a 366mm radius tire, if you move to Quasi Motos, then you are dropping the > bb by the better part of an inch. 650B conversions are cool because you go > from 700 x too skinny to 650b x a lot chubbier. Let's say it is 3/4". > That much extra under the fork crown would look ridiculous on a $2000 > frame, so build a new fork, or spec a Bombadil 650B fork. But now you have > to redo the head tube, which means the down tube lug changes. Same extra > 3/4" at the bridges, so now the chainstays and seatstays need to change > also if you want it to look like a bike where the designer knew what he was > doing. Those might be vanity details to you, but Grant takes those details > very seriously. He just wouldn't do it. The only two tubes on the bike he > could avoid changing would be the seat tube and top tube. >
Good point. I agree on one hand; RBW is a success because Grant does take those details seriously, they won't change something if it's not an acceptable change. And you nailed it on the 650b conversions; same reason I have 650b Hetres on my 60cm Ram that was a 700c bike; chubbier tire than the Ram can run on 700c, it can do if on 650b. On the other hand: the bikes have a max tire size, but often run smaller; they Hunq description says to not run anything smaller than a 40 on it. I think the Clement X'plor MSO 700x40 would be a great tire on it for the small end. I don't think it would look 'too small' on it, either. Compare that tire against a bigger 650b, like the NeoMoto 2.3, and there's not as much of a difference in gap. Again, let me agree with you: sure, get a newer Bomba that was intended for 650b right off the bat, that would be ideal. I did. But, that was at the old price; now, it's $1500 more than the Hunq frame. If you're wanting to stick to something closer to $2k, you have to go look somewhere else. RBW is one of the background reasons why Kirk was able to get the 650b to come into MTB bikes; it makes sense to me that RBW needs a 650b mountain bike, aside from the custom Bombadil. What they need is a 650b mountain bike back in the non-custom range. What I think would be cool, is to do the Hunq the way the Saluki/Hilsen merger occurred: now the AHH has a 650b range, and a 700c range. Why not have a 650 Hunq range? They're built on-demand as ordered, instead of a lot sitting in stock... I do see your point, and it would definitely need considering. But I think it'd be good to see what a 54 Hunq looked like w/ a set of Nobby Nics or Hans Dampfs or Trail Kings thrown on some rims... wish I was near there, could go by w/ a wheelset and have a look in person... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
