It's true that René Herse's and Alex Singer's bikes went to narrower 700C tires for their randonneur bikes. They didn't stop at 30-32 mm. By the 1970s, their bikes were equipped with 25 or even 23 mm tires. This wasn't necessarily because they thought these tires were faster – they were following the general trend toward narrower tires.
The wide 650B tires you see on French cyclotouring bikes from the 1930s and 1940s bikes trace their origins to the insight of Velocio, the editor of the magazine Le Cycliste. In the 1920s, he realized that supple, wide tires roll as fast as narrow ones on smooth surfaces, and faster on rough ones. His stories of riding far and fast on these big 'balloon' tires captured the imagination of his readers. In the 1930s and 1940s, Velocio's influence continued in the Concours de Machines (Technical Trials), where the rules required wide tires. The Concours captured cyclists' imaginations, and having a 'Concours Bike' was the dream of many. On the rough post-war roads, wide tires also made sense. The last Concours was held in 1949. Cars and mopeds were becoming popular, and in the downturn of the bike industry, It was hard to find the money and initiative to organize another Concours. Without anybody promoting wide tires, cyclotouring bikes started following racing bike practice, and many switched to 700C wheels and narrow tires. 650B made a minor comeback after Serge Félix rode a 650B Herse to third place in the 1955 Poly de Chanteloup hillclimb race. One of our René Herse posters <https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/print/books/rene-herse-poster/> shows him during that ride. He demonstrated once again that wider 650B tires aren't slower even on smooth roads. But a single result wasn't enough to turn the tide, and the '650B revival' was short-lived. And as demand dwindled, supple, wide tires became unavailable. Rene Herse stuck with wider tires and 650B longer than most, but without any 650B tires beyond heavy utility models, it didn't make sense to build high-performance 650B bikes. In the 1960s, Wolber introduced their "Super Randonneur" 650B tires so that the old bikes still out there could continue rolling, and that led to many touring and camping bikes being built for 650B again. But those tires were just 32 mm wide, reflecting the general trend to narrower tires. By then, 700C bikes already used 25 mm tires. The French Confrerie des 650 consists of riders who came of age during that time, and that is why they champion the 650B x 32 mm tire size so ardently, and are quite disappointed that the world has gone to 650B, but in much wider widths than used by the bikes of their youth. Velocio's insights that wider tires can be as fast as narrow ones weren't rediscovered until Bicycle Quarterly, and, shortly afterward, others like the Cervelo pro team, started testing tire resistance with the rider on the bike. Now, more than a decade later, it's well-established that wider tires roll as fast as narrow ones, provided they use the same casing and construction. However, performance isn't everything, and the feel of the bike can be just as important, especially to a non-competitive rider. Narrow tires do feel different, and Mike Kone has often said that he likes a 'connected' feel to the road. A wider tires insulates you from the road surface, which can be good for speed and comfort, but may not be what you want if you enjoy a 'sports car' feel. I suspect that it's this feel that Mike really is talking about when he writes that wide tires aren't as "fast and perky." At Compass Cycles, we respect all approaches, which is why we offer our tires in a variety of widths and diameters. We can tell you which tire is faster (or not), but we won't tell you which bike feel you should prefer. There are many wonderful bikes out there. While my tires may be wider than most, I equally enjoy my Firefly with its 'wide' 54 mm tires and my J. P. Weigle with its 'narrow' 38s, and my other bikes with their 'in-between' 42s. Jan Heine Founder Compass Cycles www.compasscycle.com -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
