On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 21:18, Jim Cloud <cloud...@aol.com> wrote: > I stand by my comment that the traditional 650B size tire, as it was > used by the French was generally for "loaded touring bikes" - which > they often referred to as the "Camping" model. If some today are > using the size for a Randonneur, so be it, I really am not trying to > state that the 650B cannot be used on a Randonneur (nor that it wasn't > ever used on a French Randonneur model, but it wasn't the norm).
In Jan Heine's book, there are a bunch of Randonneur-type bikes with 650b tires, although there may be more that had 700c - it seemed like Alex Singer preferred to build around 700c for this type of bike, but a lot of the other builders were using 650b. I could believe that 700c was the majority preference, but my impression (and I'm no authority) is that 650b was not out of the norm, that both sizes were common. > As far as the wider type of 700C tire that I'm suggesting it certainly > would be better suited to a bicycle of my size (65-66cm) than the > 650B. I would agree. For bikes in the size I prefer (61cm), I think it can go both ways, although I've never had the privilege of trying out a bike with 650b wheels. I do generally subscribe to the principle that the biggest wheel diameter that you can fit will give best performance. How big you can fit depends on frame size as well as usage (tire width, fenders, chainstay length, etc.). I found the article in BQ arguing that there is an optimal gyroscopic force that limits optimal diameter to be pretty unconvincing. James Black -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
