"Personally, my next bike will be a 650B with 42mm Hetres (the AHH can't fit Hetres, and for me personally, a 650B bike that can't fit Hetres doesn't make sense). "
Ahem! http://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/5048546786/in/set-72157624977899459/ On Jan 28, 2:12 am, Earl Grey <earlg...@gmail.com> wrote: > Personally, my next bike will be a 650B with 42mm Hetres (the AHH > can't fit Hetres, and for me personally, a 650B bike that can't fit > Hetres doesn't make sense). > > Living in Asia, I chose the 56cm Hillborne over the 52 partly because > it has 700C wheels. But the only 700C rims available here in Thailand > are cheap Alex racing rims, or 20 spoke wonder wheels. I actually had > 2 rims destroyed here in 2 years, and the best I could do was NOS neon > yellow anodized Mavic Open Pros shipped up from Bangkok with a multi- > day wait. In other words, for the types of rims we like and use, they > won't be available in Russia or Timbuktu in either 700C or 650B. > Though in an emergency, a skinny, not-appropriate-for-touring 700C rim > can probably be found, while a 650B rim will not (former French > colonies excepted). So I just bring back rims from the States, or get > friends to bring them. Now I wonder if I should have picked the 52cm > Sam (though the 56cm is probably a better fit, being only a tiny bit > too big, and my other bike is too small), because I think Hetres are > ideal for the mixed surface riding I love. Btw, judging from growing > up 200 miles from Berlin, there are probably plenty of sometimes sandy > dirt roads ("Feldwege") around Berlin, so you may still want the > widest tires you can fit. > > I bet you can get either the 55 or the 56 to fit you perfectly, and > without trying them out, there is no way of knowing which would be > more nearly perfect. If you want fast supple wide tires (35-45mm), > 650B is the way to go. but for me the best of the bunch is the Hetre, > and it don't fit the AHH, so even tire choice is a wash. I assume the > 650B SOMA is as good as a Pasela (I believe it IS a Pasela), so no > difference there (I like my 35mm Paselas, which measure closer to 37mm > on Synergy rims). The 650B Pacenti Pari Moto 38mm has no equivalent in > 700C, but it is a very thin tire designed specifically for > competition, and thus may not be the right tire for you (expensive and > doesn't last very long). If you have no desire to run the Pari Moto, > then 650B has little advantage on an AHH. > > So, bottom line, go with the 700C for peace of mind, but don't fool > yourself into easy parts availability worldwide, especially if you are > getting 36 hole rims. The only rims that are reasonably available > worldwide are *32* hole 26" rims. I had to order a 36 hole 26" rim for > my tandem from the UK. Nothing available in 36 holes in Thailand, not > even in Bangkok. > > Cheers, > > Gernot > > On Jan 27, 1:03 pm, Fai Mao <i.am.fai....@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Vietnam was a French colony and the 650B is a French size so I can see how > > that would be especially since bikes are never thrown away in rural Asia. > > > Hong Kong and China were never French. Also Hong Kong is a place where > > people look for the latest techno-glitzyness-gadgety stuff. 650B doesn't fit > > that image. One of the nicer bike shops refused to work on my Sam because it > > wasn't a carbon-fibre-dura-ace-indexed-sub 9.5kg-ego-raising-racer-wanna-be > > machine. They didn't have parts that would fit it and saw no reason to order > > them for me. Another one asked if the bike more than 30 years old; but he > > was admiring it. The only shop that will ork with me here is Flying ball and > > they are too far away from where I live and work. It is just easier to order > > tires online and have them mailed. Wheels are problematic because they cost > > a lot to ship. > > > When I went to Shanghai last summer I was really worried about tires and > > wheels. I kind of wish I had the non-cantilever version Sam because then I > > might be able to run either 650B-650C or 700c on the frame given the > > clearance by simply changing out a caliper. Being able to do that would make > > the bike really versatile but the bosses get in the way of that on the frame > > I have now. > > > Idiot that I am I didn't think that tire size would be an issue here before > > I bought the frame > > > On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 12:55 PM, Lee <leec...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hey Fai, I was surprised to find a lot of 650B when I was in Hanoi: > > > >http://tinyurl.com/4p2785t > > > > Nicole: I think a wider tire would help calm down the twitchy > > > handling. > > > > Best, > > > Lee > > > San Francisco, CA > > > > On Jan 26, 3:50 pm, Fai Mao <i.am.fai....@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > I don't know about Russia. I do know that you can't buy 650b tires in > > > Asia > > > > unless you have them imported yourself. If I had it to do over again > > > > I'd > > > > have upped my Sam Hillborne by a size to get the 700c wheel > > > > -- > > > 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-bunch@googlegroups.com. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2Bunsubscrib > > > e...@googlegroups.com> > > > . > > > For more options, visit this group at > > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > -- > > Fai Mao > > The Blogger who sometimes responds to comments > > -- 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-bunch@googlegroups.com. 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