I'm sure that we're not going to find an agreement on the RBW Owner's Group site.. I think, however, that this snip I took from Sheldon Brown's site pertaining to various sizes of tires that are available relates to my statement about the 650B tire size.
"584 mm, 650B, is the focus of this article. This size, also known as 26 x 1 1/2", is most popular in France, where it was the traditional size for loaded touring bikes and tandems, as well as general utility bikes." 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). 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. On Aug 15, 7:49 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > On Sun, 2010-08-15 at 18:42 -0700, Jim Cloud wrote: > > > On Aug 15, 3:19 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > > > > There's no Consumer Reports of bike tires, either. So if there was a > > > diamond out there amongst all the hybrid tires, who would ever know it? > > > Well, I think that Jan Heine has done a pretty good job of testing > > bicycle tires and this has certainly led to a greater demand for 700C > > tires like the Gran Bois Cypres 30mm (which Vintage Bicycles also > > sells). > > > > Then there's pricing. The cheap wide 700C tires basically set the price > > > the market's willing to pay. Could you sell a tire that costs 2-3 times > > > as much as the competition? > > > Again, the Gran Bois 700C Cypres tires are selling for $58.00 from > > Vintage Bicycle and others. The demand for these tires, while > > limited, certainly exists. I know several dedicated cyclists who ride > > these tires and they definitely attribute almost magical qualities to > > the Cypres (I haven't tried them myself, but I'm considering them in > > lieu of the Jack Browns). > > Let's not forget, the Cypres is a 30mm (true 31-32) NOT a 38-42mm tire. > It's targeted at a different demographic, and there's no way to confuse > it with a hybrid tire. > > > > > > There is no 700C bike that's built like a 650B > > > randonneur, why should there be a tire for one? > > > The Boulder Bicycle randonneur bicycle is produced in sizes from 51cm > > to 61cm for either 650B or 700C tire sizes. I believe, from any of my > > reference material (which included some Rene Herse brochures) that > > 650B tire size wasn't traditionally the size of tire that was used by > > French Randonneurs, they were generally 700C size. The 650B was the > > size that French constructeur builders primarily used for "Camping" > > models. > > BQ has published enough material from old French catalogs to disprove > your statement. > > > > > > Why should they? Those passionate about wonderful supple fast wide > > > tires are in the 650B arena. > > > I suspect that the availability of the 650B size tire in the wide > > sizes has something to do with their origin in Japan, and the Japanese > > infatuation with French bicycles. This demand is geared to > > domestically produced cycles in a range of frame sizes that would > > rarely exceed 56cm that are ideally suited for a 650B tire size. > > And why would a 59 or 60 cm frame be any less ideally suited to the 650B > size? Because some people think the wheels look too small? Funny how > those same people will often recommend a 559 wheel instead, and that's > even smaller. -- 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.
