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
>
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> --
> Fai Mao
> The Blogger who sometimes responds to comments
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