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Wheel meat again

Steve Worland Thursday, Apr 24, 2008 11.00am

The meaty matter of wheel size seems to stir up all sorts of passion and emotion. I reckon there’ve been more derogatory comments about 29in wheels on bike forums in recent years than on any other subject. Those 26 v 29 battlers make mountain bikers and roadies seem like empathic twins in a fully functioning family.

Of course, much of the debate is simply light hearted banter. The rabid vitriole is just a front to disguise other personality issues. As far as I’m aware, no murders have been commited to back up arguments and most of us just get on with riding our bikes, regardless of how big, small or otherwise superior our wheels appear to be.

The funniest wheel size response I saw on a forum was when the idea of 650B wheels started to get coverage. A vociferous evangelist of 29ers chimed in, apparently without a hint of irony, with “Why the hell do we need another wheel size?”

650B wheels fall half way between 26in and 29in. In other words, tyre edge to tyre edge diameter is about 27.5in. An open mind may look at the much talked about pros and cons of 26in and 29in and conclude that 27.5in is a pretty good compromise in terms of comfy rolling rhythm without the problem of fitting bigger wheels into smaller frame sizes. US custom frame and lugs specialist Kirk Pacenti (http://www.bikelugs.com/) and other 650B evangelists are likely to tell you that this would be the wheel size we’d have gone for if we’d designed MTB wheels instead of going with what was already on those original clunkers.

Anyway, coming from cyclo cross in the days before MTB history began, I’ve always had a soft spot for bigger wheels. I like most 29ers, but I often get the feeling that other differences on the bikes are more significant than the wheel differences. So I asked Kirk Pacenti to build a frame to my own geometry specs. It’s designed for 650B wheels, but an eccentric (position adjustable) bottom bracket and different forks means I can mess with different wheels without unduly upsetting the geometry.

I currently have it built with a 29in wheel up front, wrapped with a 2.55in WTB Weirwolf tyre, in a 26in Pace rigid fork, and a 26in wheel at the back, again with a 2.55in WTB tyre. I have two sets of Pacenti’s own 650B tyres so I’m currently building a set of 650B wheels (Stans rims & Hope hubs) to accommodate the tyres. Over the next few months I’ll be trying every conceivable wheel, tyre and rigid fork combo. Hopefully I’ll be able to come to some sort of rational conclusion about which sizes I prefer, and why. There again, I may just end up concluding that other things are far more important than wheel size ;-)

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User Comments

There are 7 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 7 of 7 comments

  • Didn't Keith Bontrager do a bit a while ago in MTP Pro / World about how the perfect wheel size for a Mountain Bike would be 27" or there abouts? *goes off to rummage through cupboard for old copies*

    How is the bike riding with the 26 / 29 combo? I only ask because I've got a group of friends nagging me to get a 69er but I fancy something a bit 'nicer' than a Trek and that Pacenti ticks the right boxes!

  • If it was in MTB Pro or MTB World it must have been at least 10 years ago, as the Farewell issue of World was ten years ago this month. But he probably did. btw If you're attracted to tenuous links, Kirk Pacenti was a framebuilder for Bontrager shortly before Trek took over. Remember the Race Lites?

    Personally I think a 27.5in tyre rim to tyre rim might be the idea wheel size for both road and MTB, but something being a good idea is never enough to make it happen. Status quos are hard to break.

    The 26/29 combo rides well, but generally I still prefer the softer rolling rhythm of a 29in rear wheel over bumps. The 650B wheels should be ready this week. Perhaps 650 rear, 29 front will be good. At the end of the day, it's a juggling thing between ideal wheel/tyre size, ideal geometry and suspension choices.

  • I remember lusting over a Racelite in Recycle trying to convince myself there was a way I could fit on a 16" frame. The post-buyout bikes just never had the same appeal to me, yet I ended up with a '96 Klein Adroit.

    In my rummaging (looking for the Bontrager article) I found the Farewell issue (and a fair few more) - I had no idea it had been ten years! Haven't found the issue I was thinking of yet but if I do I'll scan it and post a link.

    It'll be interesting to see how you get on with all the different wheel sizes and component choices. I think I'll wait awhile before making the big wheel jump!

  • "Didn't Keith Bontrager do a bit a while ago in MTP Pro / World about how the perfect wheel size for a Mountain Bike would be 27" or there abouts? *goes off to rummage through cupboard for old copies*"

    That would be news to me, but keep us posted on what you find out. Having KB in your corner (at least from a conceptual pov) is always a good thing!

    Cheers,

    KP

  • My initial digging turned up nothing in MTB World so it seems the article I'm thinking of was in 'The Professor' column he did in MTB Pro. I've gone back to June '95 so far and will keep you posted!

    That's a fantastic looking frame BTW (he says with absolutely no desire to appear sycophantic) I couldn't find any info on your site about the frames but I'd be very interested in talking about one.

  • BIGDUTCH,

    Keep looking for that article. KB's thoughts / argument for 27" wheels would likely prove to be influential to the mainstream industry.

    Thanks, glad you like the frame. I only advertise these by word of mouth. Frames are no longer my main business focus so I try not to push them too hard.

    Best regards,

    KP

  • Steve -

    Any updates re: your long-term wheel size evaluation?

    Have you tried a 650b front plugged into a 26" FS bike?

    Cheers

    Jeff

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