Ti 650b

b_real

There's a thread on ti 29er, rather than mix that one up I thought a new one for 650b might be better.

Has anyone had any experience riding a Ti 650b? Wondered if they had any thoughts or could share their experiences. Wondered how it would fare on UK trails & XC against something like the on one ti456 that was rated so highly.

Lynskey have got a pro650b frame that looks sweet in this vid.

Van Nicholas also do a Taureg 650b

Any other ti 650b's that are readily available in the UK to consider?

ddraver

650b bikes are very rare,

Ti MTB's are very rare

Very rare x very rare = Extremely-deely rare!

The Rookie

As 2 different ally framed 26" hardtails can be as fasr apart as chalk and cheese, why should one Ti 650B ride like another.

Many 26" frames will convert to 650B anyway.....

njee20

The Salsa a la Carte is designed with a conversion to 650B wheels in mind, one of my riding friends has one (and an identical 29er one). He prefers the 29er, but says the 650B is an improvement on the 26" wheels.

Looks like this:

70\ʹspenguin

njee20 wrote:

The Salsa a la Carte is designed with a conversion to 650B wheels in mind, one of my riding friends has one (and an identical 29er one). He prefers the 29er, but says the 650B is an improvement on the 26" wheels.

Looks like this:

Oh my word, that is beautiful!

ddraver

fully agree with that!

b_real

Many 26" frames will convert to 650B anyway.....

From what i've read so far, a 26er needs to be designed with 650b in mind for the conversion to work properly? Fair point about the ti456 comparison.

Nice Salsa :-) had a look on their website, the A La Carte is no longer in production :-( besides they have one authorised distributer in the UK and that's in York... and they've only got Salsa road/touring bikes in stock.

njee20

They shouldn't be that hard to come by. Can ask the owner of that bike if you want, he's sponsored by them (hence the 650B and the 29er identical bikes!).

The Rookie

b_real wrote:

From what i've read so far, a 26er needs to be designed with 650b in mind for the conversion to work properly?

That would make no sense at all, either 650B wheels and tyres fit (with suitable forks) or they don't, as long as the fork AtoC is within the original spec then Geo will be the same.

njee20

That's a 26" Fox fork on George's bike, they work. 2.25" Ralph has clearance.

b_real

That would make no sense at all, either 650B wheels and tyres fit (with suitable forks) or they don't, as long as the fork AtoC is within the original spec then Geo will be the same.

What's AtoC? From what I gather most 26" forks can't take 650b wheels as not enough clearance. I imagine same issues at the back. Clearance aside, wouldn't 650b raise the axle heights & therefore require a lower bb?

njee20

Axle to crown - the length of the fork. As above, 26" Fox forks can take 650B wheels.

Fitting 650B wheels to a 26" frame has the same effect as fitting fat tyres - as long as you change both really all it does is 'lift' the frame slightly. If you fit a longer A-C fork then you slacken the head angle and what not.

The Rookie

Some will take 650b, other not, others it depends on tyre size.

With the same size tyre 650B will raise a 26er by 1/2" at the BB, so not really an issue!

b_real

Is half an inch on the bb not that much? When I chat to the staff in the LBS about chainstays, eyebrows get raised over a cm.

Also how much sting out of the trail would the bigger wheel + ti combination provide compared to say a 26er full sus? I'm upgrading from a Trance X3, wondering how the ti+650 would feel on the downhills in comparison. Had a quick blast on a Van Nicholas road bike the other day, and the ti just felt much more buttery over the dodgy roads.

cooldad

How long is a piece of string?

b_real

How long is a piece of string?

It depends, how annoying is that answer?

I'm just looking for peoples opinions based on their own experiences, as I don't really have any myself. It's not that easy going out and finding titanium 650b bikes to test ride.

cooldad

How annoying is that question?
How something rides depends more on build and geo than material.
So once again, how long is a piece of string?

b_real

Eh? Wheel size is part of the build is it not? Thats part of what I'm asking about. Telling me that how something rides depends on the build is not really helping me.

Assuming similar geometry, if a 26er FS handles the knocks & bumps on a trail say 70% well (on my knock & bump handling scale, 100% being awesome full suss DH bike, 0% being a carbon roadie), then would a 650b titanium (hardtail I should say) handle them anywhere near as well as 70%? 60%?

cooldad

How can you compare a light hardtail and a full on DH bike?
They are designed for totally different things.
One will actually go uphill as well.

supersonic

b_real wrote:

Eh? Wheel size is part of the build is it not? Thats part of what I'm asking about. Telling me that how something rides depends on the build is not really helping me.

Assuming similar geometry, if a 26er FS handles the knocks & bumps on a trail say 70% well (on my knock & bump handling scale, 100% being awesome full suss DH bike, 0% being a carbon roadie), then would a 650b titanium (hardtail I should say) handle them anywhere near as well as 70%? 60%?

Is impossible to tell. For one the geometry is hardly ever the same, it is worked around the wheel size. FS varies enormously anyway, as does tyre size. Comfort also depends on many other components, and ride can vary a lot on weight.

thelonegroover

I would guess, (and all you can do is guess) a Ti 650b HT would at least be as good as a 26HT should be better, but it depends on the FS your comparing it with. A Ti 29HT would be similar to a short travel 26FS. You may find this interesting...
http://www.sevencycles.com/blog/category/650b/
If you can afford it, then a Ti Seven 650b could be your ultimate ride.

ddraver

Still waiting for Canyon to make a 650b Nerve XC!! Come on Jongens!

njee20

Ti 29HT would be similar to a short travel 26FS. You may find this interesting...

How short? I can't see a 29er hardtail of any material feeling like a plush 100mm travel bike, it's just a different feeling. Perhaps a soft tail of yesteryear, but not a 'proper' FS.

rockmonkeysc

I cant believe that half an inch on the wheel radius will make a noticeable difference to ride quality.

ddraver

let's not do this again. This thread is about Ti porn!

cooldad

ddraver wrote:

let's not do this again. This thread is about Ti porn!

Just keep your ladyboy fetish in Crudcatcher.

Dirtydog11

Also how much sting out of the trail would the bigger wheel + ti combination provide compared to say a 26er full sus?

No comparison.

ddraver

Dirtydog11 wrote:

Also how much sting out of the trail would the bigger wheel + ti combination provide compared to say a 26er full sus?

No comparison.

Then you have the disadvantages of a Full Suss....depends what you want innit! What he want might not be what you want, does nt mean what either of you want is wrong.

b_real

let's not do this again. This thread is about Ti porn!

How about this for a bit of top shelf material ...

I'm very tempted ...!

thelonegroover

Enough shiny metal for anyone?

ddraver

If you need a small size...

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/k ... ail-36307/