Waiting for the Camino to be delivered. It's fitted with 700c and I'm happily going to ride it like that.
Never ridden anything with 650B. I went from 26 to 29 at some point and "missed out" riding mid-sized-wheel bikes.
Reviews imply (paraphrasing massively) - run 700 for best road performance, run 650 to make it comfier off road. Might be tempted to try the smaller size at some point but interested to hear what others use or have tried and if either made a noticeable difference.
I only ride on the road in an effort to get back off it, so any notion of 700c being faster on tarmac is largely lost on me ... I've had some dog-slow draggy 700c tyres and some fast feeling 650b.
Anyway, I like the extra volume that 650 can provide and tyre choice is getting pretty good now. Might drop your BB a touch but again, that to a degree will depend on choice of tyre size and profile.
I've ridden 700x42 and 650x47 on my Escapade, and 650x47 on a Diverge. There's a bit more cushioning and off-road grip with the 650s, but for me I find the resultant BB drop too much, with a significant increase in pedal strikes. I also sometimes get odd moments on the Escapade with 650s where the steering is suddenly a bit twitchy. Like if there was some way to graph how a bike steers, the Escapade would follow a nice predictable line or curve, then suddenly deviate.
I'm just about to build up my Camino Al frame that arrived on friday. I've got 700c and 650b wheels for it, as i wanted maximum versatility and choice - so I could play around with sizes. As the tyre clearance has improved on the V3 it gives so many options, including 29x2.0. There's a decent choice of tyres and wheels that'd fit, so i'd say try it out if you want.
I'm sure I read something recently that stated 700cx40mm was the ideal wheel and tyre combo for things like The Dirty Kanza and those other US gravel grinder type races. I bought Conti Terra Trail 700cx40mm tyres for my RAG+, they were useless in the December slop on the local byways and bridleways. The front would wander all over the place and rear wasn't knobbly enough to find purchase on the muddy slopes. They were OK on the road, but my average speed wasn't anything to write home about.
I've been pondering the need for three wheelsets, two 700c and one 650b. One 700c setup with 32mm road tyres for faster tarmac only jaunts, the other 700c setup with 40mm gravel tyres for things like The Dirty Reiver and general adventures, then finally the 650b's setup with XC tyres for slop or extra cush.
There's no such thing as the perfect tyre for general riding because the terrain alters too much from one mile to the next. A reasonable compromise is perhaps the best we can hope for and besides, I tend to think poor tyre selection just adds to the entertainment value. Don't overthink it.
K1100T wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:14 pm
I've been pondering the need for three wheelsets, two 700c and one 650b. One 700c setup with 32mm road tyres for faster tarmac only jaunts, the other 700c setup with 40mm gravel tyres for things like The Dirty Reiver and general adventures, then finally the 650b's setup with XC tyres for slop or extra cush.
LOL
I have 650x47 Byways on one set of wheels, 700x40 Nanos on a second and (currently) 700x28 Marathons on a third. That third wheelset occasionally has 32c spiked tyres on when the ice requires it.
My camino runs on both 700 and 650, i think honestly i prefer the 650 2.1 on it over the 700 42. The only slight downside is i get a tad more pedal strike on techy stuff with the 650 on due to lower bb. But thats it, and itblooks better with fatter tyres on
I have run both on mine and prefer 650b. In urban roads, mine is actually water on wtb horizons/byways than a 700x23 gatorskin. I guess its the way it cope with surface noise that make you actually ride it faster than if you were on the 700c's.
