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Howdo. My name is Zach Magoon and I have been commuting year-round by bike for the last 7 years in both Boston, MA and Portland, ME. Because each day brings new challenges, whether it be changing weather conditions, crappy drivers, sore muscles or mechanicals, I think my ramblings will be, at the very least, moderately amusing. | |
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Greetings and salutations. My name is Rick Nelson (no, not that one damnit) and I am a rider for Team Bikeman.com. You can check out my profile in the team rider section. “Racin Rick” covers my trials and tribulations as a mountain bike racer, commuter, new father etc. In truth, its just a way for me to kill time at work and to see pictures of myself on the web. So here are some excerpts from all my blogging, hope you enjoy. | |
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Welcome to Tales From The Soiled Chamois. This is going to be an online journal taking you through my season of training for and racing marathon, 6, 12, and 24 hour solo endurance races all while working a full time job, being married with a two year old son. I'm no pro, even though I do occasionally race against them. I'm just out there having fun pushing myself. | |
The Soiled Chamois Archives. |
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Not to be confused with the time-trial and women's-specific 650C wheel, the 650B wheel is all about comfort, versatility, and speed over varied terrain. The key to this is all in the tires. A 650x38B setup is about the same diameter as a 700C wheel with a 19mm tire... | |
650Blog Archives. |
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650B Wheels and 26 inch Forks |
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Written by Joel D
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Tuesday, 14 October 2008 |
650B Wheels in 26" Suspension Forks - Things To Consider
Now that the 650B mountain bike wheel has gained some popularity and press, more people are calling us to get a set of wheels to put in their 26 inch mountain bike. If you have already done some studying, you'll already know that a 650B tire doesn't always fit in 26 inch suspension fork - here are things to keep in mind when considering a wheel upsize...
 The problem with going to a bigger tire/wheel size on a standard 26" suspension fork is there can be clearance issues with not only the fork brace but with the fork crown itself. The tire clearance under the fork brace is easy to check by just putting the wheel fully in the fork dropouts. The important thing to remember is that when a suspension fork is fully compressed, the fork crown can actually be lower than the fork brace. That could cause a potentially dangerous situation if the crown dives into the front tire.
To test it you are best off removing the air or coil from the fork and compressing it all of the way. There is currently a thread on MTBR covering this subject that may help as a reference (link at bottom), but always keep in mind that there are sometimes different versions of the same thing when it comes to forks. For example, the Fox Float R that came on your complete new bike (OEM) may be slightly different in specification to one sold aftermarket (again, that is just an example, those could well be exactly the same).
In the images to the right a Panaracer Neo-Moto is set up on a Velocity Synergy rim, it cleared a fully compressed 08 Fox Float 32, but the crown on an 07 Rock Shox SID pushed into the tire. There is no magic number when deciding clearance - but just for reference, the Fox Float fork I tested had an approximate measurement of 350mm from the hub axle to the bottom of the crown when fully compressed leaving a few mm of clearance over the tire.
While some would say that you hardly - if ever - see that last bit of travel, I would argue that if you are in a situation that you are bottoming out the fork the last thing you would want to happen is have the tire jam against the crown. The important thing is to try it out when you get the wheel so you know what to expect when you launch off that little boulder you always have to hit on your favorite trail. Don't forget, this situation only applies to 26" suspension forks, 29er and the few 650b forks available won't have the crown interference issue. |  | | So, How Fast Can You Jump Over Your Handlebar? |
 | | Fork With Clearance |
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See the Related MTBR Thread Here (this will open MTBR.com in a new window)
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; "Image")
; "So, How Fast Can You Jump Over Your Handlebar?")
; "Fork With Clearance")
