Going Back to 700c Wheels (from 650b)

nocellajoe
Nov 24
2 min read

Updated: Nov 29

This is a developing blog post, and I will update it as I get further along in the process.

718 Outdoors is a 1-person operation that has remained small, local and independent by design. If this resonates with you, your support is welcome and greatly appreciated! If not, that's cool

When I built up my 2013 Salsa Vaya, I decided to use 650b wheels instead of the Salsa-specified 700c wheels. My initial thought were about building a stronger wheel, which the shorter spokes of 650b affords. That was really it.

However, after 2 seasons about about 9000 loaded touring miles on this set-up, I am having 2 second thoughts. Here are 3 of them.

Tire and Tube Availability: Let's face it, 650b is still an "exotic" size compared to the ubiquitous nature of 700c and 26". I have found myself looking at a bike shop clerks in rural area who had no idea what the size 650b was, or if they did they certainly didn't stock it. This meant it was harder for me to buy tubes, so I had to carry more than usual, resulting in extra volume and weight. It also made it sometimes impossible to buy a new 650b tire if needed. Also, in a group environment, it is far more likely that someone will have a 700c tube to share if things go really bad.
Pedal Strike: I was running 650b rims with a 47mm tire, however the Vaya was designed for 700c x 35 or 38 (Max 43). Running 650b's brough the bike down a few mm from where it was designed to be . A 650b x 47mm tire is approximately equivalent to a 700c x 28mm tire in terms of overall rolling diameter. The Vaya was designed for 700c x 35 or 38 (Max 43), so riding at the equivalent of a 700c x 28 was definitely lowering the bike. This caused pedal strike, when the pedal hits the ground on a bike that's sitting too low. This was pretty infrequent, and very slight, but it was there and could be a bigger problem.
Rim Availability in 36 Hole: My rear wheel gets beat on, it's just the nature of the game. I have 32 spokes back there now, and want to more to a stronger setup with 36. There just are far more 36 Hole rim options in the 700c world versus the 650b world.

Note: For better or worse, I do not use AI to create my posts. This is all me, with my misspelling, poor grammar and tangential thoughts. I didn't get into this line of work to hand over my thoughts, expertise and experience to AI to spit out blog posts.