Wheels and Tires

  • 650B Wheels - 650B Wheels A good, rock-solid case can be made that if the bike world were to start from scratch, 650B would be the NORMAL size. Why not?
  • 700c Wheels - 700C is the dominant wheel size in the modern bike world, and the biggest of the top three. The other two are 26-inches, and 650B, which also goes by 27.5-inches.
  • Additional Notes on Spokes & Weight - Sit down on a chair and lean your torso forward 25 degrees, so that there’s about a 65-deg angle between your thigh and your ‘orso.
  • Broken Spokes and Their Wobbly Wheels - Spokes don’t break as much as they did in the ‘70s and earlier, because spokes got much better in the ‘80s, and spoke failures plummeted instantly.
  • More Wheels - You hear or read that “an ounce off the wheels is worth two off the frame,” because wheels are rotating weight, so they affect the bike more.
  • Right Rims for Right Tires - Here's a great article from "Engineer's Talk" at Mavic , the world famous rim maker. The gist is that you need a rim that will properly seat the tire.
  • Rims - Know this about rims We like silver rims for their looks and performance. Anodizing is mostly show, not go.
  • Tire Tips - Tire tips Here's one of many ways to think about tires. A point of view not often expressed.b
  • Tires - The Short Version - Ride the biggest one your bike will fit. If you’re a racer you aren’t reading this, and if you’re not, this is great advice.
  • Truths About Tires - Truths about tires The biggest, best bargain in bicycles is air in the tires, yet for the last twenty years or so there's been a heinous trend toward tires with lower and lower volumes.
  • Pasadena Style Wheel Removal - Two years ago Will and I and another guy were coming back from an overnight, pushing, dragging, or carrying our bikes with mud-caked wheels up a final trail hill.