Doug Fattic wrote:
>
>What makes more sense for today is using two 650c wheels - a size made
>popular with the tri crowd but rare back 25 years ago. This has several
>advantages besides not having to carry two different size spares. First it
>makes a small bicycle look proportional. The lugs are not crammed together
>like they are on a small 700c frame giving the impression something isn't
>fitting right. Smaller wheels are also lighter wheels which provides
>advantage for the less powerful rider. I've heard a lot of people say they
>think 26 inch wheels are harder to pedal because of the gearing (you've got
>to pedal faster to cover the same distance) or there is noticeably more
>rolling resistance or some other nonsense. I trust CR members are smarter
>than to believe those things. Another advantage of 650c wheels for women is
>that, unless they are racer types, it steps down commonly available gearing
>(that often starts with a 53/12 or 13) into a more useable range for someone
>not on a training ride. A 52/13 gear on a 650c bike is about the equivalent
>of a 52/14 on a 700c bicycle.
The trouble with the 571 mm (650C) wheels is tire availability. There are only skinny tires available in this size. Until recently 25 mm was the widest 571 you could buy, and even finding them was diffficult.
Now there is Terry's 28 mm Tellus, the one and only choice that begins to get reasonable for non-competitive riding. Don't forget that the smaller wheels inherently ride harsher than larger wheels, so a 25 mm 571 will be noticeably harsher than a 25 mm 622 (700C)
For me, the much more practical choice for road bikes for smaller riders is the 559 mm (26 x decimal) size, same as used on mountain bikes. There's an enormous range of tire widths and styles available in this size, and you can find them anywhere.
Now that 11 tooth sprockets are so readily available, there's no problem getting decent high gears out of wheels in this size range.
Sheldon "559" Brown
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| To have doubted one's first principles |
| is the mark of a civilized man. |
| -- Oliver Wendell Holmes |
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