Motobecane titanium cyclocross bike with 650B wheels

[Alan Gerber]

I recently bought a Motobecane Fantom Cross Pro Titanium because I've always wanted a titanium bike, and this one was well-equipped and also had rack/fender eyelets. I added a 650B wheelset from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse (house-brand hubs and Sun Helix TR27 rims) and put some 42mm Pari-Motos on it to try out 650B. It's nice and cushy! And the tires fit with a ton of room, initially measuring 40.5mm wide (on the 27mm-wide rims) and now measuring around 41.5mm. I was expecting them to be wider, since they were sold as 27.5x1.75in (or 44.5mm) and I'm mounting on wide rims. But they're still very cushy! Basically nothing comes through from the road at 40PSI, even compared to the 700x32 (34mm measured) Clement Strada LGGs I have on the stock wheels. And the smaller-diameter wheels mellow out the handling by reducing trail a smidge.

The tightest spot is between the seatstays, which I measured at around 52mm, so I don't think Switchback Hills would fit— but I'll see if I can scare up a wheel at D2R2 to test.

And note that the BicycleWheelWarehouse clearance page has some very nicely-priced 650B disc wheelsets: http://bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/Clearance-Wheels/Clearance-27-5-650b-MTB-6-bolt-Disc.html

The next step in the bike project will be to strip off a lot more decals. Things look a little garish right now.

[cyclotourist]

Good on ya, looks like a nice bike! I've been toying with the idea of getting one of the Motobacon Ti 29ers.

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Cheers,
David

Member, Supreme Council of Cyberspace

"it isn't a contest. Just enjoy the ride." - Seth Vidal

[Ed Braley]

That looks great! Are you running an 11 speed road cassette on your 650B wheel?

 

 I'd like to run 650B wheels on the Motobecane Century Pro Ti disc bike. Maybe next year...

 

Ed.

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[Max]

That looks just right! Congrats!! 

- Max

[Mark McGrath]

That wheel site is confusing - I didn't see any Sun Ringle Wheels as clearance - perhaps they are all sold out?

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[Leslie Bright]

How do you like the titanium?   I bought my son one of the Motobecane Fantom Cross bikes, it's been good for him because he can use it well enough as a road bike, or light trails (in his case, around campus). 

On Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 11:20:20 PM UTC-4, Alan Gerber wrote:

[mitch....@gmail.com]

Can't see a rotor on front!

--Mitch

[Alan Gerber]

You got me, that's the one part left to finish the project.

[Alan Gerber]

Correct— I presume the page is just random returns and the like.

On Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 10:24:14 AM UTC-4, Mark McGrath wrote:

That wheel site is confusing - I didn't see any Sun Ringle Wheels as clearance - perhaps they are all sold out?

On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 10:20 AM, Max <msh...@gmail.com> wrote:

That looks just right! Congrats!! 

- Max

On Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 11:20:20 PM UTC-4, Alan Gerber wrote:

I recently bought a Motobecane Fantom Cross Pro Titanium because I've always wanted a titanium bike, and this one was well-equipped and also had rack/fender eyelets. I added a 650B wheelset from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse (house-brand hubs and Sun Helix TR27 rims) and put some 42mm Pari-Motos on it to try out 650B. It's nice and cushy! And the tires fit with a ton of room, initially measuring 40.5mm wide (on the 27mm-wide rims) and now measuring around 41.5mm. I was expecting them to be wider, since they were sold as 27.5x1.75in (or 44.5mm) and I'm mounting on wide rims. But they're still very cushy! Basically nothing comes through from the road at 40PSI, even compared to the 700x32 (34mm measured) Clement Strada LGGs I have on the stock wheels. And the smaller-diameter wheels mellow out the handling by reducing trail a smidge.

The tightest spot is between the seatstays, which I measured at around 52mm, so I don't think Switchback Hills would fit— but I'll see if I can scare up a wheel at D2R2 to test.

And note that the BicycleWheelWarehouse clearance page has some very nicely-priced 650B disc wheelsets: http://bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/Clearance-Wheels/Clearance-27-5-650b-MTB-6-bolt-Disc.html

The next step in the bike project will be to strip off a lot more decals. Things look a little garish right now.

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