Ti 650b conversions?

[rcnute]

Hi, everyone: I haven't ridden a ti bike in a long time (had an Eddy Merckx--there was a dumb sale on my part) and was thinking about the next project (there's always a next project!)...what stock frames out there make for good 650b conversions? Late 90s Litespeeds/Merlins perhaps?  Who's been down this road before?  I suspect I'd be limited to a 32mm tire but that's okay because the Cypres is nice.  Thanks for any tips.

Ryan

[Kieran Joyes]

Interesting timing for me. I've been wondering the same thing lately - particularly after coming across a couple of 90's Merlin Xtralight and Classic framesets auctions, which got me scheming.. 

Seems like a fun experiment to me!

KJ

[mikeha...@comcast.net]

Hi Ryan,

 

I converted a Habanero Road to 650B about a year and a half ago and used it this year to complete a brevet series.  I was able to fit 38mm Lierre's with about 3mm clearance at the chainstays.   With the beefy stays on the Habanero I was able to dent the chainstays around the tire and get about 4mm more per side clearance.  I used Tektro 559 brakes  To complete out the rando build over this winter I added SKS P50 fenders,  a VO rack, Giles Berthoud 28 bag, a Shutter Pecision's SV-8 dyno hub and a BM Luxos B light.   I ran a new set of Pari-Motos for all 4 of the brevets, but added tire wipers for the 600K.

 

I'll try to get it out and take a couple of pictures of the current build, but here is a some from last year.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/24194829@N07/sets/72157632880419239/

 

Mike, who almost recovered from the 600K on Memorial Day weekend just in time for TOMRV, Hauptman

in Nor-IL

---

From: "rcnute" <rcn...@hotmail.com>
To: "650B" <65...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 3, 2014 2:06:26 PM
Subject: [650B] Ti 650b conversions?

[Nick Payne]

Here's my Litespeed (an early naughties frame) with 650b wheels and
Cypres 32mm tyres. There is very minimal clearance between the tyre and
the inside of the chainstays - you need a completely true wheel and a
tyre without any wobble.

http://www.users.on.net/~njpayne/bikestuff/litespeed_650b.jpg

Nick

[William Lindsay]

Now I'm all fired up to start crushing some ti chainstays

[Steve Palincsar]

On 06/03/2014 06:49 PM, William Lindsay wrote:
> Now I'm all fired up to start crushing some ti chainstays

But what are you going to do about the fork? Most of those carbon forks
don't have a lot of room -- some won't even fit a 25mm 700C tire, never
mind something really wide.

[William Lindsay]

I'm not fired up to start crushing (ahem....dimpling) any carbon.

I don't have a ti frame to experiment on, and the frame I don't have didn't come with a fork when I didn't get it.   

[Ed Braley]

Use a steel fork with a wide crown, that would resolve the clearance issue
up front.

One of the new (forthcoming) Soma low trail forks with a 1" steerer would be
interesting on a Ti bike.

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[Richard L.]

If you want a carbon fork, I believe Nick Payne mentions in an older post that a  Wound Up road fork will handle a PariMoto, although with minimal clearance.

Good luck with your project.

[Eric Stocker]

I believe there are carbon CX forks with caliper brake mounts, Nashbar's for example. Canti posts might not look great on most bikes, but at least randonneuse rigs can secure a rack to them. 

On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 5:51 PM, Richard L. <rsv...@att.net> wrote:

If you want a carbon fork, I believe Nick Payne mentions in an older post that a  Wound Up road fork will handle a PariMoto, although with minimal clearance.

Good luck with your project.

--

[Nick Payne]

The Wound-Up fork on my Litespeed (their standard 700c road fork) is
considerably wider than most - I can fit a Pari-Moto between the fork
blades.

[Nick Payne]

The problem with using a CX fork in a road frame is that the axle centre to crown race seat distance is about 30mm greater than on a road fork, which is going to slacken the head angle by almost two degrees compared to the road fork that the frame was designed for...

On 4/06/2014 11:06 AM, Eric Stocker wrote:

[Greg Walton]

The problem with most road frames is that for at least the last 15 years makers have been curving the chainstays and you are often limited to 32mm tires; then the bottom bracket height can become an issue.  I had a TST ti frame that I started down this path with and then threw in the towel.

Easiest conversion is a ti cross frame, you get better clearance, avoid bottom bracket issues and can mount a front rack if its a canti brake set up. There is often the attachment points for fenders as well.  The challenge is that ti cross frames are less plentiful, but if you are not in a hurry, they are out there.

Greg

[Ed Braley]

And this is where disc brakes come in...

 

A 700C canti brake cyclocross bike won't work for 650B conversion, the canti posts will be blocking the rim. And even if the posts were to be removed, it's probable that brake reach will be too great for a caliper.

 

A disc brake Ti cross bike is the best 650B conversion candidate. Not to be a shill, but Bikes Direct has a nice Ultegra 6800 equipped Titanium Motobecane Fantom Cross Team this year: 

 

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_cross_ti_xi.htm

 

If someone made a low trail disc fork with rack bosses for a bike like this, you could go full rando. I think it could be fantastic.

 

Ed.

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Greg Walton

To: Nick Payne

Cc: 650B List

Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 12:27 AM

Subject: Re: [650B] Re: Ti 650b conversions?

[Ryan Watson]

If anyone is looking for a carbon fork for a conversion, I have a 1" threaded Easton EC30 that was used only very briefly. It will clear a Hetre just barely, so probably best for a 38 like the Lierre or Pari Moto.


Ryan in Albuquerque