609mm rims & Schwalbe tires from Rivendell

[Karl Fundenberger]

I wanted to run wider tires on my Rivendell Road Standard, but 700c x
28 was the max with fenders and brake clearance. After a long
conversation with Grant Peterson, he mentioned that Rivendell had some
609 rims made - just a bit smaller than the 700c (622) rims. I ordered
a set of rims and tires and had my LBS build them up.

What a difference a few millimeters makes! The tires (609x40 on the
sidewall) measure right at 34mm wide, and they max out at 60 PSI. They
provide so much more cushion for the city streets and gravel
backroads, and they still feel plenty fast. It's a great tire size.

Last week, after about 800 miles on this pair, I finally got my first
flat. Upon inspection, I found six tiny thorns in the front tire. Not
bad!

I had considered a 650b conversion, but with the Road Standard's
already low bottom bracket, this probably wasn't going to work out.
Plus, that would mean the additional expense of new brake calipers.

[Bruce Herbitter]

Karl:  My Road Standard is a 650B conversion with 170mm cranks. It works very well.But yes, you do need the new brakes to make it work.  Currently off for a re-paint, this is what the build looks like:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lo7sXisaxhtXjtnJx5Q_xlVJqcbWkg1HkUhed9KeZQE?feat=directlink

(The saddle and bars do not point up as extremely as the angle of the picture seems to show)

On Mon, Sep 5, 2011 at 4:11 PM, Karl Fundenberger <karl.fun...@gmail.com> wrote:

I wanted to run wider tires on my Rivendell Road Standard,....I had considered a 650b conversion, but with the Road Standard's already low bottom bracket, this probably wasn't going to work out.

Plus, that would mean the additional expense of new brake calipers.

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[newenglandbike]

That is so cool.   I remember reading about this size in a Rivendell Reader years ago.   Does Riv also have the 609 tires?   650b and 609 FTW.


-Matt

[Mike]

I remember reading about these rims too. I don't think I knew that
they ever got made. What tires did you use? this is really
interesting.

--mike

[William]

I had a similar conversation with Grant last year.  At that time, grant said that Riv had both Rims and Tires on hand.  It's a Schwalbe tire that they had/have.  If you look at the Schwalbe site I think they have only one 609 model.

[Jeremy Till]

Wow! I too had remembered this from an old reader but didn't know that there were actual rims and tires around.  Have/are 609mm BSD tires (been) used by any other makers?  Or did Schwalbe basically make the tires on spec for Rivendell?  Are the rims branded?

I guess if you're going to have such esoterically sized tires it's good to have ones as long lasting as Schwalbes!

Also: your tires are so esoteric, they're not even listed on Sheldon's (RIP) comprehensive list of tire designations: http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html  !    That has to be some new level of cycling nerd-dom.

[Karl Fundenberger]

Bruce - that's a great looking build! Good to know that 650b may
indeed be an option if I want to go even wider. Which brakes did you
use? Any issues with pedal strike?

Matt & Mike - the tires were available from Rivendell. They are a
hearty commuter type tire.

[Bruce Herbitter]

Karl: Thanks for the kind comments. There is no pedal strike on the ground and no toe overlap.  Now, try it with longer cranks and you might get different results. The bike was built with Tektro 556 brakes and I used salmon pads in them. Btw, there is enough travel in the 556 slots to actually mount and ride with a 559 wheel on a 700c wheel bike, but the handling suffers. I just did it to see if it could be done. Here it is on another bike.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9535930@N07/6122303670/in/photostream