Kirk Pacenti must have alot of pull!
http://www.bicyclenewswire.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.showrelease&cid=132&id=547
Pacenti Cycle Design Leading the 650B Wheel Revolution
07.25.07
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Bike designer Kirk Pacenti is into big wheels. He was riding 700C and 700D
wheels in the early 1990s, has been a long-time proponent of 29ers, and
probably even rode one of those plastic "Big Wheel" tricycles as a kid. But
now he has seen the MTB future and the wheel size is 650B.
The advantages?
a.. With 650B wheels (which measure 27.5" in diameter, half-way between
26" and 29" wheels), full-suspension bikes can be produced with 4" to 6"
inches of travel and throughout a wide range of frame sizes without
abandoning proven 26" wheel frame geometry.
b.. 650B wheel bikes can be designed for a wide variety of uses from XC
racing to 4X and DH racing.
c.. 650B wheel bikes can accommodate riders 5' 3" to 6' 4" tall or more.
d.. 650B wheels offer great obstacle roll-over capabilities for a smoother
ride.
e.. Consumers are already demanding 650B bikes and bike designers are
producing the bikes.
"What I believe 650B wheeled mountain bikes will allow builders to do, is to
utilize proven 26 inch wheeled geometries, coupled with the largest wheel
possible in a bike with little or no geometry compromises," says Pacenti,
president of Pacenti Cycle Design, which supplies product and support to
frame builders. "As 140mm travel bikes become the norm (even for XC bikes)
the 650B wheel size is going to make even more sense."
Granted, the biggest obstacle to any new wheel size is tires, but Pacenti
has already covered that rocky ground. A Pacenti-designed and branded
Panaracer-made 650B tire - the Neo-Moto - is currently in production and
will be available by mid-September. In addition, White Brothers is producing
suspension forks for the new wheel size, and Velocity USA, which has built
650B rims for the bicycle touring market for years, is already in production
of their new "Blunt" all-mountain MTB rim.
Because the 650B wheel size is compatible with many 26" wheel components
numerous parts are already available. For instance, Maverick forks can be
easily optimized for 650B wheels with a travel reduction kit, and some
current 26" and all current 29" disk specific suspension forks will work
with the 650B wheel size.
But what's a wheel and parts without a frame. Numerous independent bike
designers are fully embracing the new 650B wheel size and producing 650B
frames. The current list of frame builders includes:
a.. Ahrens Cycles
b.. Carver Bikes
c.. El Camino Fabrication
d.. Engin Cycles
e.. Independent Fabrication
f.. Kent Eriksen
g.. Origin 8
h.. Pacenti Cycles
i.. Rawland Cycles
j.. Rivendell
k.. Rock Lobster Cycles
l.. Siren Cycles
m.. Soma
n.. Tomac Mountain Bikes
o.. Turner Suspension Bikes
p.. Vicious Cycles
q.. Walt Works
r.. Willits Brand
s.. ZR Cycles
Noel Buckley of Knolly Bikes, who understands the impact wheel size has on
full-suspension frame design, says: "Kirk's forward thinking vision is
correct in that 29'er wheels don't work well for frames with more than 100mm
of rear travel. While working on the design of a 29er version of our new
Endorphin frame, we started realizing that serious compromises would need to
be made to the frame geometry due to undesirable forward wheel paths, chain
stay lengths, and BB height all caused by the large 29" wheel diameter.
"Kirk knows what he's talking about. The 650B wheel size makes more sense
for a company looking to produce big wheeled bikes in the 100 - 150mm travel
category because they get the rolling benefits of the larger tire, but don't
have to modify frame geometries much, or have to contend with the design
compromises imposed by 29 inch wheels."
As many as a dozen manufacturers will have 650B parts and components ready
for this year's Interbike trade show and distribution of the new Pacenti
650B tires will be handled by a number of well-known distributors. (A list
of distributors will be available soon.)
"I am fully committed to the 650B wheel mountain bike," says Pacenti. "I
have been receiving daily inquiries from custom builders and even consumers
who are very interested in the wheel size. Support for this project has been
overwhelming. I truly believe 650B wheel bikes have a bright future in
mountain biking."
About Pacenti Cycle Design
Kirk Pacenti founded Pacenti Cycle Design for the sole purpose of supplying
and offering support to the artisans who build quality hand-crafted bicycle
frames. He provides particular dedication to lugged steel construction but
is expanding his product offerings to include all materials and construction
techniques including the new 650B wheel bike. For more information call
(423) 954-3373 or log onto the Internet at www.bikelugs.com.
Interestingly, the article fails to mention that Carbon frame builder Don
Parlee also builds 650B carbon bikes (for Cycle Tournesol). 650B (584mm)
wheels may not have been successful in the touring/country bike catagory,
but the new "27.5" MTB standard looks prime. Are you ready?