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Sheldon makes me laugh.


chrischris's picture

By chrischris - Posted on 23 November 2013

Taken from Sheldon Browns great website! So much useful info. I believe that he passed away a few years ago - so never got to see the rise of a new wheel size.

Twenty Niner
The so-called "29 inch" tire size is not actually a new size, it is just a new marketing term for 622 mm (700C) wheels with fat tires.
This size is probably a good option for taller riders for off-road use, compared with 559 mm (26 inch decimal) wheels. Larger-diameter wheels don't sink as far into holes, so they give a better ride in rough conditions.

For shorter riders, wheels this large will cause unfortunate compromises in frame geometry, so they're probably not a good option for riders of short or medium height.

Twenty-seven Five (27five)
Idiotic, confusing marketing buzzword referring to the 584 mm (650 B / 26 x 1 ½") Please do not use this bogus designation, let it die a well-deserved death. Tire-sizing is confusing enough without making up new designations for existing sizes.

pharmaboy's picture

See, that's why he is immortal - always on the money. He's only stating the obvious though.

650b will last awhile yet, because medium and short people will slowly figure out they have too few choices and lack front end grip on their 29ers so they'll move to the next best thing.

Jeronimo's picture

Assumed you meant Big Bang Theory Sheldon from title

Rob's picture

This is the Sheldon you are looking for: http://sheldonbrown.com/

Sadly he died in 2008, but the site lives on...

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