The State of 650B Rim Brake Compatible Rims

What are the rim brake compatible (non-disc) 650B rims these days? Below is a table of options. Most are made by Velocity (including the below offerings from Pacenti and Soma). I hope this is useful for all of the dozens (literally dozens) of readers!

Make	Model	Inner Width	Outer Width	Depth	Weight	ERD	Availability	Drilling(s)	Price	Notes
Alex	DM18	18.4mm	24.4mm		520g	569.2mm				silver/black
Alex	X2200	19.0mm	24.4mm		485g	557.1mm				black
Ambrosio	Keba AKA ‘Confrerie’				530g	550mm	limited	36	4,600 yen	double eyeleted, polished
Araya	TX-310F	17mm	23.2mm	14.7mm	520g			36	33.33 €	double walled, eyeleted
Grand Bois	650B rim	17mm	23mm		466g	568mm		32, 36	$ 98.00	silver
HED	Belgium Plus	23mm	25mm	24mm	462g			28, 32	$ 150.00	tubeless-ready
Pacenti	Brevet	19mm	23mm	15.0mm	430g	574mm		28, 32, 36	$ 98.00	silver
Pacenti	PL23	18mm	23mm	15.5mm	454g	573mm	OOP	28, 32, 36	$ 90.00	black, silver
Pacenti	SL23	20.3mm	24.5mm	26mm	420g	550mm	OOP	28, 32, 36	$ 104.00	black, silver
Ryde	Zac 421	21mm	28mm	22mm	605g	567mm	Ryde	32, 26		black, silver
Soma	El Nino 24 Rain Rim	19.9mm	24.4mm	16.1mm	540g	565.8mm	Soma/Merry Sales	32, 26	$ 89.99	eyeleted, grey hard anodized
Soma	Weymouth	19mm	24.4mm	16.1mm	540g	565.8mm		32, 36	$ 59.99	polished
Sun	CR18	18mm	22.5mm	15mm	505g	574mm	limited	32	$ 33.00	silver
SunXCD	Randonneur	17mm	22mm	19.2mm			coming soon	32, 36		silver
Velo Orange	Diagonale		25mm		550g	570mm		32, 36	$ 69.00	double walled, polished Al with steel eyelets
Velocity	A23	18mm	23mm	19.5mm	425g	562mm stated / 568mm measured		32, 36	$ 90.99	black, silver, polished, tubeless ready
Velocity	A23 O/C	18mm	23mm	19.5mm	435g	560mm stated / 568mm measured		32, 36	$ 96.99	black, silver, polished
Velocity	Atlas	19.8mm	25.4mm	18mm	590g	569mm		32, 36	$ 87.99	silver, polished
Velocity	Cliffhanger	25mm	30mm	20mm	625g	558mm		32, 36, 40	$ 90.99	black, polished, reflective
Velocity	Dyad	18.6mm	24mm	22mm	495g	560mm		32, 36	$ 78.99	black, silver
Velocity	Synergy		23mm	18mm	490g	567mm	OOP	28, 32, 36	$ 64.95
Velocity	Synergy O/C		23mm	18mm	490g	567mm	OOP	28, 32, 36	$ 64.95
Velocity	Twin Hollow		22mm	14mm	480g	576mm	limited	36	$ 41.99	silver
Weinmann	ZAC-19					564mm	unknown

Measurements above are given in millimeters and grams. Pricing may vary, prices given above are base prices from the Interwebs. Some of the polished Velocity rims are $30 more.

If I’ve missed anything or if you can fill in the gaps above, please leave a comment and I’ll incorporate it into the table.

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650B Conversion Tire Clearance Repository

What bike(s) have you converted to 650B? What tires fit?

Make	Model	Year (or era)/ serial number/ distinguishing feature(s)/ color	Frame Size	Largest 650B tire that fit (stock)	Try anything that didn’t fit?	Brakes used to convert	Other comments	Contributor
Centurion	Turbo	1983	58cm	Col de la Vie 38mm	fenders	Tektro R559		Rory!
Katakura	Silk	Full chrome, ca. 1984	61cm CTC	38mm with fenders	none	Tektro R559	Easiest conversion I’ve ever done…this bike fit the tires/wheels almost as though it were designed to do so. Fork was medium trail though.	Azorch
Nishiki	Comp II	1986	56cm	42mm		Tektro R559		Bruce
Torelli	from Cinelli Corsa factory	1983-4	57cm	38mm	Too tight to safely run 42s	Tektro R559		Bruce
Trek	420	1989	58cm	42mm	fenders	Tektro R559 (maxed out in back)	Here is a slightly older one that fits Hetres & fenders: http://brazenbicycles.com/Trek-650b-Town-and-Country Also this looks like a 1986 400: http://brazenbicycles.com/Trek-400-650b-Sport-Touring	Rory

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Have you converted a bike? Comment below with the following and I will update the table:

1. Make
2. Model
3. Year (or era)/serial number/distinguishing feature(s)/color
4. Frame size
5. Largest 650B tire that fit
6. Any 650B tire(s) that you tried that didn’t fit
7. Brakes used in conversion
8. Other comments

 

Tire Size and Air Volume

 

Wheel	Tire	Volume	Increase over 700x23C	Example Tires
700C	23mm	3.5 L	0%	The old standard
700C	19mm	2.4 L	-33%	Oh, dear!
700C	21mm	2.9 L	-17%	Eek!
700C	26mm	4.5 L	29%	Grand Bois Cerf Blue (222g, 184g), Compass Cayuse Pass (248g)
700C	27mm	4.9 L	39%	Challenge Parigi-Roubaix (285g)
700C	28mm	5.3 L	50%	Compass Chinook Pass (229g)
700C	30mm	6.1 L	74%	Challenge Strada Bianca (355g)
700C	32mm	6.9 L	99%	Compass Stampede Pass (291g, 254g)
700C	33.333mm	7.6 L	117%	Jack Brown (435g, 295g)
700C	35mm	8.4 L	140%	Compass Bon Jon Pass (355g, 303g)
700C	38mm	10 L	185%	Compass Barlow Pass (390g, 359g), Soma C Line (400g)
700C	42mm	12.3 L	252%	Soma Supple Vitesse (380g, 340g)
700C	44mm	13.6 L	289%	Compass Snoqualmie Pass (378g, 329g)
700C	50mm	17.8 L	411%	Schwalbe Marathon (1.0T)
700C	55mm	21.9 L	527%	Schwalbe Marathon (1.125T)
650B	32mm	6.6 L	88%	Hutchinson Confriere (320g), Grand Bois Cypress (285g, 261g)
650B	38mm	9.4 L	170%	Compass Loup Loup Pass (354g, 333g), Panaracer Pari Moto (340g, 300g)
650B	42mm	11.6 L	233%	Compass Baby Shoe Pass (390g, 362g), Grand Bois Hetre (412g)
650B	48mm	15.5 L	343%	Compass Switchback Pass (478g, 413g)
26″	32mm	6.3 L	81%	Compass Elk Pass (178g)
26″	38mm	9.1 L	159%	Compass McClure Pass (366g)
26″	44mm	12.4 L	254%	Compass Naches Pass (350g, 300g), Compass Slumgullion Pass (447g)
26″	50mm	16.3 L	366%	Schwalbe Big Ben (1.5T)
26″	54mm	19.2 L	450%	Compass Rat Trap Pass (454g, 418g)
26″	55mm	20.0 L	473%	Schwalbe Big Ben (2.0T)

Air volume was calculated in MS Excel with the following formula (this example is for 650B/584ISO with 38mm tires):

=2*PI()^2*(584/2+38)*38^2

This will give results in cubic millimeters. Volumes above have been convert to liters (dividing by 1 million), rounded to the nearest tenth.

Some variances may be introduced from rounding, unit conversions, and other factors.

This is all white coat, clean room, armchair nerdery stuff only. Real life measurements of tires can vary based on many factors including miles, rims, tubes, production batch, etc.

Tire weights are manufacturer published weights, except for Schwalbe which were 100% fabricated for my own amusement.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torus

http://www.metric-conversions.org/volume/cubic-millimeters-to-liters.htm