ok. maybe i was exaggerating. but it is a little scary sometimes. take it easy.
27.5 inch is actually the classic 650b size, which was extinct, or near extinct.
650b was the preferred/only tire size of french tourists in the 40s and 50s, and fell out of vogue when the 700c racing wheel rose to power in the 60s and 70s.
650b is now in trendy resurgence, first on roadish bikes, then migrating to mtn bikes.
some believe that 650b has magical properties that it is indeed the perfect sized wheel.
. there was an alliance of french people called the i think “les confreries de 650b” whose sole purpose was to keep the 650b tire size alive in the dark years where no tire mfr whatsoever was making 650b tires. those were dark times indeed.
650b aka 27.5 inch is now extremely cool, perhaps the most stylish tire size i can imagine. custom bike builders offer it. there are few nonmtn bike options i know of.
it evokes french factory workers on holiday on rutted wartorn countryside roads, wearing berets and smoking gaulouises, stopping to have wine and bread perhaps with their cherie on the back of a rene herse tandem? their strong powerful legs glistening with well earned sweat, they appreciate this day off from the factory, happy to be alive and free of german occupation.
freedom! free to ride their french made bike with special french parts that fit only french bikes and no other bikes weird french idiosyncrasises that make it difficult to repair and restore older french bikes) and of course, the 650b tires….
650b is the tire size i would go with if I were having a custom bike built around my size.
i can’t remember the whole story, but i think the original mtn bikes were roughly converted kids cruisers, and the 26 inch wheelsize is a leftover anomaly from that early adaptation by a few riding rebels in marin county, maybe?
