In NAs, it seems that the 26” rim size is dominant, with any holdouts riding 700c wheels.
From a cursory glance at the Bikes of Polo thread, it seems like a lot of Euro players are using 650b wheels (or at least a higher percentage than in NA). I’m curious as to why that might be.
If you use 650b, what led you to that decision? Is it a “best of both worlds” balance between 26 and 700? something else?
There are some pros for bigger and some for smaller wheels, I’ll try to summarize everything I can think of at the moment:
Pros for smaller wheels:
-lower weight (in theory)
-easier to accelerate
-higher angular stability
-turns easier
-higher braking force due to mechanical advantage
Pros for bigger wheels:
-more area for blocking shots
-keeps more momentum
-wide availability for fast rolling tires (650b/700c)
There are probably some more on each side that I’m forgetting right now, but I guess 650B seems to mark a good compromise for many people…
And also let’s not forget the actual wheel sizes are much more gradual than that as you need to consider tire width as well. A thick tire on a 26" rim can have the same outer diameter as a thin tire on 28" (matter of fact, road 28" and MTB 29" use the same rim diameter)
I think 650b is the perfect Wheelsize for Polo because its still way bigger than 26 but also quicker and more agile than 700… for really tall people it makes sense to play 700. Also its reasonable that even 650 is “too big” for some people… But I really think 650b is the best for the majority of players… Its not so easy to get good tires like for 700 but still…
Idk why its not that common in the US, probably they will figure it out soon (:
Cheers
Levin
I went from 26" to 650b because my 26" ended under a car and Stolen proposed me an interesting price on a new frameset and 650b was a condition for it. They were sure that they would do a geometry that would be good for the small guy like me and … They did it perfectly.
I’ve also switched from 26" to 650b because 26" seemed to be dying (hard to find rims and tyres, Mavic EN521 with Maxxis detonator 26x1.25 for me). At the end, 5 years later you can still find very good stuff for both 26" and 650b.
I’ll be very honest : i’ve never felt any difference between 26" and 650b because both geometry of my 26" and 650b framesets were very good.
Nothing really surprising if you look at the numbers :
26" rim = 559mm, add a 1.25" tyre (32mm) and you have a theoretical radius at : 311.5mm
650b rim = 584mm, add a 28mm tyre and you have a theoretical radius at : 320mm
8.5mm of radius is nothing that light components and a good geometry can’t compensate.
Anyway, I understand very well all the physical and theoretical discussions about speed, acceleration, maneuverability but I still can’t do half of what Luca Semeraro (just a bit taller than me) can do with a 10 years old 700c and a pair of ******* heavy 48 spokes wheels … So … I guess the best choice is the one you are happy with !
I believe wheel size should go with frame size .
I personally started on a dodici 26" - couldn’t do shit
Switched to a very small cinelli mash work 700c with 130mm stem - riding was good, very similar to my ciclocross bike , still had some issues mainly with wheelie turn and pivot
Built my own alu frame from an artisan from Veneto (Vetta) , 700c , geometry similar to Dolan and mash work mashed together, best feeling I had for 3 weeks , then I crashed into a board , bent a bit the frame and lost the great feeling cause it caused overlap. Then I gave that frame to a fixie friend.
Switched to a Dolan pre cursa (best geometry for 700c imho) switched to lightfoot size M V3 (too heavy for my fast playstyle and overall too big for me).
Then I had an idea , the Vetta frame with kind of too high from the ground after the crash and a too much overlap , so I thought why not trying to put 650b on a 700c frame ? So I did that after euros, got my frame back from my fixie friend , put 650b and it’s freaking fantastic , turn like nothing , great handling . I just wish I had the rear wheel closer to vertical tube and maybe 1 cm longer top tube (I’m still using 120mm stem on a 52mm frame) .
I’m 1.74 cm tall , very long arm , very long legs (73cm saddle height on my road bike) I recently
!)
tried some good 26" frame for some days (manly Top frame ) but I still believe that I can perform better on 650 and to some extend too 700 .
So in conclusion I think that there isn’t enough data to see right pattern other then trends and personal experience , maybe if polo get way bigger player base we could gather enough data to see objectively what does work and what not .
Okay I’m sold. My rear is toast and I need a new rim. What’s the recommendation for a 32h 650b wheel?
@Levin seems to be very happy with his H plus Son archetype no?
Hi Andy !
DT Swiss Ex471 is the absolute reference here. Not the lightest but the most used for sure
I’m using DT swiss gr 531 , they are lighter than the one bouchard mentioned , and more fragile but they look really nice ahah
There is no H Plus Son 27,5 rim…
But yeah for 700c it’s for sure the best rim for Bikepolo!
Yeah, my current wheel is an archetype. it was great until someone decided to save their brake pads and use my wheel to stop instead.
I’m running the 650b Velocity Alierons. I really like them, light and stiff. Only thing is they have a large sidewall profile, so they dent pretty easily.
From my experience the dents have been cosmetic, but if you take a bad rip, there’s a chance it could affect your spoke tension.
actually 650b was an interesting introduction as a 700c replacement , not a “big 26” .
when talking geo with danniel genna back when i wanted z custom frame he kept on bringing up that we suffer taco wheels cuz we use improper rims : too narrow for the brutal use that bike polo is.
his idea was to match the radius of a 700 with a 27,5 wide rim (ex471 dt swiss) 30mm external width, and a wider tyre range 1.5" or 38c .
the issue was the choixe of tyres, you could barely fit some of the 30c tyres on it , but his goal was to match a 700 anyway so he is been rocking 1.50 parimoto and such lightweight slick gravel tyres. not very puncture proof but fast and light for polo.
im having issues with these tyres, i tried rene herse naches pass 26" x 1.75 or 44c , endurance , similar to panaracer but only rene herse put out this size.
as they are gravel ones i inflate them beyond recomznded bars and they loose their grip , they are best at 3.5 - 4 bars buts thats too low for me ( harsh pivoting will bite the tube and puncture )
their pretty tan walls are not meant for gripping so i did loose grip in very hard curves , something that dont happen with a smaller tyre ( 1.4" tom slick ritchey )
anyway i m getting a new bike soon and its for 700 x 30c pirelli p zero.
i was on a bike tyre company website once and their moto was “tyres to design bikes around” and i think its pretty accurate, tyres and rims should be considered first in your custom bike project.
