[Leppah]

Has anybody done a 26" to 27.5"/650b conversion on their XC bikes? I'm thinking about doing it with my 2006 Enduro Elite to give it a little bit of life. I tried to find a topic in search but hadn't found anything.
If you've done the conversion, let me know what you think. I'm basically looking at doing it so my bike will keep me content for a while longer until I can get me another full suspension 29er.
What are the pros and cons if you've performed the conversion? Would you recommend it?

 

[denjen]

Some info here on other bike conversions.

http://650bpalace.blogspot.com/2011/10/650b-from-26-convertable-list.html

 

[StiHacka]

I ride two converted bikes atm - On One 456C hardtail (currently a fixie) and Ibis Mojo HD. For me, the betweener wheel size works. Pros - a little better roll over, easier climbing in tech gnar. Cons - a little heavier, a little less agile than 26", but IMHO still very flickable. Geo changes - BB gets elevated by about 1/2", fork trail increases a little so the bike feels a little slacker.

 

[Leppah]

Nice rides.
I borrowed some wheels from a friend just to make sure they'd fit and there was plently of clearance. My rear shock was a little low on air, so when i was trying to bottom out the rear, I'd buzz the rear derailleur bracket just a tad. I figured with more air, i'd be ok.
I did notice the bike seemed to feel more slack. When i'd lean the bike, it felt like it wanted to turn in, similar to how my DH bikes have felt, I think because of the head angle. I also noticed that my old 29er did that too.
I actually asked a few engineer buddies if the head angle changed because it felt like it did. Just seemed different.
I'm anxious to try it out.
Do you have any clearance issues on your Mojo?

 

[StiHacka]

The conversion does not increase the head angle, it increases the fork trail, but it has the same affect as slacker HA on a 26" bike.

New 650b forks have bigger offset to compensate for the taller wheels.

The Mojo HD is quite conversion friendly, Ibis pretty much re-issued the 140mm setup as an official 650b bike in its latest HD-R incarnation. I had to shim the shock to limit the wheel travel in the 160mm mode, otherwise it would hit the seat tube. I can only run smaller 2.35 and 2.25 tires in the rear, too. My current favorite rear tire - the Kenda Honey Badger - works fine though. The HD-R has a little more room for larger tires, but it suffers from the same seat tube clearance and high BB issues as the HD.

 

[Leppah]

Got mine thrown on. I just need to let the air out of the fork to make sure the tire won't hit the bottom of the crown. That would be no bueno.
hoping to get out to St. George down south next weekend to try it out.
I might switch to one chainring up front. When I compress the rear super hard, the rear tire barely buzzes the front derailleur. We'll see if it's bad enough that it becomes a real issue or not when I can actually get on the bike and ride it.

 

[rollertoaster]

I converted a transition covert last winter, best idea I've ever had. Custom rear dropouts and brake mount combined with one offset shock bushing brought the HA to around 65.5. It's a total ripper now and I absolutely love riding it whether it be trail or dh.

 

[Glenn cousland]

I converted a transition covert last winter, best idea I've ever had. Custom rear dropouts and brake mount combined with one offset shock bushing brought the HA to around 65.5. It's a total ripper now and I absolutely love riding it whether it be trail or dh.

Hey there, do u have any info/specs on how you did this as i have a covert and would love to do the same, cheers.

 

[rollertoaster]

I have moved on but I have a set of dropouts, and 180mm brake mount if you are interested.

 

[Ra Ar]

I have moved on but I have a set of dropouts, and 180mm brake mount if you are interested.

I maybe interested in this & I'm close to Pottstown area. I've got a 2014 Transition Covert that I'd like to make 650b.

 

[kidwoo]

I have moved on but I have a set of dropouts, and 180mm brake mount if you are interested.

Who did you get to do the dropouts?

 

[rollertoaster]

Who did you get to do the dropouts?

I made them from a slab of 6061 with a harbor freight radial arm saw, drill press, die grinder and a LOT of time.
I ruined about 3 before I got one usable set, and I miscalculated on the first version which didn't give me enough bb drop. V2 may have been the most worthwhile thing I've ever done. Totally transformed an already good bike into something even better.

BTW, the picture further back in this thread was for v1 of the dropouts, the bb ended up being too high so I went back to the drawing board and designed a set that raised the axle higher.

 

[kidwoo]

Haha!

Awesome.

Harbor freight has 6061 bar stock eh? Hmmm.......