650b DH rig on jumps

HAB · Jul 10, 2015

jstuhlman · Jul 10, 2015

dosn't the "b" stand for "boost"? so yes.

djjohnr · Jul 10, 2015

freshwire said:
Just wondering if anyone who rides a DH rig with 650b has noticed any difference jumping it, compared to 26" wheels.

I've ridden the same bike back to back with 26 and 27.5 wheels and no, I didn't notice a difference jumping.

yd35 · Jul 10, 2015

Jumping on a 27.5 bike is a different beast than a 26, IMHO it's a bit more difficult. First, it's harder to accelerate so you gotta work more to get up to the appropriate speed to clear stuff. Also, I feel like I need to go a little faster to clear things. On top of that, the bike is a little harder to move around in the air so you gotta put more english into your whips and little adjustments one makes up there. And finally, I feel like I need to make more of an effort to keep my body low and in attack mode - in all aspects of riding actually - but especially in the air, or else I land awkwardly.

So, kinda sounds like 27.5 sucks right? Well, it does in many ways, from a riding and financial perspective. But it kicks ass when you're straight lining rough stuff. You can monster truck gnarly lines, purposely or accidentally, and you get traction in hairy off camber stuff you slid right off previously. Overall, I'd say you can pay less attention to what you're riding cause you're not getting the standard feedback from the trail - until you jump or hit a turn that is, hehe.

I'll add that you quickly get used to what you need to do on a 27.5 bike. None of it is earth shatteringly awesome or terrible and as a result it's not super hard to adjust. Do I like 26 or 27.5 better? I tend to be more of a pussy in the rock gnar so 27.5 works a bit better for me. Overall, I'd say it's a wash. Unfortunately, 650b is getting rammed down our throats so it may be better to get on the train.

slimshady · Jul 10, 2015

yd35 said:
Jumping on a 27.5 bike is a different beast than a 26, IMHO it's a bit more difficult. First, it's harder to accelerate so you gotta work more to get up to the appropriate speed to clear stuff. Also, I feel like I need to go a little faster to clear things. On top of that, the bike is a little harder to move around in the air so you gotta put more english into your whips and little adjustments one makes up there. And finally, I feel like I need to make more of an effort to keep my body low and in attack mode - in all aspects of riding actually - but especially in the air, or else I land awkwardly.

So, kinda sounds like 27.5 sucks right? Well, it does in many ways, from a riding and financial perspective. But it kicks ass when you're straight lining rough stuff. You can monster truck gnarly lines, purposely or accidentally, and you get traction in hairy off camber stuff you slid right off previously. Overall, I'd say you can pay less attention to what you're riding cause you're not getting the standard feedback from the trail - until you jump or hit a turn that is, hehe.

I'll add that you quickly get used to what you need to do on a 27.5 bike. None of it is earth shatteringly awesome or terrible and as a result it's not super hard to adjust. Do I like 26 or 27.5 better? I tend to be more of a pussy in the rock gnar so 27.5 works a bit better for me. Overall, I'd say it's a wash. Unfortunately, 650b is getting rammed down our throats so it may be better to get on the train.

This. Plus, in my limited month running the Rallón (just one afternoon in a jumpy bikepark, and many XC miles) I felt like the bike wants to nose dive moar than my 26er. But I attribute that las point to the bike being significantly longer than my previous one (a Cannondale Prophet).

squiby · Jul 10, 2015

Defer to the experts -http://m.pinkbike.com/news/cruzfest-bike-check.html

rollertoaster · Jul 11, 2015

I can't notice a different. I have been running it for 2 seasons on my 6" bike and dh bike. Yeah they did accelerate slower (until I switched to carbon wheels) other than that I don't feel any difference.

marshalolson · Jul 11, 2015

Unjumpable

tabletop84 · Jul 11, 2015

rollertoaster said:
I can't notice a different. I have been running it for 2 seasons on my 6" bike and dh bike. Yeah they did accelerate slower (until I switched to carbon wheels) other than that I don't feel any difference.

But are you running comparable frames as with 26?

4130biker · Jul 11, 2015

Fixed!

djjohnr said:
I've ridden the same bike back to back with 26 and 27.5 wheels and no, I didn't notice a difference riding.

mtg · Jul 11, 2015

I've done back to back 26" to 27.5" riding on my DH bike. If you can hit jumps well on 26", you can also hit them well on 27.5". The difference in physical size is about 3.5%, and that's about what the difference riding feels like as well. While the wheel size makes a small difference, other factors, such as tire pressure, tires, suspension setup, % hangover from last night can all have a greater affect.

rollertoaster · Jul 11, 2015

tabletop84 said:
But are you running comparable frames as with 26?

Yes I am. Tr450, 26 versus 27.5 and a covert 26, converted to 27.5.
Now I'm on a tr500 with 27.5 after cracking my 450.
So don't run 650b wheels or your frame will explode.

kickstand · Jul 12, 2015

djjohnr said:
I've ridden the same bike back to back with 26 and 27.5 wheels and no, I didn't notice a difference jumping.

Same.

Only difference I have noted so far is I suck even worse cornering on 27.5 wheels compared to 26".

I am slower on my local XC trails on a 27.5 bike with less travel and more XC miles ridden so far this season than I was last year, across the board.

I notice very little difference on my DH bike.

I notice zero difference in jumping my XC bikes or my DH bikes.

djjohnr · Jul 12, 2015

Yeah, the main difference I feel is cornering, and it's really about the rear wheel wheel, not so much the front. The rollover increase is barely noticeable to me.

kidwoo · Jul 12, 2015

kickstand said:
Only difference I have noted so far is I suck even worse cornering on 27.5 wheels compared to 26".

Heh. More people need to be this honest with themselves about their new toys. Same here FWIW.

About the only benefit I've noticed is that in the crappy dirt where I live, bigger wheels (29s especially) won't knife in and punch through quite as quick in really hard direction changes. They feel a little better drifting but then they flex more.......and I end up drifting in more places because of the loss of quickness anyway. Of course slacker headangles, better tires, and longer wheelbases already did that without bigger wheels so kind of a (wait for it)..........wash.

demo 9 · Jul 12, 2015

Didnt notice a difference jumping the 2014 jedi to the 2015. Whips crank the same, scrubs are a bit easier, probably due to the momentum.

Ill also agree the traction is incredible on 27s

dexter · Jul 13, 2015

squiby said:
Defer to the experts -http://m.pinkbike.com/news/cruzfest-bike-check.html

man ive been out of the game for a long time but when the f did everyone stop running chain guides on dh bikes?

Err · Jul 14, 2015

Hmm, jumping is about <insert made-up number close to 100>% skill and the rest the bike. That said, I feel that larger wheels make the factors of distance and whips a touch easier. Getting all FMB is harder (duh) due to the gyroscopic effect and because the internet says so. But, unless you're doing that stuff there's no down side in my book. I've often noticed that 29" wheels in particular tend to want to fly true and stable where 24 and 26 are more playful and loose. 27.5 just feels like a slightly more stable 26er, not as dramatic as 26 vs 29 (as expected). I was just at Winter Park bike park with my 27.5 Nomad and noticed that it was no problem bouncing off all the big and little hits on the mountain. If you happen to know that hill, Cruel and Unusual can give folks fits trying to maintain speed through some of the tighter sections but the 27.5 wheels didn't seem to be a problem. On Banana Peel I had to scrub the first drop hard, kept taking it a bit too deep. For context, this is all coming from an old dude who is creeping back from being really broken last year.

If I'm staring down a big distance gap, it gives me a warm an fuzzy if I happen to be on a 29er. But then I'm weird like that. My mom says it's OK though.

WestCoastHucker · Jul 14, 2015

i've noticed that different wheel sizes obviously give me a different feel. that being said, i only notice the difference while on the ground. as soon as i am airborne, a bike is a bike and there isn't really much difference to me....

wood booger · Jul 15, 2015

WestCoastHucker said:
i've noticed that different wheel sizes obviously give me a different feel. that being said, i only notice the difference while on the ground. as soon as i am airborne, a bike is a bike and there isn't really much difference to me....

If you are a dead sailor champ maybe, but when you are in the air and turn or swing a spinning 26" wheel compared to 29" there is a massive difference.

I notice jumping between 26 & 27.5 that you have to be a little more cautious in the air w/ 27.5. The wheel pulls you around more.
Not a big deal though, easy to get used to.

29 on the other hand, is ball sucking bad. It even makes Mitch Talk-a-lot-o look a bit like a goon when airing out the Enduro 29 and trying to be stylish.

WestCoastHucker · Jul 15, 2015

never ridden anything bigger than a 26", but i can easily ride any jumps on my 26", 24" and my 20" without batting an eye when switching back and forth between them all...

i guess i have to agree there is a stability in the air difference with a larger wheel, but neither is any more difficult to jump than the other. the thing i notice most is the difference in wheelbase while on the ground..

650b DH rig on jumps

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