So, I really want to ride the Hans Dampf Super Gravity 2.35" tire, BUT it only comes in 26" and 27.5" (650b), and all my smaller unis are 29" or super wide 26", so…
I’m building a wheel specifically for a tire :o
Yeah, it’s kinda silly, but since the 650b seems to be gaining traction, and I wanted to have a smaller wheel choice, I figured it was time to build either another “skinny” 26er or go with something new
The new wheel will be built with a Nimbus 32h chromoly hub and a Velocity Blunt 35 rim (P35), using Spirit 150/125 cranks, on an Oracle 29 “tall frame”.
Seems like a cool project. It will be perfect for those days when you can’t decide to ride a 26 or a 29. And if it turns out to be a sweet riding size it may vary well become more popular.
I don’t think there needs to be a 27.5 frame, esp now that many of us are running disc brakes. There’s no geometry complications with wheel changes like occurs with our biking brethren
For most of my riding a 29er works fine, I have a Knard 3" on the Oregon 29" wheel and a Hans Dampf 2.35 Pacestart on the Oracle 29" wheel. I do have a 26 x 4 for the Oregon, but it’s a bear of a wheel to spin around for “up and down” muni, so I reserve it for snow/mud and for my son.
This wheel is an alternative to getting another 26 x 2.4, which just feels to short for XC muni.
This tire is really interesting to me because it was designed for enduro racing. Enduro is a freeride style that mixes XC with DH, lots of off piste riding, so they built the Super Gravity Hans Dampf with a DH side wall and an XC center. Supposedly it has a stiffer sidewall while retaining the soft center tread “feel” of an XC tire.
There is a 26" version of the HD SG, so if this tire works out, that might be an alternative for folks who like the HD but find it kind of soft (Killian).
Next year I’m building up a Schlumpf for my Oracle, so it may be a 650b if it works out
Hmm. I’m liking the sound of a stiffer sidewall. Would allow the lower psi’s without spraying white goo all over the trail (do with that what you like). Definitely interested. Wonder what the chances’d be of them doing an SG HD in 29er format, though I really ain’t complainin’.
Yay - I think 650b’s already been done on a singlespeed, but you may be the first with a Schlumpf if you do that. Could just be the perfect size for a Schlumpf muni.
I’m still pondering a 650b with a Flow EX rim, but will probably go 29er instead (yes I know you think those rims are too narrow, but in reality given the different sidewall design it will probably give just as large a tyre profile as your Blunt).
I feel like the 29" size is more or less peaked with the knard, there really isn’t much more that can be done or is likely to be done in regards to 29" tires. So I’m still going to build a 650b as an alternative to 26, and if I like it, then I’ll schlumpf it next year.
As for tubeless, well, I ran my hans tubed for a year, and it was my favorite tire, then I made it tubeless and it lost that lovin’ feelin’. I went back to tubes on the hans and the good feelings are back.
So, tubeless can be good, but each tire is different and each rider wants a different feel, so for instance on my 36" Todd tire, running tubeless is awesome!
That’s my plan! I was about to order that Velocity P35 rim with the Hans Dampf. The Hans Dampf is really big actually, the 2.35 from Schwalbe is like 2.6 from Maxxis. I would be using a KH29 frame for the moment.
I’m starting to race with XC bikers localy, and I noticed that the G24" is slow and heavy. I think I’d have more chance of keeping up with them on a lighter 650B. Going with lighter tire and tubeless.
My plan is to get the rim with 36 holes so I can maybe end up with a geared wheel
I was pondering this in January and the idea was pretty much dismissed as folly (which serves more as encouragement than a deterrent to me). I’ll still get around to it. But as I go back and look for that thread, I see that someone posted their 650b five years ago (without ever offering a review that I can find).
There is a lot of discussion about wheel size differences, I have quite a few wheel choices including a 32", so my opinion is it is worth considering esp when you compare bike gearing to unicycle “gearing”. We don’t have gearing outside of the Schlumpf, so taller and shorter wheel sizes are teh only way to change gearing. I rode my 26 x 4 last night for the first time in months, and even though it’s a beast of tire compared to my daily driver 29er, the geairng advantage when I climbed was clear.
I learned to ride on a 26 x 3, but over time I felt like a spun out on XC terrain, though for climbing and tech muni it was fine. Bumping up to a 29er was great for XC, but not as good for climbing and tech muni. I’ll be curious to see how the 650b Hans compares in diameter to my 26 x 4.
It will be smaller. It will even be smaller than a 26x3. A 650b is just about 1" larger than a 26" wheel (ignore the 27.5 marketing, it’s really 27), hence you only need a 1/2" larger tyre on the 26" to be the same diameter as a 650b.
I got the Hans Super Gravity the other day, still waiting on the rim, but the tire is quite nice, think of a cross between a Duro and an HD, but stickier.
