This past weekend 650b.com took delivery of a randoneering bike to give the 650b road riding a try.  The bike is Renold YiPsan of YiPsan Bicycles personal steed.  Tagged as a “winter/rando” bike this thing seems to be bomb proof and perfect for winter riding.

A few of the key features:

• Down tube shifters (though not on the downtube.)
• Disc brakes
• Plenty of tire clearance

The bike is very stable as it designed for long rides and randoneering.  Riding hands free is a joy and one of the things that stuck out very quickly.  Being able to turn a corner without hands has never been something I could master, but now I can!  The frame and fork is built out of steel which combined with 32mm wide tires gives a very comfortable ride.  The bike is built with 135mm spacing in the rear so I was able to mount the Stans ZTR 355 wheels with Fatty Rumpkin tires.

My ultimate goal with this bike is weighing the riding characteristics, handling and performance of 650b vs a more standard 700c road or cyclo-cross bike.  YiPsan argues “With a 32mm to 42mm width tire mounted, the resultant wheel diameter of a 650b wheel is quite close to a 700×23c wheel.”  But what about my speed?  Sure the ride might be more comfortable but will I be able to keep up with my buddy on his 700c bike?  YiPsan says yes -  “For those concerned about speed, I must say that riding a 650b wheeled bikes is not any slower than a 700×23c wheeled bike on most recreational sport riding provided that the bike fit well.”

I will write up a short review of the actual bike, tires and such but, again, I plan on posing my thoughts on this 650b on the road theory.  My background on the road is a long term love affair.  I started as a roadie and to this day it is where I am most comfortable.  Dirt is where my heart lays and what I enjoy the most but road is engrained in me.