650b
We'll I've ridden the piss out of my new 650b now and I'm really digging the wheelsize, the frame, the fork, the steel frame, the handling... I'm really diggin the new bike!
The first ride was a bit squirrely for the first couple of miles while I got use to the smaller wheel size compared to the 29er I had been riding. I finally realized that it wasn't the bike, but the fact that I was over steering. So as I got use to the snappier response and handling of this bike, I finally got a feel on it's handling and I just love how it carves through a corner.
Pacenti 650b Steel Frame
One of the first things that really stood out about this new bike was how great riding a steel frame felt. After riding an aluminum hardtail for the past year, I can say without a doubt that I'll never buy anything other than steel from this point on, except when considering a full suspension frame. The steel feels amazing and alive, likes it's part or you, an extension of your body and not just something you're riding. I really dig how snappy the bike feels, how it easy it is to flick around and I've found myself staying in the saddle much more because it just doesn't beat the hell out of you like aluminum does. Props to Kirk Pacenti on the frame design... he got the tubing dialed in perfectly and I couldn't be more pleased with the way this bike handles and feels!
White Brothers 650b Magic 100mm Fork
The White Brothers fork feels great too! Considering it hasn't even broken in yet, I'm really pleased with how great it feels and handles. I've notice zero lateral flex in the fork and it takes the bike where you point it with confidence. That's a lot more than I can say for a few other forks I've owned over the years. I can't wait to see how this fork handles once it's pasted it's break in period.
Pacenti 650b Tires and Stans 650b ZTR 355 Rims
The Pacenti Neo and Quasi Motos seated into the Stans ZRT 355 rims nicely. I'm not running this bike as tubeless as of yet, since I'm waiting for the wheelset to stress out a bit more and get it retensioned once I have a few more rides on them. But once that's done I'll be taking this thing tubeless. I've read a few threads about the Neo blowning off the ZTR 355 rims, but considering how snug the tires where during installation... I think this was more of operator error and these guys where just over-airing the tires. I just can't see these tires turning loose from the ZTR 355 rims and I think they're going to seat up perfectly once I go tubeless.
Pacenti 650b Neo-Moto
The Neo tracks and carves great. I'm use to riding Panaracer Rampage tires on my 29er and the Neo feels very familiar and I know what the Neo is going to do, how it's going to handle in a corner, what to expect in a loose sandy spot, mud, rocks and the flat-aways. The Neo-Moto has my tread of choice and I really like this tire a lot.
Pacenti 650b Quasi-Moto
The Quasi is nice, it's not a the kind of tire I would typically choose for my bikes, but that was the whole point of choosing the Quasi in the first place... I wanted a rear tire that I could spin up fast. The first thing I noticed about the Quasi is that it wasn't like the Neo. It was a little looser than what I was use to, coming from a 29er with a Panaracer Rampage in the front and rear. But unlike the 29er with the Rampage on the rear, I can spin this thing up really fast. Part of this is because of the fact that's a 650b and takes a lot less effort to get this bike moving along, but the Quasi really does spin up fast and that's why I chose it for my rear tire.
Now that I've have a few miles on the Quasi, I've begun to understand what to expect from the Quasi and have adjusted my technic accordingly. I've gotten in more miles than I can remember now on this new bike now and I like the Quasi-Moto tire. It's predictable and tracks well. It's not the Neo-Moto and will break traction a little sooner than the Neo, but hey... it's not the same tire and has a considerably lesser tread profile and this is expected. I dig the Quasi and it is exactly what I expected, a fast tire that tracks well, spins up fast and corners good.
I'm really digging the 650b experience!
Hell of a fun ride! If you've ridden one... you'd know what it's all about.
Follow-Up:
Over the weekend I made a few adjustments to the While Brothers' 650b Magic 100mm fork and air'd down the tire pressure a bit. The White Bros' fork feels great! I'm really diggin this fork a lot and couldn't be more pleased with it! Dropping the air pressure on my tubed tires also helped out a lot and both the Neo and Quasi are hooking up great! I had the tires bumped up around 40lbs starting out. Dropping them down to 35lbs made a huge improvement! I can't wait to get the tires set up tubeless.
2 Month Follow-Up:
Kirk did a bang up job on designing this frame! This is hands down the best Mtn. Bike I've ever ridden!!! I had planned to have a preliminary review posted up by now on this bike, but I've been riding it so damn much that I haven't had time to sit down and pull together some thoughts to best describe how great this bike handles and how perfect the steel feels!
When I contacted Kirk about designing this frame, we talked, I told him what I was looking for in the new bike, what kind of trail conditions I'd be using it for and my riding style... we hammered out the details and the end result is nothing less than riding perfection!
Tags: 650b 27.5 Kirk Pacenti Steel Frame Neo Moto Stan's ZTR 355
