lEidENSCHaFt - Storck Bicycle GmbH

Much of which has been regarded as achievements of the past decades in realitydates back much longer. Mileage counters? Were on the market as early as at theend of the 19th century. They rewarded the rider for each mile completed with thering of a small bell. Suspensions? Were a big deal in the nineteen-twenties. Lightweightdesign? Had its heyday in pre-war France where at the ‘Concours de Machines’innovative bicycle constructors were trying to outperform each other with touring roadbikes that had any excess fat trimmed off them and in some cases weighed less thaneight kilos fully equipped.And 650b? The wheel size, which is generally acclaimed as the latest achievementin the MTB sector, in reality is anything but a 21st century invention. It dates backto exactly those French bicycle builders who demonstrated the fitness of theirlight-weight bikes for field use on long tours across the countryside. As they werestruggling with comparably poor roads the strict regulations for these test runs,among other things, required a minimum tire size of 35 mm. Of course, 28” wheelswith slim tires already existed at the time (the old French 700C dimension can still befound on many road bike tires to this day) but the ingenious designers preferred to usewider tires fitted to smaller rims. That way, the outer diameter of the wheels largelyremained the same which meant that the influence of the wheels on steering androlling behavior did not change either. And with special adjustable brakes fitting thesame frame with either 700C or 650b wheels was no problem.Looking at the influence of the wheels on riding characteristics takes us back to thepresent – and the question of what wheel size is the best for mountain bikes. Honestlyspeaking, the fact that the vast majority of the bikes have so far been rolling on26” wheels has less to do with the MTB inventors dealing with topics such as ridingdynamics and wheel stiffness and a lot more with the fact that 26” was the typicaldimension of the cruiser bikes that provided the basis for the first off-road bikes.When, about ten years ago, the first twentyniners hit the market (fitted with readilyavailable 28” rims) the professional biking world was impressed with their goodrolling and superior straight-running performance. But as 29ers began to turn intoa mass product the limits of the concept became apparent. Twentyniners are lesshandy and occasionally require compromises with respect to the seating geometry,for instance, because the front is relatively high and MTB racers may not be able tosufficiently lower the handlebars in some cases. Plus, the argument of wheel stabilitycarries a certain weight, which tends to be more in favor of smaller wheels.Knowing that both 26” and 29” wheels certainly have their disadvantages and that theaspect of availability of the right rims played a part in their origination plus learningthat 650b has a long history and was used particularly due to its advantages overlarger rims with slim tires, 650b aka 27.5” no longer appears like a poor compromisebetween two viable concepts or, worse yet, an artificial product created purely formarketing and sales purposes. At the end of the day, 650b is the ideal synthesisbetween 26” and 29,” the optimum size for mountain bikes. Markus Storck, too,is obviously convinced: “650b will prevail, I’m sure about that.” The portfolio of hiscompany includes the Zero2Seven as a new aluminum hardtail with transverselyovalized tubes that delivers great ride comfort combined with high stiffness andprecisely hits the center between razor-sharp steering precision and super-safe trackkeeping. In other words, a typical Storck bike – so it comes as no surprise that thecompany is banking on the new, old wheel size. After all, being a technology leadersometimes means recognizing proven concepts and breathing new life into them.