Jamis Dakar Sixfifty B Pro: Thoughts About 650b Wheels

There's been a lot of hubub around the interwebs of late about the potential explosion of the 650b wheel size. Much of the commotion is around the very substantial rumor that Fox and Rock Shox are both developing 650b forks, leading many to believe that several major bike brands will

Testing MTB Gear on the Road this Summer: Jamis 650b, Yakima Doubledown, Pearl Izumi Gear, and More

As anyone who has ridden with me knows: I am not easy on my bike gear. It's not that I'm abusive or anything I try to take care of what I own so that it will last as long as possible.However, I actually use my gear--and on a regular basis

2012 Jamis Dakar SixFifty B Pro Long-Term Review: Part I

Test riding mountain bikes at an expo is a lot like sampling teriyaki chicken at the mall: it all tastes good, but you can't really tell which is the best until you've eaten a full serving. After demoing the 2012 Jamis Dakar SixFifty B Pro at the Southeast Bike Expo in

2012 Jamis Dakar SixFifty B Pro Long-Term Review: Part 2

Click here to read part I of this long-term review. Ride Quality As I'm sure you've already gathered, the XC components and geometry make the Jamis Dakar SixFifty B Pro a very capable climber for a 5.5" bike. If you don't feel like you need full squish on the climbs, close the

Interbike 2012: KHS SixFifty 608 Test Ride

Ive spent plenty of time riding a full-suspension 650b bike over the course of this summer, but I had yet to see how the tweener wheels handle in a hardtail package. So, when I wandered over to the KHS booth and noticed the beautiful carbon frames rolling on WTB Laser

Turner Burner 650b Test Ride

I've been trying to steer clear of the 650b hype but sometimes it's almost unavoidable. Don't get me wrong--I have nothing against 650b bikes--but I'm more than happy with both my 29ers. Still, when I got a chance to demo the Turner Burner 650b at Interbike I figured, what the

The 650b (R)evolution, Part 1: Jamis, KHS, and Tires

It's been all over the blog and the forums on Singletracks.com: the industry is quickly jumping behind the new 650b/27.5"/tweener wheel size, whatever you want to call it. This year at Interbike I was tasked with covering the new 650b products--quite a tall order! In this series of posts I'll

The 650b (R)evolution, Part 2: The 650b Godfather, (R)evolution, and 650b Sales

Click here to read "The 650b (R)evolution, Part 1: Jamis, KHS, and Tires." The Godfather of 650b Mountain Bikes: Tom Ritchey While most of what we've been writing here on Singletracks refers to 650b as a new mountain bike trend, if you look at the history of the sport this wheel standard

The 650b (R)evolution, Part 3: Rocky Mountain, Scott, Norco, and Intense

Click here to read "The 650b (R)evolution, Part 2: The 650b Godfather, (R)evolution, and 650b Sales." While it seems that some companies have jumped into the 650b movement headfirst, other companies are testing the waters with just a couple of models. Rocky Mountain Rocky Mountain Altitude With 150mm of travel, they call the Altitude

Jamis Dragon 650 - Outerbike Review

I really wanted to ride one of the Jamis full suspension 650b bikes, but the one they brought in my size was always out. So instead I threw a leg over the Dragon 650, which is a steel hardtail with a fairly slack 68 head tube angle. So of course I

Turner Burner 650b: Mini Outerbike Review

In case you missed it, be sure to read Jeff's longer (but still short) review of this bike here. At Outerbike I got my chance to throw a leg over the Turner Burner 650b. Unlike the bike Jeff tested with Enve wheels, my test rig was equipped with Stan's Arch 650b