Should I get a bike with 650c wheels?
One of the most commonly asked questions I get from women riders is about wheel size, and whether or not they should steer clear of 650c wheels.
It’s no wonder that a lot of women are concerned with the smaller wheels, since most women are on average 5′5″ or shorter, with a large percentage of them being under 5′3″ and riding bikes in the 47-52cm range. You can find bikes as small as 44cm frames with 700c wheels, and as large as 52cm frames with 650c wheels. However, there is a pervasive rumor among cyclists that 650c wheels put you at a distinct mechanical disadvantage and that if you ride 650c wheels you are limiting yourself and will always be riding slower than your 700c riding companions.
If you do any research on the internet about wheel size, you will see both sides of the argument well represented. The problem, however, is that the people doing the arguing are mostly men who are of average height, and they have no idea what it is like to be 5 feet tall, riding a bike with 650c wheels and then comparing it to the same bike size with 700c wheels. I have been doing this my entire cycling career, so I have performed considerably more field testing than they have.
Proper wheel size should be dictated by the top tube length of the bike. To determine your ideal top tube length, you need to investigate your own measurements. At 4′11″ with a slightly less than 27″ inseam, I need a 50cm top tube. I have ridden a 700c bike with a 50cm top tube, as well as a 650c bike with the exact same top tube length (and same length stem, 80mm). I prefer the 650c wheels because I find that with 650c wheels, the handling is much better for top tubes of 50cm or shorter. If you can ride a 51cm top tube or longer, then 700c will work fine, provided that you don’t have toe clip overlap.
What became a problem for me on the 700c bike was that for the larger wheels on a 50cm top tube, I had hardly any head tube, so my front end was “jacked up”. The result was that I could not get a lower, aerodynamic profile on the bike. I also find that the handling is better on the 650c bike. With the larger wheels, the bike did not corner very well and I was awkward through turns. I did not have a significant amount of toe/tire overlap, which can be a problem for 700c wheels on small frames. However, the angles on the frame geometry had to be compromised to work around that, and the result was a poorly handling bike that was too “upright” for me.
As a racer, I have different needs than the non racing cyclist. I put handling at a premium, because I need to be able to lay the bike down in tight corners going 25mph with people on all sides of me and be confident that the bike is going to go where I want it to go. But, from a pure comfort standpoint, I find that I am more comfy on my 650c wheel bike.
There are good 650c wheel frame designs and bad ones, just as there are with 700c wheels. My first road racing bike was a Cannondale R600 with 650c wheels; the geometry was not ideal, and the result was a very twitchy poorly handling bike. My next bike was a Moser Laser 700c road bike with a 50cm top tube – it handled better than the Cannondale, but I was very ‘upright’ and I could not corner easily because the wheel was too close to the frame. My most recent bike is a Terry Fastwoman. This bike has a 50cm top tube with 650c wheels, and it is the best fitting bike for me. I want to state that I am not just saying that because I am sponsored by them – this bike truly fits me better than any other I have ever ridden.
Now that we have the ideal fit part of the equation out of the way, we turn to the crux of the argument against riding 650c wheels – the notion that 650c wheels are somehow “slower” than their 700c counterparts.
I can state with confidence that you are not going “slow” with 650c wheels and switching to 700c wheels will not make you “faster”. Sure, mathematically there is evidence that smaller wheels will go slower when pushing the same gear as compared to a 700c bike because the gear size in inches is larger on the larger bike.
But, that is only something that would be an issue if you were ’spinning out’ your bottom gear (53×12, most likely). I have not met too many people like us mere mortals who can spin out a 53×12 with 650c wheels. Tour de France riders most likely would, but we cannot. I ride 650c wheels on my road bike. I have ridden 700c in the past, and I can assure you – 700c are not faster. In fact when I switched back to a properly fit and designed 650c bike from a 700c, I was much faster in all disciplines of racing because my power output was greater on the new bike. The smaller wheels and better geometry enabled me to maximize my own potential and as a result I was going faster in races and was much stronger.
There was a trend in the 1990’s where triathlon bikes were built with 650c wheels in all sizes because it lowered the overall profile of the frame, allowing riders to get more aerodynamic. Now, for the average 5′11″ 175lb male cyclist, the standard 53/39 chain rings combined with an 11-23 cassette would not be enough gear for them once they got up to max speeds, and they would effectively spin out their gears, needing something “bigger”. The solution to that was to use larger chain rings, so most 650c wheel bikes for average size male riders were equipped with 55/42 chain rings. This would essentially enable the rider to achieve the same gear size with the smaller wheels.
I have ridden all of the following combinations in my 10 years of racing:
650c wheels with 42/52 chain ring
650c wheels with 39/53 chain ring
650c wheels with 42/55 chain ring
700c wheels with 39/53 chain ring
These gear combinations were used with a total of 3 different frames:
A Cannondale compact road frame with 650c wheels, size 43cm (tried all variations for 650 listed above)
A Moser compact road frame with 700c wheels, size 46cm (39/53)
A Terry traditional road frame (no sloping top tube) with 650 wheels, size 44cm (39/53)
For me, there was no obvious difference in speed or ability to ‘keep up’ in races on the Terry 650c bike with standard 39/53 gearing.
I am not sure where the myth of “small wheels are slower” evolved from, but for most people, there are no differences in speed. Again, the research that indicates smaller wheels=smaller gear ratios=slower speeds pertains to elite male cyclists, not petite women.
I race at the elite level for women, and I also often race in men’s races for training. I can tell you with confidence that my bike with 650c wheels is no slower than anyone else’s 700c bike. If I can hang in a Masters Men’s race easily and never be at risk of getting dropped on hills or descents, then I am quite certain my bike is not slowing me down.
If you are considering a new bike or currently ride a bike that has 650c wheels and you are concerned about being at a disadvantage, trust me when I tell you that you are fine on the smaller wheels. If you need a shorter top tube or a smaller frame for standover clearance, then 650c wheels are the way to go to ensure a properly fit bike that exhibits proper handling. If you are taller and can ride a larger frame, then opt for 700c wheels. Smaller women should not be deterred from choosing the optimal bike for them simply because of wheel size. The right wheel size for the frame will contribute to a more enjoyable riding and racing experience.
