Does anybody know who might be able to make custom tires?
650B bikes from the 1940s and 1950s (Herse, Singer, etc.) were built for "demi-ballon" tires, which measure either 37 or 42 mm in width. With relatively shallow head angles and copious fork rake, these bikes have short trail, but ride great. However, if you substitute a narrower tires (the only nice 650B tires available measure a paltry 30 mm), the trail decreases to the point where the bike becomes unstable.
In the old days, several makers of hand-made tires provided light, efficient, fat 650 B tires, but these makers all are no longer with us.
I like to ride my old bikes, so the tire limitations are a concern. Especially since I may want to do Paris-Brest-Paris on one of the old machines, but I'd rather not ride on heavy, inexpensive, inefficient tires.
So I've been thinking about custom tires. Somebody mentioned that Veloflex might be willing to provide custom tires, if the demand exceeds 8000 tires a year. While I think that is completely doable for a medium-size 700C clincher (e.g., 26 mm actual width), I doubt that many 650B tires could be sold.
Does anybody have any ideas on how a relatively small series (500 - 1000) of fat 650B tires might be procured?
Jan Heine, Seattle