In a message dated 3/27/04 11:29:44 AM Eastern Standard Time, olof@stroh.nu writes: Just a few generations of wide-spread use and cycling tradition before somebody in the 80´s decided to use a heavy crusier with the obscure bcd of 559 made for ballooners to go fast down some hill.
cheers :-)
Olof Stroh Uppsala sweden Olof I'm assuming the tongue is planted innthe cheek on your response. Ther 559 is arguable the most widespread bseadseat of any two )or more) wheel self-propelled vehicle
I'm from the road background all my life I've been a 700 and tubular devotee, but I'm enthralled with the 559 because of its endurance and versatility from sub-inch rubber to three inches.
Miyata, Bridgestone (then Rivendell)were on the mark D A O (Dead-On) when they bucked conventional wisdom and used the 559 oin their compacts and earlier 'hybrids' instead of sucvcoming to the pressure of our government protectionism that imposed artificial and excessive duties on 559 because of Huffy, Murray, and others that used to make bikes on our shores,
I have a sneaking suspicion that the 650 might be a result of that tariff as well
I'm relatively new to tires and wheels, started in the mid 1960's and have sold about 100,000 (we figure we've turned out 50,000 bikes since the shops started)and fixed/built/fitted at least three times that.
That's the only perspective from which I can comment.
Larry 'wheels' Black
Mt airy, Md