Women’s 650b Ultimate v S Works Tarmac v R5

[Shrike]

Deciding between these 3 disc models at the moment and currently the Ultimate WMN has the coolest paint job and price. £4.7k for eTap with Reynolds Assaults on the Canyon outlet section

The Ultimate in 2XS is 7.1kg and sits lower to the ground. That sound class to me, being an aeroweenie, but I’m worried the 650b is a fad and the wheels will be hard to move on later and hard to find nice replacement wheels. Looks like she’d want some Zipps on the Ultimate eventually for aesthetics.

What about ride quality of these 3? Is the Ultimate dated compared to the R5 and Tarmac, ie not aero in comparison? To me the R5 and Tarmac are pretty much aerobikes and hold their own nicely in testing v pure current gen aero bikes.

Price and kit wise the Ultimate is leagues ahead though. And that paint job she’s always loved, pretty special looking.

[Karvalo]

The Ultimate in 2XS is 7.1kg and sits lower to the ground. That sound class to me, being an aeroweenie, but I’m worried the 650b is a fad and the wheels will be hard to move on later and hard to find nice replacement wheels. Looks like she’d want some Zipps on the Ultimate eventually for aesthetics.

650c was a fad in the early 2000's. since then it's continued on a tiny number of tiny bikes. You can still get 650c Zipps, but in general your options are severely limited, and even things like spare tyres and inner tubes may take a bit of planning ahead. That said, the 3XS Ultimate is a significantly smaller bike than the others, and if she can get a better position because of that...

[ipaul]

I’m in a similar situation and really think a 650B would provide the best fit for my wife but concerned about tire choices. Finding a 30 or 33 tire (largest option for frame) proves to be difficult as most tires at that size are much wider to appeal to the gravel crowd. I’ve considered having her look at the grail as a wider tire than 28 wont be so difficult to find. I’m sure some are out there but nothing in the more mainstream places.

[Shrike]

@Karvalo height wise she's 167cm so technically should be on a XS, but the 2XS is on sale and we can make that work. Other thing is we couldn't;t swap wheels if I bought a disc bike for myself down the line..

@iPaul yeah choice is a bugger, been having a cursory Google this morning. Also seems like the 650b's have a bit more rolling resistance and are noticeably slower downhill according to a reviewer..

[cyclenutnz]

650 is great for small bikes if properly designed. Proportional wheels not a fad but definitely poorly understood.
Unfortunately Canyon are not in the properly designed camp.

Once you normalise bar height (bar Y at the bottom) there is only a 4mm difference in reach between the 2XS and an R5 48.
The 3XS is the only useful 650B size - they shouldn't have bothered with the others.
Better to go with a 700C bike than the 2XS

[robeambro]

Deciding between these 3 disc models at the moment and currently the Ultimate WMN has the coolest paint job and price. £4.7k for eTap with Reynolds Assaults on the Canyon outlet section

The Ultimate in 2XS is 7.1kg and sits lower to the ground. That sound class to me, being an aeroweenie, but I’m worried the 650b is a fad and the wheels will be hard to move on later and hard to find nice replacement wheels. Looks like she’d want some Zipps on the Ultimate eventually for aesthetics.

What about ride quality of these 3? Is the Ultimate dated compared to the R5 and Tarmac, ie not aero in comparison? To me the R5 and Tarmac are pretty much aerobikes and hold their own nicely in testing v pure current gen aero bikes.

Price and kit wise the Ultimate is leagues ahead though. And that paint job she’s always loved, pretty special looking.

I created a very similar discussion, I’m on my phone so can’t really search, but it shouldn’t be hard to find, it was all about Ultimate vs R5 vs Tarmac!

[Shrike]

@robe found it and read through it all. Just takes me round in circles but we’ve decided against the 650b now at least..

Canyon have a sale at the Tour so will see what’s available then and looking for the AXS pricing.