Brandon's Pinarello Treviso 650b Conversion

Our good friend Brandon brought us this incredible Pinarello Treviso frame and asked us to convert it from 700c wheels to 650b wheels. This is a traditional road racing frame and he wanted to convert it into a comfortable cruiser style bike. 

Conversion to 650b wheels and tires:

Converting to 650b wheels allows Brandon to run wider and more comfortable tires. We used the original Shimano DuraAce Hubs and laced them to Soma Weymouth Rims. The Soma Weymouth rim is a sturdy rim that is similar to the Velocity Atlus rim we have used before. The new smaller wheel allowed us to mount a Rene' Herse 650b x 38 mm Loup Loup Pass tire. This tire is a slick which rolls very well but also provides a supple ride.  

The bike came with a Shimano DuraAce drivetrain. The crankset had already been converted to a 1x. We didn't change any of the main drivetrain components. However, we swapped the downtube shifters to a microSHIFT thumb shifter to work with the riser bars.

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Brakes: 

The 650b Conversion required long-reach brakes to accommodate the smaller wheel size. We've found that these Tektro R559 brakes work for many frames. They also look and work great.

Handlebars:

Brandon brought a set of Nitto Billie bars to use on this bike. We mounted them to a longer Nitto stem which provided enough reach to offset the sweep of the new bars. We used Jones H-bar grips with a comfortable ride while looking great with the gold trim on the bike. Lastly, we wrapped the front of the bars with cloth bar tape to provide additional hand positions. We think the bars give the bike the right stance and attitude, which is sometimes a problem with this type of conversion.  

Conclusion:

We love the way this bike turned out. It looks great and also rides like a cruiser.  Brandon's idea of taking these beautiful old racing frames and making a useful bike that anyone can ride is a good one. We're looking forward to working on similar project in the future.