Rotorua, New Zealand 650B SESSION



WORDS Mike Levy

PHOTOS John Colthorpe

Three of the top four racers at the NZ Champs were on 650B wheeled bikes.

It's a massive difference. I did a couple of runs on the 26" bike first, and then my first run on the 650B was a whole new ball game. I noticed so much more rolling speed, and I couldn't feel all the little bumps as much. It's good, and I think that it's going to be the future. - Brook Macdonald, Trek World Racing

The 650B Session is an all new frame from the ground up.

While Howes is still holding some of his cards close to his chest in regards to the Session's incremental suspension improvements, he's much more open about the 650B bike's geometry relative to what is used now on the production bike. Is it different? It certainly has to be, as you can't simply bolt on a set of larger diameter wheels and expect the bike to handle well, especially one that is being raced by some of the fastest riders in the world. Not all of the bike's numbers have changed, though, with both travel and rear - center (chain stay) length remaining constant. ''On a downhill race bike, simply having the shortest chain stays isn’t the best option. So, with careful design and adjustment to parts, we kept the chain stay length the same,'' Howes clarifies. What has changed, then? Bottom bracket drop, the height of the bottom bracket relative to an imaginary line connecting the front and rear axles, is the important one, with it sitting lower compared to the 26" wheeled bike. However, the bottom bracket-to-ground height is actually the same as what is found on the current production bike, something that is due to the slightly larger diameter wheels. This should offer a more

Does this spell the end of the 26" wheeled Session?

If Trek offers the 2015 Session with both 26" and 650B wheel sizes, which one will you choose?

Does that count for anything in the real world, a place where the average rider or racer isn't yet sold on 'tweener wheels for their downhill bike? The answer is that yes, it does, despite 26" stalwarts seemingly outnumbering those with more open minds by at least four to one. It matters because their sponsors chose the New Zealand National Championships as a race-focused testing ground for bikes that have already seen quite a lot of development, and that will eventually be added to their production lineup. You know the old saying: Race On Sunday, Sell On Monday. Would the results have been any different if they had been on 26" wheels? Maybe, or maybe not, but it doesn't matter because the bikes that the top riders were on is indicative of what we'll be seeing relatively soon in our local shops. Having said that, one fact is clear after having talked to a number of top racers: they want to be on whatever bike allows them to go faster, and many who have tested on the mid-sized wheels simply feel faster on them.Trek World Racing's George Brannigan took the win on Sunday, piloting his prototype 650B wheeled Session down the hill just over half a second faster than Lapierre's Sam Blenkinsop, making for one hell of a bike debut when you consider that his teammate, Brook Macdonald, took his own 650B Session to fourth. The bike is far from being a special run of handmade aluminum machines, though, with its brand new carbon fiber frame making it clear that Trek is well along in the bike's development. '''' Travis Ott, Trek's MTB Brand Manager, told Pinkbike. '''' And what about the racers? Was it a struggle to get them onboard? '''' he went on to say. ''''That means that the front and rear triangles are different from what is currently offered to the public on the 26" wheeled bike, and that goes for both aesthetics and functional changes that determine how the bike performs. '''' says Dylan Howes, Trek's MTB Lead Frame & Suspension Engineer. '''' These changes came as a result of requests from their World Cup racers, a fact that highlights the role that a top team can play in a bike's development. And while rear wheel travel remains the same, other factors have been updated. ''''"sitting in" sort of feel on the trail, much like what you'll find when on a properly designed 29er. The bike's reach has also been extended slightly, although Howes told us that this isn't something that is specific to the 650B platform. A number that doesn't differ from the 26" bike is the head tube angle, although he is quick to point out that a longer fork offset has be utilized to keep the handling between the 26" and 650B machines as close as possible.The answer to that questions depends on if you're a Trek World Racing team member or someone who is going to buy their own Session from a local shop, and it might be the opposite of what you're thinking. '''' Ott told us. '''' That's more commitment than an arranged marriage, but it doesn't mean that the average consumer is going to be held to the same expectations. After all, the 2014, 26" wheeled production lineup was set in stone a long time ago, likely before Trek committed to developing a 650B Session, and potential Session owners won't be able to choose the larger wheel size this year even if they wanted to.It looks like 2015 could be the year of choices, though, with it sounding very much like Trek will give consumers the option of picking the wheel size that they prefer, something that they already do for their Fuel trail bike (26" and 29" wheels) and Remedy (650B and 29'') platforms: '''' stated Ott when asked what consumers could expect to see. ''>There has to be a more satisfying reason to buy a different bike than just a slightly bigger wheel.''