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Point83.com Forum Index » Wrenches, Gears, Lawns, and Routes » 26" or 700cc on touring bike?

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Kyleen

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:03 am

might have vagina, unconfirmed Joined: 06 Jan 2010 Posts: 948 Location: Space pirate ship manned by dinosaurs

Let's say I might be getting a new touring/adventuring/camping bike. Initially I was going to go with 700cc wheels. I started thinking 26" might be better, say if I wanted to pack it or put MTB tires on it. Tell me your thoughts.

joeball

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:17 am

Joined: 24 Jul 2005 Posts: 6037 Location: Ether

You'd be fine to go with 26" wheels I think.

The LHT split between 26".700c was 54/56cm frame sizes.

Something that can fit a 2.1 knobby or a 35to40mm tire and fenders is pretty good IMO.

Kyleen

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:18 am

might have vagina, unconfirmed Joined: 06 Jan 2010 Posts: 948 Location: Space pirate ship manned by dinosaurs

I see, so if I ride a 52-53ish should I lean more towards 26" ?

jimmythefly

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:49 am

Joined: 10 Jan 2007 Posts: 1491

Fatty 26" tires/fenders will be easier for the frame designer to work with in your size than 700c, for sure. Fewer potential compromises design-wise.

Functionally, there is hardly any difference between the two (three if you want to talk about 650b)wheel diameters, it matters much more what tires you have on them. There are good tires available in all diameters, from knobby to smooth.

It is my understanding that 26" wheels are easier to pack in suitcases, if you have a coupled bike or otherwise dis-mantle-able frame.

Are you thinking full-custom, stock, or custom-modifying a stock frame?

Kyleen

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:04 am

might have vagina, unconfirmed Joined: 06 Jan 2010 Posts: 948 Location: Space pirate ship manned by dinosaurs

I'm getting a rodriguez, so, custom.

Andrew_Squirrel

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:06 am

Joined: 01 Mar 2010 Posts: 2098 Location: Greenwood

From what I have heard, if you plan on packing it in a hard suitcase for air travel it is much easier with 26", you just have to deflate the tire and shove it in.
With 700c you would need to remove the tire/tube to fit the rim (barely) into the standard suitcase.

lantius

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:16 pm

1337 Joined: 22 Jul 2005 Posts: 6705 Location: right over

There's some belief that 26" + schrader valves is also nicer if you'll be out adventuring where there aren't bike shops; not sure how much it matters in reality.

dashap

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:23 pm

professor Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 1566 Location: central district

Kyleen wrote:

I'm getting a rodriguez, so, custom.

Just don't let them talk you into one of those butt-ugly ones with the superlong headtube; I'll bet Fred could wax more eloquently than me on this subject.

Andrew_Squirrel

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:23 pm

Joined: 01 Mar 2010 Posts: 2098 Location: Greenwood

can you get rims that are drilled for schrader but have an insert/spacer to accommodate presta?

whoreratiocane

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:36 pm

Joined: 12 Aug 2010 Posts: 190 Location: Florida

Andrew_Squirrel wrote:

can you get rims that are drilled for schrader but have an insert/spacer to accommodate presta?

Yes, they make little adapters for running presta in a rim drilled for schrader.

Kyleen wrote:

I see, so if I ride a 52-53ish should I lean more towards 26" ?

I ride a 50cm and just switched from 700c to 26" and it really helps with toe overlap for the front wheel. I am very happy with the smaller wheels. Are you going to be running Canti's, V-Brake, or Disc?

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archie

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:57 pm

Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 149 Location: cloud nine

quote://140432
I talked to a guy in Austria once that was just finishing a bike ride through China and Russia and the one thing I remember him saying about gear was that he was REAL glad he had 26" wheels when he was in remote places that mos def didn't have 700c wheels.

archie

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:58 pm

Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Posts: 149 Location: cloud nine

I was trying to quote Lee there... How the f do you quote people in TouchBB?

joeball

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:11 pm

Joined: 24 Jul 2005 Posts: 6037 Location: Ether

I guess the topic did start with wheelsize, and that lends it self to tires, and tires have tubes (except scott's) and tubes have valves. I've been known to build a bike around a single bike part but never around a valve.

You might wanna step back a little and look at what you want this bike to accomplish before getting into the minutia.

Where does this bike fit in to your current stable?
What kind of rides do you want to use it on?
What would you not like about some of your current bike set ups?
What would you like about some of your current bike set ups?

I realize you said touring/adventuring/camping but you also mentioned you wanted something 'lighter' than your Traiter Ruben.

The whole 26" wheels in BFE comes up all the time in internet forums and lots of it gets repeated. But sometimes the airfare to one of these places cost half of what it would cost to outfit a new bike just for that type of adventure. My point being if you have or intended to plan a real epic tour and you have the means then just outfit the bike when the time comes.

If by touring/adventuring/camping you mean the one or two night outings that .83 does then maybe things like schrader valves, 559 wheels, S&S couplers etc are not as important.

Kyleen

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 1:30 pm

might have vagina, unconfirmed Joined: 06 Jan 2010 Posts: 948 Location: Space pirate ship manned by dinosaurs

I don't have any near term plans to go to BFE but I would like to go to south america as a 5 year plan.

At the moment I am looking for the kind of bike I can do 1 week tours and p83 camping trips on.

The r+e guys said I could put off doing couplers and always get them on when I want a repaint in however many years.

Alex

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 6:09 am

Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 3128 Location: Roosevelt

I'd go with 26" in your size. It'll allow for a better geometry (especially if you want really fat tires), does pack more easily, and rides just fine. Nice road tires for 26" wheels aren't super common, but there are some good ones out there (I like Paselas and the ones from Compass Bicycles, Fred and Scott seem to be fond of the Kojaks which I haven't tried).

I just built a new touring bike and it is also 26" wheeled. Here is a photo of it from when Andre was borrowing it (so setup a little larger than how I ride it):

Or this how I ride it:

Based on the current website it seems like Rodrigeuz has finally embraced sloping top tubes instead of having 80mm of spacers between the headset and stem.

One of these Thursdays I'll show up for a ride and bring it.

alex

Dravis Bixel

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:24 pm

Joined: 14 Mar 2011 Posts: 982 Location: Wherever you go, there you are

I agree with the 26" tires as well. My impression is that they are the most adaptable. You can get really wide rims, or thin ones. There are lots of tire options. You can get thinner road bike tires, or fat off road tires. The tires are also just more common. From direct experience being in BFE, it is nice to be able to stop at any town and get replacement tubes or tires. Even if you are just off on a .83 camping trip, you would still probably have a better chance at borrowing a 26" tube from a fellow rider.

The 700s seem to be more geared to road bikes. So you have less choice in tires. They will do you fine if you are just planning on touring in developed countries and on paved roads. I just don't know if they add any value.

One other note, if you are going to do any fully loaded touring, make sure to get tires designed to take the weight. I burned through 3 rear tires in about 4000 miles because the sidewalls blew out. They couldn't take the extra weight. (The same front tire went another 1000 miles before the tread came off and i was riding on canvas.)

A bit of time selecting a tire that is right for the kind of touring you want to do would be good. Alex disagrees with me, but I love my Schwalbe Marathons. He also had a few suggestions for other things to try. You could then look at it from that end. Find the tires you like, then let that help you decide on size. I suspect that if you look into it the tires you want will either be made in a 26" or only availble in that size.

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