26 Vs 29 Inch Mountain Bike Tires

29 half the replies here compare a sub 25lb bike to a 30lb 29er and then they say well the 26 is more nimble or the 26 is faster.

26 vs 29 inch mountain bike tires. 26 mountain bikes have for decades been the standard size for most mountain bikes. There are french sizes for variants of the 26 wheel. Many come in widths ranging from 18 to 23 millimeters with touring tires ranging from 25 to 28 millimeters. A great 26 bike is better than a crappy 29 i cant believe some of the comments here.

However the most common 26 wheel which is denoted by 26 1 0 or 559mm bsd does not have a designated french size. If you typically run 30psi in 26 inch wheels you should be able to use 26 5psi with 29 inch wheels. The 26 inch wheel chances are that in 20 years or so top level 26ers will become collectors items regardless if the manufacturers rediscover or not all the benefits that small wheels bring. All road and cyclocross bikes are built with 700c wheels which are 29 inches.

Many commuters have been rolling to work on 29 inch wheels for years. Of course you can mount 11 5 fatter tyres on a 26 inch bike and drop the air pressure to match. While hotly debated there are advantages and disadvantages to both the 26 inch and 29 inch mountain bike wheels sizes. Mountain bikes have traditionally used 26 inch wheels but the introduction of the 29er with larger 700c sized wheels and tires uprooted this legacy and now dominates so much of the market that it could replace 26 inch wheels altogether.

However 700c wheels are designed to accommodate a thinner tire. With french measurements and mountain bike tires all you really need to know is that 650b 27 5 and 700c 29. This all started to change around 2010 when 29er mountain bikes came onto the market and even more recently in 2013 when 27 5 mountain bikes also became a popular alternative. We are talking about the wheel diameter war.

This overview will help you decide which wheel size fits your need. Wheel wars 29 vs 27 5 vs 26. So much for the plan. A 3 5psi drop in tyre pressure will undoubtedly help to improve traction but it won t make you float on water.

If you haven t shopped for a bike in quite a while chances are your last mountain bike had 26 wheels. Not since dual suspension mountain bikes debuted has there been so much controversy and confusion surrounding a mountain bike technology. You cant generalize 26 vs. There are advocates for both 26 inch and 29 inch wheels and the debate continues in manufacturing and competitive arenas.

Sram would come down to massa vecchia and bring their test bikes with 26 27 5 and 29 inch wheels.