Bike Tyre Sizes

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

MAZI

Regular
Location
Edinburgh
Do all slick tyred hybrids/flat bar road bikes come with 700c tyres?
I have been told its a compromise for shorter people and 26" tyred bike would be better suited to someone
that is short.
Opinions?
 

up hill struggle

Well-Known Member
no idea if they all come with 700 tyres but there are different kinds of frames, men's with the horizontal frame bar, women's which have the top frame bar that runs diagonal (sloping down)& unisex mix of both.

but then there are usually different sizes of frames for the same bike like my hybrid has a 17" frame also comes in 19" which was just abit tight around the plumbing when i stood up may also come in 21" but not certain. But ive seen a few hybrid bikes in Halfords that seemed to small for me in 5'10" but how vertically challenged are you?
 

Cyclist33

Guest
Location
Warrington
Nonsense.

Unless you're extremely short then you can swing a leg over a 700 wheel as easily as a 26. I'll wager 9 times out of ten you could set up ride geometry to be identical on equivalent bikes with either wheel size and the personal preference would have nothing to do with the wheel diameter except for aesthetic tastes.

I feel the same about 26 vs 29er mountain bikes. So often you hear people say that 29ers are better suited to bigger riders coz of the size, but in reality the frame would be no bigger or smaller at the same spec in a significant way. The choice would boil down to aesthetics and an instinctual but unreliable sense that one bike was bigger than the other.

A few years ago Giant did an Escape model in M1 and R1 versions. They were all but indistinguishable except for the wheel diameter, yet one was marketed as a mountain bike without springs while the other as a road bike with flat bars and generous clearance. My bezzie had the M and I rode the R. We frequently swapped for fun and neither of us could pick out any actual difference. I am 5 11 and he is 5 9.
 

up hill struggle

Well-Known Member
my last bike was a mountain bike 19" frame & 26" tyres would smack my jewels of the top frame every time i put both feet on the ground, the current bike is a hybrid 17" frame with 700c tyres & loads of room for the tackle when i stand up.
 

sreten

Well-Known Member
Location
Brighton, UK
Nonsense.

Hi,

No it is not nonsense. Depends on how small you are and the proper bike
geometry for the type of bike you are riding. Your comments are nonsense.

It is generally and simply true for optimum geometry the best wheel sizes
vary with the height of a nominally average proportioned person, which
differs between the sexes, but real proportions overlap between them.

Hybrids based on 26" MTB wheels will generally have better geometry for the
much shorter than average person than those based on 700C road wheels.

rgds, sreten.

650B is now an option for road bikes and MTB's. 700C on MTB's
has pretty much failed *. YMMV but I think 650B will last for smaller
people on road bikes and bigger people on MTB's. 26" wheels
on a bespoke road bike won't go away either for the petite.
 
Last edited:

Cyclist33

Guest
Location
Warrington
Er that'll be the frame, b
Hi,

No it is not nonsense. Depends on how small you are and the proper bike
geometry for the type of bike you are riding. Your comments are nonsense.

It is generally and simply true for optimum geometry the best wheel sizes
vary with the height of a nominally average proportioned person, which
differs between the sexes, but real proportions overlap between them.

Hybrids based on 26" MTB wheels will generally have better geometry for the
much shorter than average person than those based on 700C road wheels.

rgds, sreten.

650B is now an option for road bikes and MTB's. 700C on MTB's
has pretty much failed *. YMMV but I think 650B will last for smaller
people on road bikes and bigger people on MTB's. 26" wheels
on a bespoke road bike won't go away either for the petite.

Er that'll be the frame not the wheels that dictate the bike's size. Are you suggesting cav should ride a 29er?
 

sreten

Well-Known Member
Location
Brighton, UK
Er that'll be the frame not the wheels that dictate the bike's size. Are you suggesting cav should ride a 29er?

Hi, You don't know much about the limits of frame geometry for sizes and wheel sizes, mainly the front, rgds, sreten.
 
Top Bottom