My Head is still hurting ... 700c verses 26 inch

[Skipper9999]

Being a bit of a newbie to the cycle world and learning a lot in the last few weeks after a 650 mile round trip to Thorn and 250 to woodrup, I still can't answer the wheel size question !!!

I mainly do road miles and Sustrans routes with bits of forest trails ( not downhill courses ) , old railway type tracks . I would like to progress to more touring with load etc and have now in mind a 700c wheel with Rohloff hub and belt drive .

I just can't get the 26" wheel out of my head ... The ride is good but the big frame ( I'm 6' 1" ) and little wheels look strange to me .

I know I have more strength on the 26" but will I need it ?? Should I go 700 and fit 35 or 50 tyres ??

The thorn was a good ride but looked to top heavy ...

I know I've closely touched on this on another thread but hope to get more response with putting the wheel size issue as a priority .

Thanking you in advance for your comments .

 

[Kies]

Buy a hybrid with 700 wheels. If you buy one shod with 38c tyres, you can fit anything between 32-42c (being conservative here) with consumate ease allowing multiple uses

 

[GarminDave]

I have found 700 wheels on my Koga Signature to be extremely robust with exceptional loads. Koga do use a 40 spoke hub though so this may account for the strength. On my old Peugeot Touring Cycle I had 700 wheels and got buckled rear wheel twice. These were not top of the range wheels though.

I suspect if you have good quality 700 wheels they will be fine, but high load then the 26" will give maximum strength.

I told you Koga was the way to go months ago! This is the old function versus form argument. 26" is stronger but with big guys 700 looks better, unless you have a 40 spoke Koga wheel that is and have the strength and the looks.

Can you have two sets of wheels for the same frame? Then when you wanted to look cool fit the 700, and when on a big tour put on the 26". It could be a neat solution to your dilemma assuming it is possible?

Later

Dave

PS at least after several months, hundreds of miles and two test rides you have the rim tape question settled!!!!

 

[mcshroom]

I've done a decent amount of touring on 700c wheels without any problems of strength. That's a rider who is around 120kg and a full up bike weight for touring of up to 30kg , so the wheels were carrying about 150kg between them on roads and forest tracks.

New mountain bikes (29ers) are also being built with 700c wheels.

I seriously wouldn't worry about the wheel strength.

The main reason for getting 26" wheels on a tourer now would be the better availability of wide 26" tyres outside of Europe and North America, so world tourists may still opt for 26" for that reason. The other good reason is for better fitting bikes for shorter riders.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Isn't the biggest plus for 26" wheels the wider availability in more remote, non-European countries? This doesn't seem to be a consideration for you.

EDIT: Or what mcshroom said^^

 

[P.H]

Ok, I'm a bit biased as I much prefer the look of 700c wheels on a larger frame.
But when it comes to a Rohloff wheel, the fact that is isn't dished like a wheel with a cassette, greatly increases it's strength. Given the same number of spokes, same quality of rim and same build quality, a 700c wheel with a Rohloff will be a lot stronger than a 26" wheel with a cassette.
I'm 6'2" and around 100kg, IME a well built wheel in either size will be more than strong enough for your requirments.

 

[vernon]

Skipper9999 you are thinking too much. Flip a coin and go with the flow.

I've toured with both wheel sizes. I've toured with 700c with tyres from 25mm to 35mm and now tour on 26" x 1.5". All sizes have coped with my porkiness and touring load though the 26" x 1.5" do appear to offer a more comfortable ride.

There really isn't a lot to choose between them though.

The lowest gear with a 26" wheel is 18.3" and is 19.9" with a 700c x 35mm wheel.

Pick what you consider to be the prettiest option.

 

[Nigeyy]

What mcshroom said.

You should be more concerned with getting well built quality wheels and components rather than the size, unless there is a specific reason (e.g. touring in remote places where an mtb size may be advantageous -or if an mtb wheel size offers no toe overlap with fenders kind of thing).

I'd say go with the bike you like the most (again, assuming there's no good reason, forget the wheel size). Even something as shallow as the colour can be the deciding factor for you

p.s. not sure about trying to get a frame that fits both wheel sizes -I wouldn't be surprized if something like that existed somewhere, but I'd assume it would probably be disc brakes and maybe a high bb to accomodate both sizes. I'd still say just get a bike with one wheel size!

 

[Bodhbh]

p.s. not sure about trying to get a frame that fits both wheel sizes -I wouldn't be surprized if something like that existed somewhere, but I'd assume it would probably be disc brakes and maybe a high bb to accomodate both sizes. I'd still say just get a bike with one wheel size!

Most disc specific frames could probably be set up with either if it came to it. For example, I think the Surly Disc Trucker will take 700x35 or 26x2 (from memory).

The strength of the wheel is suppose to come from the quality of the build as much as anything so would probably go with either, unless you are going somewhere remote. My tourer is 26", but if I built it from scratch I would probably go with 700 wheels to roll a bit better on bridlepaths and the like.

 

[robjh]

I've toured and commuted on both, and have not noticed any difference that can be put down to wheel size. Choice of tyres, weight of bike yes, but wheel size no. The arguments about availability of spares in Bolivia or Borneo are only really relevant if you're going to such places.

As Vernon said, for any given chainset+cassette combination, you will get slightly lower gearing with 26" wheels - and low gears are a big plus if you're riding with luggage in hilly areas - but even with 700c you can get some pretty low gears if you choose carefully and go for MTB chainsets.

 

[MacB]

As the others say it's really an aesthetic choice now and don't forget the Rohloffs now come in a 36h version so I reckon there'd be nothing between a 32h 26" and 36h 700c. I couldn't go with a Thorn because of how they look, not only the 26" wheels on a big frame but the massive stack of spacers I'd end up with. But then I could probably cope with Vernons Woodrup or the Thorn Mercury and geometry wise my custom tourer is mighty close to the Thorn Mercury. It's just a bit beefier and tensions chain via dropouts rather than EBB.

If you've read a lot of the Thorn literature and have noted their very definite views on things it can be amusing to look at how they've altered. The Mercury with a Rohloff in a 700c wheel, disc brakes and a decent length head tube - all totally wrong according to their blurb in the past. If you are going to be touring the back of beyond a lot and carrying very heavy loads then it probably should be 26". Apart from that then it's pretty much subjective now.

I've got a new Rohloff frame on order and I went for a slight variation on the Shand Stoater Plus All Road, this will be my weekend unladen fast style bike. My existing Rohloff is in a custom Ti frame which is basically the Thorn Mercury but with tubing selected as if it was a 29er. Both frames are optimised for flat bar use and both have 200mm head tubes.

 

[andym]

Larger wheels mean that when frame designers are designing larger frames they have to make fewer design compromises - ditto smaller wheels on smaller frames. There are claims that 29-inch wheels make it easier to go over rocks becasue of their larger angle of incidence, but I'm taking this with a big pinch of salt.

If you've read a lot of the Thorn literature and have noted their very definite views on things it can be amusing to look at how they've altered. The Mercury with a Rohloff in a 700c wheel, disc brakes and a decent length head tube - all totally wrong according to their blurb in the past. If you are going to be touring the back of beyond a lot and carrying very heavy loads then it probably should be 26". Apart from that then it's pretty much subjective now.

Do they still do the v-brakes on the back of the forks? (And yes I remember the days when they claimed disc brakes were the spawn of Satan).

 

[vernon]

As Vernon said, for any given chainset+cassette combination, you will get slightly lower gearing with 26" wheels - and low gears are a big plus if you're riding with luggage in hilly areas - but even with 700c you can get some pretty low gears if you choose carefully and go for MTB chainsets.

You have to be careful with the chainset/rear sprocket ratios. Have too low a ratio and theoretically it will be possible to apply too much torque to the hub gears and damage an internal component that shears off apparently. Rohloff specify the lowest ratio that they will cover with their warrantee. My bike is at that ratio. Only a 22t front, 34t rear on a derailleur chain drive set up is lower.

 

[P.H]

Recently Rohloff have revised down the minimum ratios, I don't know if you're working off the old ones or the new. There's also a recommendation for riders under 100 kg and another for tandems and riders over 100kg. Thorn have been supplying bikes with a lower gearing than the recommendation for at least ten years without problem, that probably influenced the revision.

http://www.rohloff.de/en/service/fa...allest_permittable_sprocket_ratios/index.html

Gearing is a personal thing, on road or hard surface I don't want a gear under about 24", if I can't get up something on that it's probably quicker to walk.

 

[P.H]

I've got a new Rohloff frame on order and I went for a slight variation on the Shand Stoater Plus All Road, this will be my weekend unladen fast style bike. My existing Rohloff is in a custom Ti frame which is basically the Thorn Mercury but with tubing selected as if it was a 29er. Both frames are optimised for flat bar use and both have 200mm head tubes.

Interesting, though maybe a bit to far off topic. Why the change from ti to steel? I've recently gone the same way (Not on my Rohloff bike) but my decision was financial, knowing the price of the Shand frames I doubt your motivation was the same.