Newbie, wheel rim/tyre numbers?? Unsure...

[Shalesearcher]

Hi, please accept my apologies for this set set of questions reference wheels and tyres...
OK, just bought a second hand mountain bike, not gonna bore you with its make etc.. I just need info on its wheels, mainly the rear, so here's the numbers of the rim, followed by tyre numbers...

REAR WHEEL
Rim says
Rigida AS26FL (20x559) 312622d

REAR
Tyre says
Vuelta USA fits H/E Rim 26 x 2.10 (54 - 559)

Now, the tyre is knackered, and the wheel, well, needs a new spoke, and truing.. What I need to know is looking to replace tyre, and there's a confusing amount of tyre/wheel configurations, and endless numbers/letters to sift through.. So I'm basically asking, what are my tyre options for this wheel? Want a mid range tyre, for mainly road use, and little off road USE..
Guess this could be a wheel/tyre miss match?
Thanks in advance for any assistance...
Karl

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi and Karl

The ETRTO (20-559) number is the one that gives the best information for the wheel and the important number in that lot is 559. That is your wheel diameter at the bead seat in mm so the tyre must match that. The other numbers show me that you have a 20mm width rim and that the tyre is a 54mm width.

You have a lot more flexibility with the tyre width. Schwalbe have some information here (link) which you might find useful and from that I believe you should be able to fit a tyre between 32 to 64mm so you have lots of choice.

For a mix of on and off road I'd suggest something like a Schwalbe Land Cruiser which will do off road but still rolls well on tarmac. Their Marathon Greenguard tyre also copes with a bit of off road but is more road biased.

 

[mjr]

The other number is the height of the tyre above that.

Is it? I always thought the second number was the width and the third number (if given) was the height if not identical to with width, but I might have misunderstood.

While I'm wibbling: measurements like 26x2.10" are the old style, but decimal usually signifies American sizing while fractions usually mean Imperial sizing and they measure them differently, so 27 x 1.25" and 27 x 1¼" are different and completely incompatible. Then there's Metric sizing like 650A where 650 IIRC is the diameter of the whole shebang, with A indicating the tyre size, so 650A and 650B are different wheel sizes (590mm vs 597mm IIRC) as well as different tyre widths. Stuff like 700C x 32mm is understandable (32-622 ETRTO) but actually nonsense because C is already a tyre width.

In short: for an easier life, look for the xx-yyy measurements and ignore all the x ones!

 

[Shalesearcher]

So, what does the 26 indicate on both the wheel rim and tyre? When I have looked online, the 26 seems the first number? Does this mean that I need a 26 inch tyre, that fits a 559mm bead height and 20mm rim width?
The tyre that is on, seems a bit big for the wheel, would that be correct?

 

[mjr]

So, what does the 26 indicate on both the wheel rim and tyre? When I have looked online, the 26 seems the first number? Does this mean that I need a 26 inch tyre, that fits a 559mm bead height and 20mm rim width?
The tyre that is on, seems a bit big for the wheel, would that be correct?

The 26 is theoretically the size of the wheel rim in inches measured in a certain way, but as I wrote earlier, I'd ignore all inch markings and use the 559, which tells you the same information in a way that's harder to screw up.

The old rule of thumb used to be that for road cycling, a tyre width about 80% bigger than your rim width was good, but you can vary that a bit as long as it doesn't rub on the frame. So a 20mm rim width would look about right with a 37mm tyre on it (36mm are like rocking horse poo)... but it's a mountain bike, so why not go as wide as you can and make life more comfortable? Wider tyre means cushier ride. That might be why it's got a 54mm on it. Unless it's rubbing on the frame or you're unhappy with the weight of the tyres, I'd not change it by much.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

So, what does the 26 indicate on both the wheel rim and tyre? When I have looked online, the 26 seems the first number? Does this mean that I need a 26 inch tyre, that fits a 559mm bead height and 20mm rim width?
The tyre that is on, seems a bit big for the wheel, would that be correct?

Yes, 26 means 26 inch but there are several different wheel sizes called 26 inch, none of which are compatible with each other. The one you've got is the most common of those, so you'd probably get the right one if you went into a shop and asked for a 26 inch tyre but looking for a 559 would definitely get the right one.

The tyre that is on is quite big but well within tolerances. You could go narrower if you like. For what it's worth I have 47-559 Marathons on my knockabout bike for mostly road use but with gravel trails/bridleway riding thrown in.

SJS Cycles have a big choice in that size: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-large/ (Other cycles shops are available.)

 

[Shalesearcher]

Ahh, OK.. The bike has front and rear suspension, so that's why I thought a slightly narrower tyre would be OK...

 

[Shalesearcher]

Had a look on above website, would this be appropriate?

**Hurricane**

Details
- Compound: ORC
- Colour: Black
- Bar: 2.5 / 5.0
- GR: 650
- EPI: 67
- Performance Line
Specification
Colour: Black
*****************Size50-559************
Groupset Hurricane
Series HS352
Type Rigid

 

[Shalesearcher]

Isn't it thinner than A 54? If not, what would you recommend?

 

[Ajax Bay]

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-land-cruiser-mtb-tyre-26/
Difficult to pick tyres for others but here's a 1.75" width/height tyre for the OP to consider.

 

[Shalesearcher]

What about this one?

Schwalbe Road Cruiser HS377 Tyre with Amber Wall - 26 x 1.75 Inch , 47-559

Customer

 

[Shalesearcher]

And I have just seen some tyres folded up!!!! What the.......

 

[Threevok]

And I have just seen some tyres folded up!!!! What the.......

Folding tyres have a Kevlar bead as opposed to a steel one.

They can be folded for easy storage

Folded OFF the wheel that is. Please do not attempt to fold them while still installed

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

And I have just seen some tyres folded up!!!! What the.......

That's to do with the bead on the tyres. Standard is a wire bead but folding tyres have a kevlar bead instead which is lighter and allows the tyre to fold up. Good for the shops as they take up less space in a display. Better for shipping as they cost less to post, handy if you're a serious tourer as you can take a spare tyre with you and really good if you're a sports cyclist due to the weight reduction.

 

[Shalesearcher]

Phew! You can tell I haven't been on a bicycle for errrr, nearly 40 years!!!