What size MTB wheel to get

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Shadow121

Guest
Boost is wider front and rear. Front has moved from 100mm axel's to 110mm, and boost rear can be 148mm. Normal MTB is 135mm or 142mm with through axels. Loads of standards at the moment, so stick with an older bike.
Good to know, the very wide tire would be super comfortable, but then again
what if they drop the boost sizing, either way it’s not going to be in my budget.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Good to know, the very wide tire would be super comfortable, but then again
what if they drop the boost sizing, either way it’s not going to be in my budget.

You can get a 2.4" tyre in most 'old fashioned' MTB's - I have On One's Chunkey Monkey 2.4 x 26 on my 90's Diamond Back
 
Location
London
Some extras like mudguards can be a bit tricky to find. I took me ages to find a second set of Top Peak Defenders for 26. Although I'm sure the ones for 27.5/29 would have been OK, if not a bit odd looking
Thanks for your long post.

On mudguards.
These?
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/sks-germany-sks-bluemels-mountain-range-mudguard-set-719221?product_shape=black&article_size=26"

Not necessarily to be bought from there of course, though their prices, and availabilty of other "old school" stuff can offset the deivery charge to a fair extent.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Like a fool I sat till a Specialised was sold beside me, I even knew the owner,
but allowed the hybrid I have would do, but another hit and run leaving a cyclist in
hospital on my road led me the woods this past months, walking as it would destroy
my rims which only have 30mm tires, road tires, and my frame is currently unmarked,
thus my reason for something with much wider tires.

All my current bikes are second hand, but am finding the Cube brand here in Ireland
to be well priced in comparison to the second hands so far.
Ah, we've all done it - hindsight and all that!

I'd tread carefully re. the Cube - the seem to have a reasonable reputation but there's no such thing as a free lunch and there must be a reason why they're cheaper ;)

Seems cheap for a Dawes, at least there would be something to build on.
Indeed... rightly or wrongly I figured it should at least not be complete and total rubbish!
 
OP
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Shadow121

Guest
Ah, we've all done it - hindsight and all that!

I'd tread carefully re. the Cube - the seem to have a reasonable reputation but there's no such thing as a free lunch and there must be a reason why they're cheaper ;)


Indeed... rightly or wrongly I figured it should at least not be complete and total rubbish!
Hindsight, there’s just no telling when the likes of cycling or any form of outdoor
exercise may be banned, so maybe after all I didn’t miss much, at least I will now
have plenty of time to watch out for a suitable bargain.
I think there was Three bikes in total in the neighbouring County for sale a few days
ago on the Donedeal website, which is where I find all my bikes.
Locally, same old bikes doing the rounds, never seen so little happening this past
Three weeks.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Hindsight, there’s just no telling when the likes of cycling or any form of outdoor
exercise may be banned, so maybe after all I didn’t miss much, at least I will now
have plenty of time to watch out for a suitable bargain.
I think there was Three bikes in total in the neighbouring County for sale a few days
ago on the Donedeal website, which is where I find all my bikes.
Locally, same old bikes doing the rounds, never seen so little happening this past
Three weeks.
This is true, although I think the current restrictions illustrate how important the government (thankfully) considers exercise. Without an outlet I can see instances of domestic violence rocketing tbh. I just hope that they don't see fit to take significantly further action due to those taking the piss..

Totally agree with your perspective about sitting on your hands - I'm doing the same re. a gravel bike and have witnessed similar to what you describe in all the usual places I'm looking; hardly surprising really since nobody should be travelling / interacting, as is required to complete a sale.

Good luck - maybe there will be some bargains to be had once this has all subsided somewhat :smile:
 
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For decades, every MTBer knew that 26" wheels were better in every way than anything else. Only beardy tourists rode 700c wheels over mountains. Only really beardy tourists ever rode 650b.
Unable to handle the truth, MTBers were forced to rename these wheel sizes so they could be spoken, and they have now been recognised as the best wheel size.

I ride 70Oc and 26" on and off road. 27.5 is a sweet size hampered by lack of commuting tyres available in bike shops.

The most important factor was that 26" was a universal global standard from low end to high end. That standard has been broken.
There is a practical limit to the number of different wheel diameters that a bike shop can support and so quality 26" rubber is becoming less well supported but is still a good choice.
 
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Shadow121

Guest
This is true, although I think the current restrictions illustrate how important the government (thankfully) views exercise. Without an outlet I can see instances of domestic violence rocketing tbh. I just hope that they don't see fit to take significantly further action due to those taking the piss..

Totally agree with your perspective about sitting on your hands - I'm doing the same re. a gravel bike and have witnessed similar to what you describe in all the usual places I'm looking; hardly surprising really since nobody should be travelling / interacting, as is required to complete a sale.

Good luck - maybe there will be some bargains to be had once this has all subsided somewhat :smile:
Actually seeing the slump in availibility of bikes, and other items I would buy off farms
painted a picture beyond what I could see in my locality, got me thinking all wasn’t as rosey
as made out to be, and others were not going to be exposing themselves and families to harm
or worse.
 
OP
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Shadow121

Guest
For decades, every MTBer knew that 26" wheels were better in every way than anything else. Only beardy tourists rode 700c wheels over mountains. Only really beardy tourists ever rode 650b.
Unable to handle the truth, MTBers were forced to rename these wheel sizes so they could be spoken, and they have now been recognised as the best wheel size.

I ride 70Oc and 26" on and off road. 27.5 is a sweet size hampered by lack of commuting tyres available in bike shops.

The most important factor was that 26" was a universal global standard from low end to high end. That standard has been broken.
There is a practical limit to the number of different wheel diameters that a bike shop can support and so quality 26" rubber is becoming less well supported but is still a good choice.
Completely agree, I always found I ran out of torque a lot less on 26” wheels,
a bigger wheel rolls easier, but it slows down more in any given gear when pressured,
this then requires more effort from the power source than a smaller wheel in the same
gear.
I sold a tractor to a man, he put bigger wheels on, ripped the splines off
the shaft in the gearbox, the tractor shuddered taking off in the same gears
starting off in first as my exact same tractor, which pulled far bigger loads
for a far longer period of time, my gearbox is as good as new, I could hear
the added pressure destroy the other gear box because of the larger wheels.

I also like being as low as possible to avoid the wind when cycling, going up
makes no sense to me.
 
Completely agree, I always found I ran out of torque a lot less on 26” wheels,
a bigger wheel rolls easier, but it slows down more in any given gear when pressured,
this then requires more effort from the power source than a smaller wheel in the same
gear.
I sold a tractor to a man, he put bigger wheels on, ripped the splines off
the shaft in the gearbox, the tractor shuddered taking off in the same gears
starting off in first as my exact same tractor, which pulled far bigger loads
for a far longer period of time, my gearbox is as good as new, I could hear
the added pressure destroy the other gear box because of the larger wheels.

I also like being as low as possible to avoid the wind when cycling, going up
makes no sense to me.

You could argue that for 24".
26" was a historical accident because the 1970's California clunkers were based on cruiser style bikes.
I prefer to match wheel side to rider size, proportionally. Big riders can easily manouvre with 29". Small riders find them a real handful and their frame geometry has to be bodged to fit large wheels.
 

ChrisEyles

Guru
Location
Devon
26 and 29 inch wheels definitely have a different feel to them. As always best thing to do is try before you buy - some bikes I've instantly clicked with, others have left me cold and it's difficult to say exactly why in either case looking at the specs of the bike on paper.

I personally prefer 26" to 29" for the most part (not tried 27.5" but they're closer to 26" than 29" despite the misleading name so I'd probably like them).

You don't need to spend a lot to get a decent 90s rigid MTB, and they're great fun. I can ride pretty much everything on my 90s Marin that I ride on a more modern bike, albeit more slowly & carefully.

Anything around 2" should do you for tyre width, the more you'll be using then in the mud the knobbier, while slickers obviously better for tarmac.
 
OP
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Shadow121

Guest
You could argue that for 24".
26" was a historical accident because the 1970's California clunkers were based on cruiser style bikes.
I prefer to match wheel side to rider size, proportionally. Big riders can easily manouvre with 29". Small riders find them a real handful and their frame geometry has to be bodged to fit large wheels.
I think so too, am not a large rider and understand well how the bigger frame
and wheel setups require more input and energy, that’s why I was even considering
24”, but lost that bike as daughter got it, would have like to lengthen the seat tube,
add a longer stem if required just to see how it went, can’t do that now.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
The tracks around these parts are nicer to ride on my 29er, but then again Clipstone is great for the 26. Riding position the same on both as I am very particular about that.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
No reason to pay more than £20-30 for a useable 90's 26" rigid MTB. It's the only type I ride, I'm not interested in suspension or 27.5" or 29ers. It doesn't matter that very few new 26" rigids are being made now. Steel frames don't wear out so it makes no odds if you are riding around on something 30 years or more old, so long as the mechanicals are OK. I've got a couple of decent quality lugged Reynolds steel 26ers that didn't break the bank. My 1991 Raleigh was £15 and I picked up a 1990-ish Dawes for £8. Cycling can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be....
 
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