26 Vs 29 Inch Mountain Bike Tires

Wheel wars 29 vs 27 5 vs 26.

26 vs 29 inch mountain bike tires. 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. If you haven t shopped for a bike in quite a while chances are your last mountain bike had 26 wheels. This overview will help you decide which wheel size fits your need.

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. Many commuters have been rolling to work on 29 inch wheels for years. Mountain bikes were originally designed around 26 inch diameter wheels and these wheels had a long unchallenged reign as. However the most common 26 wheel which is denoted by 26 1 0 or 559mm bsd does not have a designated french size.

However 700c wheels are designed to accommodate a thinner tire. Sram would come down to massa vecchia and bring their test bikes with 26 27 5 and 29 inch wheels. Even downhill bikes start featuring 27 5 inch wheels so the good old 26 wheel will probably only serve street and freeride junkies or be found on super cheap not for actual mountainbiking models. 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.

There are advocates for both 26 inch and 29 inch wheels and the debate continues in manufacturing and competitive arenas. There are french sizes for variants of the 26 wheel. We are talking about the wheel diameter war. Many come in widths ranging from 18 to 23 millimeters with touring tires ranging from 25 to 28 millimeters.

All road and cyclocross bikes are built with 700c wheels which are 29 inches. You cant generalize 26 vs. With french measurements and mountain bike tires all you really need to know is that 650b 27 5 and 700c 29. A great 26 bike is better than a crappy 29 i cant believe some of the comments here.

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 mountain bikes have for decades been the standard size for most mountain bikes. Not since dual suspension mountain bikes debuted has there been so much controversy and confusion surrounding a mountain bike technology. It was a simple one a good one but some things just weren t meant to be.

So much for the plan.