26/24 or 26/22 Super Slingshot?

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As I'm putting this project together that I may or may not throw into BOTEN (I may save it for the MBBO), I'm wondering which way I should go. I'm going to create a 26" Huffy Super Stock. To throw some more "interest" in it, I'm going to make a Slingshot version. The rear wheel will be a 26" with a Jerald Slick on it. The front wheel is where I'm running into a "sticking point". 20" Slingshots had a 20/16 set up, and the 16" wheel was a 1-3/8" set up. I've seen a 24/20 Super Stock version... (I don't know if it was real, but it looked good, I've just never seen an ad for one) It has a 20 x 1-3/8" front wheel. So both of those have, essentially, a 4" difference between the front and back. Therein lies the rub.

The easy answer would be a 26/22 combo. But there is, as far as I can find, no such thing as a 22 x 1-3/8" wheel/tire. So what's more important, or what would look better?

I have a 24 x 1-3/8" front wheel. That would give the bike a 26/24 combo. The problem is that the 24 x 1-3/8" diameter isn't far off from the 26". Less than 2" in fact. And it would lift the front end of the bike up a couple inches because of this.

The other option is a 22 x 1.75 wheel, which are made as well as tires. The problem is that the 1.75 might look way too fat. If I put a thinner tire on it, like a 1.5, it may look really bloated in the rim.

I guess it's hard to make a decision without visuals, but I'm asking to imagine it and give me your opinions.
 
I vote 26 x 24. Two inches will be fine for the difference in diameter and the 1 3/8 tire will be better because it is skinny.
 
I am planning a similar project. Have most of the parts just don't have the time. I have a SuperStock frame I'm going to use with a 26" fork and a 20" front wheel. Need to get all of my half done projects done before I tackle another. lol
 
Those inch sizes aren't that close to actual diameters. So lets see. The original Slingshot would be 406mm in the rear and 349mm (Guessing on that as there are 3 sizes listed for 16x1 3/8) in the front giving you 57mm or about 2 inches of actual difference in diameter.

Standard 26 inch wheel is 559mm 24x1 3/8 is 540 so that's only 3/4 inch of difference between those 2. 20X1 3/8 diameter is 451mm this is close to 4 inches but it's double the stagger on the Slingshot. 22x1.75 rim is only 457mm so not even 1/4 inch larger than the 20x1 3/8.

You need somebody good at photoshop (and math) to make some drawings maybe. I think the 24 would be a nice stagger if you werent going for the slingshot look but would make a cool looking bike.

I think the 26/20 will end up being more of a Krate-ish stagger maybe even more so. Hard to tell until you see it.

Stick a 26 on the back and 20x1 3/8 on the front of that frame and see how it looks. Cool project. Look forward to seeing it.
 
I know that I will hate a 20" in the front of a 26" I just know I will. The only way I wouldn't would be to have some wild 'Jaxon Drag Fork' on the front, but a proportional length on that wouldn't allow the bike to fit in my garage.

Here's a pic of a 24" with the 26" I have on my Monster Ray.

mIx81L.jpg
 
This is what I'm shooting for, except in a 26" version. Does anyone know if this 24/20 was real or a one-off? I haven't seen it in a catalog.

slingshot5.jpg

Crash the 24 x 20 Huffy slingshot was a 10 speed bike. Ron made the 5 speed slingshot from a Huffy Super Stock. I think he even used a slingshot bridge on the fork from a 20 inch fork. The 20 x 1 3/8 Liner Tread tire is impossible to find. I have only seen one beat up tire. The Sears 20 x 1 3/8 tire can be found. I bet a NOS 20 x 1 3/8 tire would hit 500 dollars.
Here are the catalog picks of the 10 speed 24 x 20.







 
Nice! Well, there you go!

And looking at those side pics in the catalog it looks like the 24" will be a little big in diameter. However, the 1.75 of the 22" would be a little fat.

ugh. I hate these dilemmas.
 
Those 10-Speed Super Stocks are rare ones! Very cool bike!
 
And ditto what Jaxon said on the XKE-990 20 x 1 3/8 front tires, those seem to be no where to be found. I have a friend that has been looking for a mint one for yearsssssssssssssssss
 
Wow that 10 speed Super Stock is super cool!

Crash that 22X1.75 will only be 6mm taller than a 20X1 3/8. Not much difference in height. 457mm vs 451.
 
Something I just noticed, the Slingshot fork I have is from a 20" Gremlin. It looks like the spring area in the 24" is a little smaller. Here's mine:

UIIhbc.jpg


scge40.jpg


And here's the 24" (for the 20" wheel)

Huffy%2024%20x%2020%20002_zpsugamxwqj.jpg


Another update... I found a 22 x 1-3/8" rim and tire. So it would be a skinny look up front instead of the 1.75. It's alloy, but I'm sure I could shine it up to make it look like chrome.

Because of the length of the spring of my fork, I think using the 22" will look more proportional on the bike. I think if I use the 24", the front end will come up an additional 2", and will look weird.
 
22" sounds good, and it's unusual enough to make the bike stand out more :)
 
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