What size 26" rim do I need for the beach cruiser size tires? Looking for a cheap bike to use the rims for my old Schwinn. Can I use rims from a mountain bike or a 10 speed? I will not be running fenders on the bike. Thanks for the help.
26" rims for cruiser tires.
- Thread starter Turtlesixfour
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
Common 26" cruiser, MTB - 559 ISO, see chart. http://www.isisconsulting.org/catalog/bike/p2010.htm
So does that mean I can use a mountain bike wheel with a balloon style tire?
Yes, they are the same diameter, and sometimes the same thing. I've used many mtn bike front wheels on my cruisers.
Found a mtn bike donnor. Wondering if there is a way to use the rear wheel also? It's a 15 speed. Also think my cruiser is a 24" and not a 26" after doing some measuring. If I can make it work would it just look ridiculous?
You could use the multispeed rear wheel from the mountain bike, but you'd have to install a derailer, shifter, plus change your chain to 3/32 wide, and change the front sprocket to one that can use the narrower chain. Not complicated, really, but a fair amount of fuss. A lot of people think that using a derailer on a cruiser is taboo, that visually they look wrong. But it's really up to you. The other thing to consider are brakes - if you're old Schwinn uses a coaster brake, well, that goes away on the MTB wheel. If it had rim brakes, you could make it work.
Regarding 26" wheels on a 24" bike, you can do it if you have the clearance. That'll depend on the frame. But most 24" frames are more compact in all aspects. If you are changing wheel size, and you are using rim brakes, then you'd have to change brake calipers. The 24" cruiser wheels are 547 mm in diameter if they're Schwinn S-5, but they'd be only 507 mm if they're "standard" 24's. Either way, you would potentially have a brake-reach issue.
Regarding 26" wheels on a 24" bike, you can do it if you have the clearance. That'll depend on the frame. But most 24" frames are more compact in all aspects. If you are changing wheel size, and you are using rim brakes, then you'd have to change brake calipers. The 24" cruiser wheels are 547 mm in diameter if they're Schwinn S-5, but they'd be only 507 mm if they're "standard" 24's. Either way, you would potentially have a brake-reach issue.
Turtle, yo may know this, but just in case....
The tire/wheel size is a general diameter measurement of the mounted TIRE, not the rim. As stated above the RIM size for MTB/cruisers is 559mm.
MTB/cruiser decimal sizes (ie. 26" x 2.125") should not be confused with early road bike fractional sizes (ie. 26"x 1-3/8").
It's good that you're doing your homework and asking questions.....that's the best way to learn. This is a great place for "research"!
The tire/wheel size is a general diameter measurement of the mounted TIRE, not the rim. As stated above the RIM size for MTB/cruisers is 559mm.
MTB/cruiser decimal sizes (ie. 26" x 2.125") should not be confused with early road bike fractional sizes (ie. 26"x 1-3/8").
It's good that you're doing your homework and asking questions.....that's the best way to learn. This is a great place for "research"!
if you have some way of braking it (since it won't have coaster brakes), you can use the rear mountain bike wheel and still have it be a single speed. if you don't want to do the derailleur, chain, etc. changes, just take the cluster off and put on a single freewhel cog.
Quickest, cheapest(?), is to get a Huffy Cranbrook, or such, from your local W -box store (ours has one for $79.95ish right now) to rob the wheels/tires from. Mine go 100mm front hub width, 110mm rear, and are a narrow (1" nom.) rim width that came with balloon 2 .125s. Regular coaster brake with a 19t cog, too. If you do, check the rims in the store for true by spinning, then at home repack the hubs with good grease, or at least check the bearing adj.s. and spoke tensions before going too far.
A 26" decimal wheel has a rim that has an outer diameter of about 22" with a tire that adds about 2" to either side-22+2+2=26. A 24" decimal rim will be about 20". Your fender/brake mount will be about 14" from the rear axle dropout (the slot where you mount the wheel) on a 26", and 13" on a 24".
Everyone here is giving you good advice, and you should follow it as best as you can. With that being said, you'll want to get yourself a ruler, some string, possibly a calculator, and stay by your computer in case you need to research some figures. Whenever you're about to start messing around with non-stock and non-standard parts on your bike, you'll want to measure everything you've got. If you're planning to get something that you don't have yet, do some googling and find out the measurements before you buy or seek out anything specific. And, remember: if you're trying to decide if a wheel of a different size will fit, you'll want to add half of the wheel's diameter (280mm for a 26" ballooner wheel) to the nominal width of the tire (@55mm for most 2.125" tires) and compare that to the distance between your dropouts (where the hub axle mounts) and the bridges (if there are any) between both the seatstays and the chainstays. You'll also want to measure the distance between the seat- and chainstays at about 280mm (in the case of a 26" wheel) to see if there is lateral clearance for the tire you're running. If you don't know what any of these things are, check out http://www.webmountainbike.com/bikil.html . There are a lot of diagrams like that, but that one seems thorough.
FWIW, most tires claiming to be 55mm are going to be smaller than that, depending on the rim you're running. (Conversely, skinny road tires tend to be fatter than the advertised size.)
Also, please do go to online forums like this and ask questions. That way, you'll know that there are several different sizes of "one inch" headsets and stems, and several different threadcounts (or tpi) for bottom brackets, hub axles, one-piece cranks, and headsets, etc. It's frustrating to buy or trade for a 1" stem for your 1" bike, to find that the stem will need to be modified....
But, yes. Measure stuff a lot. Inspect threads on anything that is old or threaded, and try. Beware of anything French and bike-related. Read up on old bike stuff at sheldonbrown.com. You will always run into some issues, but a little bit of research can prevent headaches.
hth
-rob
FWIW, most tires claiming to be 55mm are going to be smaller than that, depending on the rim you're running. (Conversely, skinny road tires tend to be fatter than the advertised size.)
Also, please do go to online forums like this and ask questions. That way, you'll know that there are several different sizes of "one inch" headsets and stems, and several different threadcounts (or tpi) for bottom brackets, hub axles, one-piece cranks, and headsets, etc. It's frustrating to buy or trade for a 1" stem for your 1" bike, to find that the stem will need to be modified....
But, yes. Measure stuff a lot. Inspect threads on anything that is old or threaded, and try. Beware of anything French and bike-related. Read up on old bike stuff at sheldonbrown.com. You will always run into some issues, but a little bit of research can prevent headaches.
hth
-rob
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 645
- Reaction score
- 12
I have used the nice chrome rear rims off of a Huffy or Roadmaster mtn bike too. Just laced them onto my coaster brake hubs using the coaster wheel's spokes.... as long as the rim measures the same on the inside diameter.
Would like to thank everyone for all of the great advice. Was looking at the rusted out rear wheel that was on it and the rotten tire is 26" after all with a Bendix brake that seems to work. The wheel has 36 spokes as does the mtn.bike wheel I was going to use. Guess I will be trying my hand at swapping hubs if the I.d.are the same. Will let y'all know how it turns out. Any tips on changing hubs? Just want to make sure I end up with the same spoke pattern.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2012
- Messages
- 645
- Reaction score
- 12
You will have to remove the sprocket from the coaster hub to get the spokes in that side... good time to clean and re-grease the bearings and brakes. I just cut the spokes on the mtn bike wheel unless you can use them...then you will have to remove the cassette to get the spokes out of that side or an angle grinder to cut thru the center of the cassette til it comes apart. As for lacing... most mtn bike and cruiser wheels use a 3 cross pattern. There are some good videos on youtube on lacing and truing bicycle wheels. Hope that helps!
May have another problem. The sprocket on the brake looks like a 10 skiptooth. Can this be used with a 48 tooth chainring? If not do you know where I can get a regular sprocket that would work? Thanks again folks.
