A little help please...

[highship]

Now that I have embarassed myself I'm going to ask.
What's the difference between lightweight and middle weight?

 

[ratina]

a 26" middleweight would have 26x 1.75 tires while a lightweight would have the skinny road bike tires

 

[tnt1]

A middle weight 26x13/4 tires
a light weight 26x13/8 tires

 

[highship]

by "skinny road bike tires" do you mean 26"x1-3/8"? That's the size tires the Breeze had. Is there any other way to tell other then tire size?
wouldn't 1-3/8" or 1 3/4" tires fit on a 26" rim?
and finnaly... am I understanding this right? lightweight fenders mount differently then midweight fenders?
Sorry for all the dumb questions, just trying to learn something.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

The only dumb question is the one not asked. Normally the frames are a little narrower at the chain stays, The tires are skinnier, There are probably other tell tale signs but I'm not an expert.

 

[udallcustombikes]

There are several different 26" rim sizes, 7 that I know of. Lets begin with your common balloon, non-Schwinn middleweight, MTB tires, they have a bead diameter of 559mm. Next is the Schwinn middleweight or S-7 rims with a diameter of 571mm, which is why you can't swap other tires in place of the S-7 1 3/4". Next up is the 26x 1/2" or 650b wheels at 584mm. Then there are the non-Schwinn lightweight 1 3/8" with a diameter of 590mm. Followed by Schwinn's lightweight S-5 and S-6 rims and 1 3/8" tires which measure 597mm (Some Birt bikes also used this diameter but with a 1 1/4" tire). Lastly there are some smaller road bikes that run 650c wheels and 26x1" tires. Like the S-7s they have a diameter of 571mm, but the difference in tire width keeps you from swapping the tires out...or does it? I haven't tried.

I pulled all of this info from Sheldon Brown's Tire Sizing page. Hope it answers some questions.