Bike tire sizing

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Im planning to get a electra cruiser with 26x2.125 tires I want to use the origianal rims but get all white or creme tires like the fat franks what could i use? only 26x2.125 or anything else? im very new to bikes.
 
^what udalcustombikes said^

'559' is indeed the sizing for 26" mountainbikes and beachcruisers. That three digit number (ISO) (= in mm) should be the same for rim and tire. I'm starting to understand Sheldon Brown's writings on what will fit and what won't. And WHY...). Go read em carefully:
http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

(Just beware: Not every 26" tire you'll find in a bikeshop will fit your 26" rim.)
 
Thank im not too experienced in bikes im just 16 yesterday i found i can put any 20' on a frame made for a 20' inch.
 
I think 20" wheels/tires are pretty straightforward, you're only limited by what will physically fit on your frame. With 26" tires, its much more complicated. There are 5 or 6 different "standards" for bead size, which is the inner most diameter of the tire where it sits - and seals against - the rim. The variations confused the heck out of me when I first started monkeying around with these things.

As was said, 559 mm is the standard for mountain bikes and for balloon tire bikes. Generally, anything with that bead seat diameter will fit on a set of rims that originally had 2.125" wide balloon tires on it. This includes the 2.3" wide Fat Franks and down to 1.75" wide tires used on some mountain bikes and a lot of non-Schwinn middleweight bikes. That last one is not to be confused with 1-3/4" wide tires. Numerically, it sounds like it should be the same as 1.75", but that designation indicates a larger bead seat diameter that was specific to Schwinn middleweight wheels. While you could slip those tires over your rims, they'd never actually seat on them. Then there are larger bead sizes still, used by lightweight bikes, such as 26x1-3/8". A lot of these are also designated as 650A/B/ or C, and these won't be useful to you either.

Bottom line - as long as it says ISO 559, it's good for the application you asked about. Your only limitation, as with 20" bikes, comes down to how wide of a tire will within your frame/fork.
 
Thanks guys so far iv never seen "iso" on a tire but all my friends ride bmx im to tall for that c**p. If bummed the electras i wanted are $250 at local shops not 170 i thought there where. What does 700c mean?
 
"ISO" probably won't appear on the tire itself. Tire/bike shops often use the term when selling tires, though, to distinguish what size rim a tire fits on to customers. udallcustombikes is right - if you really want to understand this stuff, read what Sheldon wrote. He was the man to go to for just about anything bike related...
 
Ya i want to print it up. the closest bike shop sucks its overpriced and the employes seemed bothed just to answer a question its not like im rude? Its probably the nature of local bike culture(mix of bmx teens/rich mountainbikers).
 

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