wheels and tires...26" MTB frame with 622x21 wheels?

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kgmcpheeters

kgmcpheeters

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May 29, 2014
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Hey everyone. So I finished my fully polished aluminum mountain bike based commuter build...or so I thought it was finished. The local outdoor consignment shop had a sweet pair of wheels and I had some store credit so I scooped them up. I thought they were 26" (which is what my frame and fork are set up to run) but upon closer inspection they are 622x21. Not sure how I didn't notice they were that much bigger than I thought, but I didn't measure or have a 26" wheel with me to compare. So that's a 29" or 700c wheel, correct? Obviously I can't fit a fat 29" mtb tire on my frame and fork, but could I fit 700c tires of some sort? Some skinny road tires would make more sense anyway since its an urban commuter, and I was thinking they might fit but wasn't sure what kind of outside diameter I would be dealing with. Found another pair of wheels (though not as nice or flashy) that I'm thinking of grabbing which would fix this problem without having to buy more tires, but wanted to learn and weigh my options. Thanks, y'all!!

Kyle
 
Yeah those are 700c road rims. They're the same diameter as 29er rims, but as you said, they're too narrow to fit 2"+ 29er tires....
 
They don't seem all that skinny...I don't know the width off hand on my actual mountain bike's wheels, but these seem about as wide as my sun single tracks I run on that one with 26x2.1's. But all that's irrelevant, I was more saying my bike couldn't take fat 29ers
 
Some guys put 700c wheels on 26" wheel bikes, but with definitely not much room for anything but a vienna sausage of a tire.
kgmcpheeters said:
I love running hydraulic discs but I'm an mtb guy, does the small contact patch on a road tire not get overpowered by the discs?
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Take it easy on the flip lever, gorilla grip!:comando: :crazy: :grin:
 
Haha :p well also as a mountain biker I hang my butt behind the seat before I cram on that left lever. And I'm a rock climber so I can't help the real gorilla grip action...
 
kgmcpheeters said:
I love running hydraulic discs but I'm an mtb guy, does the small contact patch on a road tire not get overpowered by the discs?
Click to expand...

The debate i always see re: road discs involves the tires' traction being the limiting factor in ultimate stopping power anyway. If I can lock up both wheels into a skid with dual-pivot sidepull calipers (and I can), how will discs provide me with better braking on my roadbike? They won't. The same is kind of true for mtbs; i can lock my wheels up with v-brakes easily, and the v-brakes are strong enough for mtb use, since their stopping power clearly exceeds the limits of the rubber, but the advantages of discs aren't in sheer stopping power... as I'm sure you know, it's more about all-weather readiness. In most cases, the discs will work better in sloppy, muddy conditions. Most disc brake pads tend to resist fade and actual meltdown better than even the best rim brake pads-- I know folks who have actually melted their v-brake inserts on long descents. So, yeah, even though I still tend to run Vs, I can totally see advantages of discs over rim brakes for mtbs. The advantages of hydro discs over mech discs are real, too, although I tend to go for the mech discs for the ease of trailside repair. Plus, DOT brake fluid is nasty stuff, and that's what many brands of hydro brakes use.... but no one can deny that they work well, and the feel at the lever and modulation is second to none.

But on road bikes? Discs are 98% goofy. I'll give them one percentage point for deep snow, i guess, although 99.5% of roadies don't ride when it snows anyway, plus I've had good lck with cantis and sidepulls in all but the deepest snow. The other 1% is granted b/c discs do look cool on a road bike. But, under most riding conditions, discs aren't an improvement over rim brakes in terms of braking, and they offer disadvantages in terms of aerodynamics, weight of the braking system itself, and the weight of the frame/fork increases to bolster the added forces exerted by the discs.
 
Ha on point as always 808. Excellent pro/con on road discs and now I get it. Maybe my wheels were built with cyclo cross in mind? My best advantage for hydro over mechanical on my mtb is hand fatigue. Long hill bombs left me cramping hard on v brakes, hydro discs eliminated that!
 
Thanks, kgmcpheeters. It's very likely that your wheels were built for 'cross, but road-disc is getting popular and has trickled-down to affordable pricepoints. At any rate, running 700c disc wheels in a mtb frame makes a lot of sense, as a skinny 622x23 is very close in diameter to a 559x54, so you can keep your mtb geometry (which i imagine you feel most comfortable on) but enjoy the light weight and fast-rolling of skinny tires. (going for something in the 35mm range will still clear the frame and roll fast, without too much weight/speed penalty.)

Good point re: the benefits of hydros for ppl with hand fatigue or similar problems, btw....
 
Could I run 700x24s or are those too skinny for these wheels? Also looked at my MTB wheels and they are 25.5mm, so they are wider, as you said!! Hmm starting to think I should just pick up some different wheels, but the idea of having skinny tires for less weight and rolling resistance is intriguing. The bike is 25# right now with 26x2.125 beach cruiser tires on it. My commute is very short so the weight difference is not super beneficial...
 
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Run some 25s or 28s. I think 28s offer nice weight/friction but trade off a little extra cushion for the pushin'; if you don't run 23 or 25mm tires at near full pressure, you risk frequent pinch flats. 28s are, in my view, the sweet-spot in terms of compromise for road tires.....
 

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