24 Inch or 26 inch?
 

I have noticed latley that some people run 24 inch rims on their Mountain Bikes (mainly dirt jumping i think). I was just wondering what the advantages / disadvantages of this would be.

Thanks.

Lighter?

Sizing. In the situation you are refering to some people want a bmx bike to play with but find 20" too tiny (being 6'5 I fully understand this). 24" bike are good in between size :)

Isn't it for strength also? Like for people who do big hit drops? Oh yeah, my personal opinion is that you can climb alot easier.

Yo can climb easier with a 24"...must be an easy climb. 26" wheels are faster and roll over things easier. The whole reason Specialized has the 24" rear wheel is they screwed up the wheel base and the 26" made it too long for who they wanted to ride their bike. So they put 24" wheels on. Yes they are stronger though :)

Your right, except for the "whole reason Specialized has the 24" rear wheel is they screwed up the wheel base and the 26" made it too long for who they wanted to ride their bike. So they put 24" wheels on" part. They didnt "put" 24" wheels on, the frame is made for them. A 26" wont even fit without a very skinny tire.

No I do know that. But from what I have heard they didn't use the bigger linkage because it extended the wheelbase too much to be an agile freeride/bighit machine. So they shortened the wheelbase by shortening the linkage.

I thought part of it was that 24" wheels accelerate better which thus makes it easier in drop-in situations and stunts

I run a 24" back wheel on my DH bike for two reasons. The first and most important is acceleration. When i pile into a turn and have to slam on the brakes...the 24 inch wheel helps me get back to speed way faster. With the way trails are here...its a definite help.
Also...strength is a big factor. Im notorious for smashing rear wheels. I do so alot less with a 24" 36 spoke doublewide on XT hub. Although my current one looks like a stopsign after about a year of use.
A 24" wheel also helps with making the bike whippier to steer in tight sections IMO. You can also, on some frames, run a wider rear tire if you use a 24" wheel.

The downide is that the wheel wont roll over some stuff as smooth. You're more prone sticking the thing between roots and rocks because of its small size. And...your top speed will suffer if you dont use big enough gears with it.

Hope that helps:beer: