I just got a bike given to me and it says 26 x 2.00 on the tire. But to me it seems to be the wrong tire. It seems awful loose on the rim and I can take it off and on without any effort. I measured the rim and it is 23" in diameter. Is this right.

Also, how do I fit an inner tube to the wheel. I am afraid to go and get a 26 x.200 inner tube and find out it is just as loose as the tire. Is there a way to measure to make sure that I have the proper tire and tube for the frame.

Thanks...Greg

Don't mean to be rude Greg - but seriously suggest you take the bike to a shop and / or watch someone else do this first before tackling it yourself. The tire is probably the right size, you're just not familiar with sizing conventions and the basics of changing a tire and tube.

A repair will run you about $15. Believe me - you can inadvertently do a lot more damage than that trying to tackle things yourself if you don't know what you're doing. Scrapped rims, pinched tubes and stripped axle bolts are just a few. Everything is easy when you know how - but for every right way to do something there's usually multiple ways to screw things up.

+2 on what Burton said. 26x2.00 is a typical size. Various tires seem to fit tighter or looser these days. If you look carefully you should be able to find the marking on the rim to confirm it is a 26".

Check for a bicycle co-op in your area. They are nicer to newbie mechaincs than many bike shops.

-SP

I've changed a lot of tires but never seen one this loose before. Just doesn't seem right. Probably just save it as parts then. Thanks for the feedback.

I checked the rim and it says 26 x 1.50 and again the tire says 26 x 2.00
Thanks..

Hi,

That is the standard MTB size 559mm. With a 2" tyre
the leverage you can get on the bead means getting
it off and on the rim should be a piece of cake.

rgds, sreten.

Oh it is a piece of cake for sure. Changed a lot of tires but never seen one this loose before that is why I was concerned about the size of it. So what size of inner tube do you suggest that I put on it? a 1.5 or a 2.0
Thanks..

The tube is designed to fit the tire, not the rim. Typically you should be looking for a tube size that covers 1.95 to 2.3 to use with that same tire.
Tube sizes are pretty standard - so are rim sizes. Any size stamped on the rim DOESN'T refer to the actual rim diameter.
Still suggest you drop by a shop - you have to buy a tube anyway - whats the problem?

Thanks for your help.

The 1.5 vs 2.0 is irrelevant. On the rim especially the listed width has little to do with the actual width. What is important is that both the tire and rim say 26. It is quite common for 2" wide 26" tires to fit loosely when uninflated - be grateful you are not dealing with the opposite problem. Get some instruction in-person on tire/tube installation, or study a bunch of videos.

Thanks to everyone for there feedback.

looseness or tightness on a rim for the right size tire is a function of rim design. Rims with center wells leave more room for the tire to shift across and produce slack at the far end. Shallow rims don't which is why we see so many "can't mount my tight tire" threads on this forum.

I strongly doubt you have a wrong size since the nearest sizes are over 10mm different than the 559 ISO bead diameter of your rim and tire so the tire couldn't mount at all.

It seems that you have the best of both worlds, ie mounts easily, and holds well when seated, so stop obsessing over nothing and enjoy it.

Found another wheel that I had laying around and took the inner tube from that and put it all together with the tire from above and it works great. So now I have another bike that I just saved from the scrap yard or land fill site ready to give away and didn't cost me nothing. Thanks to everyone for your feedback.

I bought a couple cheap Kenda Kwest k193's (26x1.50) for a CL flipper that were sloppily loose on a pair of old steel rims.
I don't know if it was the rim, wheel or both.
I had to take extreme care to keep the tube from blowing out under the bead when inflating.

What tire are you using?

Old steel rims did not have the "hook bead" common on more modern rims and sometimes do not hold as well at higher pressures.

I get a lot of bikes given to me to refurbish and give away but all they are only ever from the Big Box Stores. But they will do just fine. This is the first time that I have ever found a rim and tire that sloppy. But you learn something new every day.

unless the op has an old balloon tire bike from the 50s or 60s
he probalby has a
relatively
modern mountain style bike
with hook bead rims

I've been out of the retail loop for a while but I'm not aware of steel rims having hook bead. I do know that cheaper mountain bikes from at least as late the 80's did indeed have non-hook bead steel rims.

I've got a bike with a 559mm 26" steel rear rim with a hooked bead, so they do exist.

late 80s is when i entered the retail loop
and steel rims did have hook beads
as far as i can recall