Originally Posted by
HobbesOnTour
edi68815,
I am in agreement that 700 wheels are not as common in parts of the world. Recently I read a blog on CGOAB of a guy touring South America. He was having puncture problems and burned through all his tubes. Can't remember where, but I think it was Argentina, he limped into a city desperate to find new tubes (at least) for his 700 wheels and could only find cheapy ones that continually failed. I looked up the city - 3 million inhabitants! Now, maybe he just found the wrong bike shops........
That seems strange.
I am currently in Mendoza Argentina after having cycled from Alaska and on my way to Tierra del Fuego and thus have spent most of the past year in Latin America. My bike has 26" wheels but rims that fit Presta tubes. My experience and perceptions:
- 26" is most common, but I see 700C as well. This was true in Mexico as well as Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. I brought extra tubes since 26" Presta is less common than 700C Presta is less common than 26" Schraeder but I have also been able to find 26" Presta occasionally.
- Larger cities have multiple bike shops. Sometimes "repair" is separate from "purchase" so there may be shops that don't have as many spare parts but if you ask in one shop they can direct to others.
- Finding high-quality 26" tires is tougher. I saw Schwalbe once or twice in Mexico but not much since then. Perhaps they can be found but my simple queries in larger cities like Lima, Salta, Mendoza have not located ones. One can find basic reasonable tires in many places - but like ones that will last for many kilometers. I have some spare folding tires and have gotten ~4000km on rear folding Schwalbe tires before getting problems. I suspect I could probably find a fairly good tire in Santiago, Chile but am actually using it as an excuse for an upcoming short trip back to US where I will also pick up tires again.
- Some of these arid desert regions in northern Argentina have a lot of thorns. I've been fortunate, but if you do much off-road riding or camping beside the road, you need to be very careful.