Originally Posted by unworthy1
quote:and it probably saves the manufacturers money throughout the industry to have one standard size...yeah, but if there's one thing the bike tire industry DOESN'T have, it's standardization. Check out Sheldon Brown's site about tire sizes, it's mind-bogling.
I know. However, the vast majority of bikes come in two flavors: 700c, and 26". Now, let's take one manufacturer making one model. Let's say the ACME GoFast. Instead of making some bikes for the American market, with cantilever posts set at 27", and some bikes for the European market, with cantilever posts set at 700c, ACME makes all bikes the same. ACME only has to make one bike (albeit in different frame sizes), and can sell that bike anywhere in the world. That results in lower costs for ACME.
Anyhow, ranting aside, another big reason is that the 700C clincher is (supposed to be) the same diameter as the standard sewup/tubular. Big benefit for both the bike builders and especially for racers since you could easily swap one for the other and leave the brakes as they were...say, if you wanted to train on clinchers but race on tubs. And the first lightweight clinchers were French products (Module E and Rigida) so they were certainly going to make them metric, metric IS French.
See what I mean? Standardization results in benefits for both the manufacturers and consumers.