Hey there

So ive got these 26 1 3/8 wheels and tires to match but the tires are super bulky. The tires are super old so I was wondering if newer tires of the same measurements would be any less bulky/closer to road than cruiser. May be a silly question and i know i can always try to find a different 26 inch wheel set (not sure off the top of my head what other measurements are) but is there anything i can do?

Note: im asking because the point of getting 26's was to reduce height from what was with 27's but im now noticing not much of a difference due to the tire being so big (i think).

Thanks!

You seem to be confusing wheel/tire size with frame size. Any bike with 26" 27" 28" or 29" tires could be too big for you if the frame size doesn't fit you. 26 x 1 3/8" tires were common on old English 3 speed bikes. The better ones were sold with smaller frames for shorter riders.
How about providing information about your bike? You cannot make a bike that is too big for you fit better by using smaller wheels. The frame will still be too big and you will have bigger problems than you you started with

The bike that i have is the one that im stuck with. Ive switched the crank arms to 165's to compensate for clearance loss, i have breaks long enough to catch the wheel itself. I understand that there are better ways to go about this (ie, a smaller frame) but again that isnt an option.

That said, youre right about confusing tire with wheel size. The tire is 26 1 3/8 but the wheel, i believe, is just a standard 26 inch wheel. If such is true, can i just put on 26 1 1/8 tires?

The key is the small letter designation on the tire, or depending on the age, the metric (ERTRO) size.

"Standard" British 3-speed bikes used 26x1-3/8" tires properly designated EA-3, or 37-590. These designations are important because the 26x1-3/8 are nominal tire sizes, but there are different versions which fit different rims.

The metric designation gives the nominal tire width and true rim seat diameter, so any 590 tire will fit any 590- rim, eliminating the confusion.

Both EA-3 and 590 point to the right rim, so once you confirm that, you can shop tires. But be aware that this sie is currently out of favor, so tire selection will be eliminated. However if you can fine a 1-1/8" wide tire marked 28-590 or at least EA-3, you can be sure it'll fit.

There are at least 5 different 26" wheel sizes. 26 x 1 3/8 is one of the larger ones. There is no such thing as a " standard 26 inch wheel" 26 x 1 3/8 and 26 x 1 1/4 use different size wheels with 26 x 1 1/4 being larger

Read this!!
https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Yes, very important. 26" is the most confusing tire size there is. The 26" does not refer to the wheel size, it is about the outside diameter of the tire itself. Thus a narrower 26" tire will require a larger diameter wheel in order to have the same outside diameter as a wider 26" tire

So is this to say 26 1 1/8 tire wouldnt fit my 26 1 3/8 wheel?

It will not fit even if you could find such a thing

Read the link I posted and you won't have to keep asking dumb questions.
there are 2 different 26X 1-3/8" sizes to add to the confusion.
One has a BSD of 597, while the more common is 590mm.

As mentioned above, there have been many different 26" tire and rim sizes over the decades, most of them incompatible with one another.

To give you a short, direct answer: No, a 26" x 1 1/8" tire won't fit your rim.

As counter-intuitive as it may be, not all 26" tires are made for the same diameter rim. Not even all 26" x 1 3/8" tires fit the same rims because there were at least two completely different 26" x 1 3/8" standards. FBinNY mentioned EA3 (590 mm) rims above. My daughter's Fuji road bike came with 26" x 1 3/8" tires, but they're S-6 (597 mm) -- the other 1 3/8" standard.

The link to Sheldon Brown's site that Bill Kapaun posted above explains it all pretty well.

Of course it's "standard" -- the question is which standard: 559, 571, 584, 590, 597, or 599 mm?

Common 26" mountain bike rims from the past few decades are 559 mm. But that's not what you have if 1 3/8" tires fit the rim. All of the recent 26" tires have widths listed in decimal format like 1.75" or 2.1" -- not fractional.

Bill if you are into Schwinns from pre war there are actually 3 differ 26 x 1 3/8 sizes. The prewars used a 599 rim and were listed as 26x1.325s or 26 x 1 3/8 depending who made the tire. I have a couple of Schwinn Worlds that used these tires Roger

As FBinNY noted above, you should be using the ETRTO tire size designation, not the "nominal" size designation. All tires manufactured in the last couple decades will have an ETRTO size designation molded into the sidewall. a "nominal" 26 x 1-3/8" tire is likely ETRTO 37-590. The first number in the ETRTO size is the nominal width of the tire, but rims can accept a range of tire widths, so it's not crucial to match this exactly. The second number is the bead seat diameter, and this must match or your tire won't fit on the rim.

So, look for the ETRTO size designation on both your old tire and your new tire and ensure that the second number, the bead set diameter, matches on both. If it does, the new tire will fit on your wheel. If it doesn't, it won't fit.

That was entirely unecessarily rude.

Not as long as you keep refusing to spend 2 minutes reading the link I posted that would explain things.
Rude is to keep asking questions that have been answered because you refuse to pay attention.

Restore the bike you had to its original configuration, sell it, buy one to fit. A smaller 26 x 1 3/8 tire will not lower the bike significantly, and a true 26" will not work with your brakes.

Just to add further confusion In Europe, Schwalbe offers a 28-590 which can be ordered from some of the European on-line stores, for some reason Schwalbe USA denies it's existence.... And there are 23-590 and 25-590 wheel chair tires from Kenda and Schwalbe sold in the USA. The 25-590 tires fit Sun CR18 rims, as do the Europe only 28-590 tires from Schwalbe.

Me asking a question, regardless of your answer, is not rude. You calling my question dumb (and in turn implying Im dumb) is rude. This website is called bikeforums, a website where people can ask questions, post discussions and more. Im sorry that I didnt give you the intellectual validation you crave by throwing myself at your feet in graciousness for sending me a link that doesnt *directly* answer my question but unless *you* want to answer this question directly on *my* terms rather than your arrogant assumption that I should spend 20 minutes reading something that could be answered with a simple yes or no, then please get off my thread. Youre flexing on a stranger who clearly doesnt understanding bicycle mechanics as well you do so neither of us stand to gain anything here if being a dick is your preferred course of action.

I'm not into Schwinns. Which war? WWI?
I know the 599 "existed", but what's the odds?
One can only hope the OP has that size.

The link you are referring to is the "go to" when it comes to dealing with tire sizes. It wouldn't take 20 minutes for you to figure out that 26" is the most variable tire size out there. Asking questions isn't rude, but asking questions that were answered in full by a provided link may not be the best way to proceed. The link does directly answer your questions. Frankly, you cannot set the agenda. Use the information people provide in good faith.

Take a deep breath and follow the link that was provided for you. All answers are there. Sometimes our members get a little testy when the questions are not framed properly.

You cannot fit a tire on a rim that is not the proper size. That is not an opinion - it is a fact. So go back and re-read the post that gave you the link, and then read it.

those are my rim specs.
Rim Size: 26"
* Spoke holes: 28
* Height: 17.8 mm
* Internal Width: 17.5 mm
*External Width: 22.2 mm

Is it possible for me to have tyre sizes like 26 - 1 3/8 or 26 - 1 5/8 on this rim?
If not, what is the rim I should buy? I’d like an elaborated answer. I find this dilemma quite confusing. Please ❤️

First determine what 26" ISO size you have. There are a number on them and they are all different. Going by ISO size is the only real way to know.

​​​​​​https://www.sheldonbrown.com/26.html

If it’s a MTB, then the wheel size is most likely 559 and will not work with those tires. Read the Sheldon brown tire sizing info previously mentioned.
This post should have been in a new thread.
Zombie Thread Alert!

Agreed. Nominal 26" tire diameters are a hot mess. ETRTO/ISO specifications are the only way to be sure of compatibility. Most tires marked "26 x 1-3/8" use a 590mm bead seat diameter, which isn't common anymore (popular on British and Japanese city bikes BITD). Look for an ETRTO/ISO size designation on your current tires; it should look something like "38-590" where the smaller number is the nominal width of the tire and the larger number the bead seat diameter. The bead seat diameter is the important number; rims can accommodate a range of widths, but only one bead seat diameter.