Different Tires?
 

Hi,

I'm trying to transform my mountain bike into a cruiser bike(the mostly possible) and i have the following question:

Can i use 700cc tires on my 26" mountain bike? if not, why?

This are the tires i would like to use:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

No those tires are closer to 29" inches. How about these? http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-Bicycle-...3968661&sr=1-1

Those will fit your 26" rims.

Nope. MTB rims are 559mm in diameter, 700C wheels are 622mm diameter.

Narrow(er) and slick(er) 26" tires are available, and help a lot with rolling resistance. I used the Kenda/Sunlite City Slick 26x1.5" for a while, and Panaracer makes 26" Paselas in 1.25", 1.5", and 1.75" widths. :thumb:

@SER71: My concern is the thorn resistance, if those Kenda are good for the task, i'll buy them!

38mm = ~1.5", so look for 26 x 1.5" tires.

You can sometimes fit a 700c/29" rim with narrow tires on a frame/fork meant for wide 26" tires. (26 x 2.35" and 700c x 28mm tires have about the same 678mm diameter.) The major issue is brake reach and so this is easier when using disc or another hub brake.

But, I'd just go for 26 x 1.5" or so tires.

Since the tire thickness is about the same on most of these tires the thorn resistance is about the same. If you shop around and spend a little more money you can get thorn resistant kevlar tires in smaller 26inch sizes.

You can't go to 700c without switching the wheels. And often that isn't an option either because of things like canti brake boss height, and/or overall fork clearance. In any case even if you can make the switch, it will raise the BB height another 3/4", which woin't be desirable in a cruiser.

However there is a vast selection of cruiser or city/slick road tires in the 26" size. After all 26" was the cruiser wheel size long before mtn bikes were invented.

26" tubes with scharader valves are easy to get some tire slime in. That would prevent flats, you could also use tire liners. Or Kevlar belted tires. But whatever you go with you need 26" not 700c.

Yep, the 26" slicks or city tires will help. Also consider some changes to your front chain rings and rear cassette cogs.

Bigger chain ring(s) in front will give you a faster top end speeds ....

What cassette cogs do you have in the rear ?

I think i have normal ones, since i don't know very much about the subject.

Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread! :]

Good thinking, though concern over top-end speed on a cruiser seems misplaced!

For a true cruiser look and feel, as others have mentioned, go with 26" tires that are thick (2"+) but relatively smooth.

You want a pair of Fat Franks

As has been mentioned already, you need 26 inch tires, but you do need the decimal size, not the fraction sizes. 26 x 1.25 are my favorite general commuting mb tires. The 26 x 1 1/4 are for the older style bikes before mbs. They are not the same size. The Sheldon site has a large page with detailed tire size info.