I'm looking for a 26 inch wheel set for a 42cm Soma Buena Vista mixte. It's for a small girl. I'm trying to gear it towards being a a sporty road bike. It seems most 26 inch wheels are meant for mountain bike, not road bike, use. I guess I'm looking for something of an anomaly. Maybe you guys can help me.

We can't afford a custom wheel set and it's hard to believe that all 26 inch wheels are intended for mountain bikes. Maybe it doesn't matter that the descriptions say intended use: mountain bike and that reviews tend to say "I'm a 240lb clydesdale and I'm rough on my bikes and these wheels have put up with my punishment." My sister is only 110lbs. I don't think she requires such sturdy wheels.

Qualities I would like:
3x spoke lacing
rim brake compatibility
silver machined rim sidewalls
decent quality double walled rims
$100-200 price range

I found a nice 700c Mavic/Tiagra wheel set on amazon, but then I realized that the 42 Buena Vista is a 26 inch frame.

MTB rims are generally narrower than they "ought to be" for 2" tires, so there are a lot of inexpensive used wheels out there that could work for you. Throw on some 1.25" or 1.5" slicks, and that bike will fly!

- Scott

More than your $200 but a good price for some very good road wheels:

https://www.jensonusa.com/Easton/Bicy...MW&c=&c=&c=&c=

https://www.jensonusa.com/Easton/Bicy...-Gray-Color-12

So MTB rims and hubs should work just fine, if a little heavier than road components. I'm sure I could google it, but I'm tired and lazy. 1.25" to 1.5" would be equivalent in width to what 28's, 32's? How wide in 700x## are 2" tires?

Also, how do I know what width tire a rim is intended for?

for the past 12 years i've been running mtb 26" (559mm) rims on my triathlon custom bike originally designed for narrow 650c rims. no problem.

i found the narrowest, least expensive, silver, 28h, in 559mm (mtb) diameter i could find. turned out to be two sun 0 degree 28h rims for like 12 apiece on ebay. then i found a set of 28h hubs in correct width (130mm) and drilling (28h) and bought some super light 15g-18g db wheelsmith spokes and some alloy nipples. slapped them together with a pair of 25mm slicks. you can make up some really light mtb wheels. the parts are out there, but it may be difficult to find a set already made up.

maybe if you buy the parts and talk to the LBS about your project beforehand, they may agree to build them.

BTW, most major bike tire makers have one mtb tire in 25mm width. you can try the wheelchair web sites too. just beware, their sizing descriptions are a little, let's say, different?

OK by this link, it says your 26" x 1.25 to 1.5 MTB hubbed wheel and tire will work.

https://www.bicyclebananasstore.com/S...o10bvmixte.htm

I guess you will have to spring the dropout in or out no matter road or MTB hub.

Multiply by 25.4, so those would be like 32's and 37's, respectively. 2" would be 51.

The rule of thumb is that the tire should be about 1.45 to 2 times the inner rim width, but you can get away with fatter tires up to a point.

- Scott

Nice bike!

Soma built a 132.5mm hub spacing into the Buena Vista Mixte to fit either road or MTB hubs. The 42cm frame was actually the only size that wasn't specifically designed to take 700c rims.

MTB wheels are compatible with your frame.
The lightest style of MTB wheel is usually for "cross country" use.
Not all custom wheels are high end, you can ask for some good value components. You can specify a road or MTB (try fitting both to see if the fit is OK). I had a very modest commuting wheelset built using Alivio hubs but they lasted for years.

It may be worth checking out a wheelbuilder for a "custom" wheel. There are some mail order shops which do almost production line style "custom wheelbuilding". These "a la carte" wheelbuilders let you pick each component but if you know nothing, just call them for the best advice.

Most of the "pre-built" wheels such as Easton are now exclusively disc brakes and most of these rims lack a braking surface.

https://bikeisland.com has some wheelsets at reasonable prices

Have you asked any one locally in the near by Bike shop?

online buying = retail + shipping .. so add that to your pricing comparisons .

I bought a set of these for my commuter and they are decent:
https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1676

They were straight and true and not bad for the price. They are not light, or "roady" but they would work.

I've also bought a wheelset from Universal Cycles. You can pick all your own parts (or call them for very helpful advice), the prices are reasonable, and the quality is OK in my experience. Maybe look at something like the Sun CR-18 rims with Tiagra hubs - this would be around $175....

https://www.universalcycles.com/wheelkit_new.php

thanks. i'll look into it.


fietsbob, no, i haven't. this project is likely to take the better part of this year. I'm just pricing components to get an estimate of how much we need. I had the LBS rebuild a wheel for me. It was okay.

just saying , again, when the LBS sells to you the shipping cost is included,
they hand it to you.
if the seller has to re ship it's another cost.

I do support by LBS when I can afford to do so, but some things come out cheaper online. Also, the LBS does not stock as wide an assortment of brands as I would like, but when they have something I want, I buy it. In fact, I just bought a Park Tools pedal wrench from them this weekend.

I wanted something like this or at least something of similar quality for a similar price, but for 26 inch wheels. Whoever said many factory built 26 inch wheels are intended for disc brakes is right. It's hard to find 26 inch wheels for rim brakes.