Howdy all,

How's it going, guys? I was recently gifted an 1999 cannondale m500 frame that was used by my local police force (yes, I'm in love with it because it's bright blue and 'police' is emblazoned onto the frame). I'll run it as a SS daily commuter for the time being. Aside from cantilever brakes, the frame is bare. It is fit for 26" rims. I just bought a Weinmann wheelset from my LBS, though I don't know the widths of said wheelset. All I know is they cost me 120$, are black, listed as MTB rims, double walled, and are listed under parts #JB66876 . I'm unsure whether that parts number is specific to my LBS or not. All i know is that a general google search returns nothing, and I'm in one Unibroue too deep to get into some serious researching.

The question in my header is slightly misleading as I prefer slimmer tires. My question, without knowing the exact diameter of the rims, is could I potentially be wasting money buying 1.5" tires from the internet (the tires at my LBS are overprived) on the off chance that my rims can't support that slim of a tire? Is there much of a difference between 1.75 and 1.5? And finally, is there any (reltively cheap) tires that you all as a community recommend?

I know this question could be answered very quickly during business hours by my LBS, but I typically do appreciate the responses given on bikeforums- and I'd like to know some background details before I call them in the morning.

Thanks!

1.5 in is ~38 mm. Looking at a chart for tire size to rim size, such as this one Tire Dimensions | Schwalbe North America a rim with a 23mm INTERNAL diameter can handle a 37mm tire.

I think 23 or even 19mm wide rims (internal) are fairly common for mountain bikes (often they come with narrow rims relative to the tire size to save weight), so there is a pretty good chance 1.5 in tires will be find.

This article: Tire Width - BikeTiresDirect 119 - last paragraph says

"Most modern mountain bikes have rims that are fairly narrow in the interest of saving weight. The cross-country tires that are usually installed when you buy the bike are actually on the wide end of the range that can be accommodated by the rims. While you probably should measure the rims to be sure, most mountain bike rims can easily accommodate a tire that is as narrow as 1.5" or even 1.3" without difficulty. These narrower 26" tires can be a great choice for riders interested in riding their mountain bikes on the road."

Most likely you will be fine with 1.5". BTW, I have had very good experiences, and good deals, with biketiresdirect.com.

Good luck and let us know how it works out!

Somewhere on that new rim will be the internal width of the new rim...... it will read 622-018, or something similar..... the 18 is the mm width of the internal new rim.

Just slap on some 26X1.25" and you'll be good to go.

BTW- putting a # just screws up a link.

Try Googling Weinman rims and you may be able to find yours and better identify it if you can't find a label on the rim.
There should be something though. I expect $120 for a wheel set is a low end, single wall rim.

Get your tires and rims from www.nashbar.com

Bill, surmising a wheelset’s attributes via its cost is rarely helpful. The OP did state they’re double-walled and while he could be mistaken, or may have been misled, he also may be entirely correct, so why second guess what he stated about them being double-walled until there’s just cause to do so?

Both of my new 32-spoke Rhyno Lite 26” wheelsets are double-walled, have machined braking surfaces, and are laced to Deore hubs. One of the wheelsets cost $90 via the Internet and has welded seams and the rim is 29.5mm wide while the other cost $125 at a Performance Bike shop and has pinned seams and the rim is 27mm wide. They’re incredibly strong rims.

My friend purchased a new 24-spoke 26” wheelset via the Internet and they’re also double-walled, have pinned seams, have machined braking surfaces, cost a mere $77 and their shipping was free! I don’t recollect the rim’s width, but it’s slightly narrower (likely just 25mm or thereabouts). He has roughly 3,000 miles on them now, so they’ve cost him roughly 2.567 cents per mile of use thus far. He sure got his money’s worth on that wheelset and they’re still healthy.

Until he knows precisely how wide those rims are, I’d hold off on purchasing tires for those rims. A wide rim with a narrow tire not only looks ridiculous, but it’s also unsafe.

I define a wheel set as a FRONT & REAR. Do you?

I define a wheel set as a FRONT & REAR. Do you?
My "inexpensive" wheel SETS run about $160-170 for parts, using the cheapest Shimano hubs and Sun Rims CR-18's or M13 II's, & DB spokes.

$120 for a SET at an LBS is going to be "low end".
How much would YOUR wheel SETS be at the LBS?

I have no qualms that 26X1.25" will fit with NO problem.

You can get off your high horse.

I'll clear up some confusion. They are, in fact, double walled. I contacted my LBS and they pointed me in the right direction: https://www.jbi.bike/web/checking_pro...t_number=66876.

Rim width is listed as 1.5". So now the question is, would running 1.25" be pushing it?

I really like running 26x1.25 Specilized Fatboy tires on my converted mountain bike commuter. They handle well and have good flat resistance.

Corner well in 40 mph turns.

.

I've managed to cram 1 and 1/8th inch wide tires (Continental Gatorskins) onto wide Sun Rino-Lyte rims, so I can't imagine any mountain bike rim would have any issues with 1.5" tires.

OK-
Those are Weinman ZAC-19 rims.
19mm internal width.
You can use a 26X1.00 if you could find one that small.