jcote420

k hey im new to messing around with my bike like for upgrades to better things and i was just woundering if going from a 26" rim to 24"s makes a big different besides travel?


thanx

apclassic9

Why would you want to do that with a MTB? Are you shrinking?

FreeRidin'

Are you jumping or riding street?

apclassic9

I get your drift, but still prefer the image of the wicked witch of the west on a bike...

probable556

Firefox has a built in spell checker. Useful

FreeRidin'

Hmmm....I can't really picture that.




































Ahhhhh. I see....

FlatFender

Please explain to us how going to a 24" wheel will have an effect on suspension travel?

Hanzo

I've ridden both and 24's accelerate a little better and are easier to throw around because they are smaller, but they are slower and harder to get parts for. They also don't seem to hold momentum as much and you have to pedal more. A 24" wheel isn't going to do anything for your "travel" though. I'm not even sure what you are talking about there.

MaxBrokeAway

If you get 24's....put spinners on them..


Bling bling

wvxc

29ers roll over big rocks, roots and stumps so much easier than 26 inch wheels. I say that the same would be true for 26 inch wheels compared to 24" wheels

Temeraroius

Travel WTF?

WannaGetGood

Should get some 24s and then some stouts, just like riding 26's, but, your not.

redtires

this is kind of a funny thread, and what I mean by that is just how amazingly cyclical this kind of thinking is.... like 15 years ago or something, somebody (I think it was Doug Bradbury, the guy who founded Manitou, prior to it being owned by Answer or Steve Hed or someone like that! lol...) built a/some mountain bikes that had either 20" or 24" wheels, I can't remember exactly which, but his idea was exactly that which Hanzo was talking about. The bike accelerated really well, and it climbed great too, but as soon as there was a good sized rock to roll over, or something in the way...BAM! over the handlebars he went, so that was pretty much the end of that experiment. So, now with the apparently success of 29" mtn. bikes, it's funny that somebody brought up going in the other direction! Viva la technologie! Me personally, after riding mountain bikes since the since B.T (that's Before (Paul) Turner!) I won't go with anything other than 26" unless they just plain 'ol just stop selling them.

Maelstrom 

24" have a place...

In the park, dj's or slopestyle. I can't see them used on a trail...unless you are 4'10?

willtsmith_nwi

Please people stop talk about the ease of "accelerating" smaller wheels. The energy that is required to accelerate you wheel is insignificant vs. the energy required to accelerate you body weight and the non rotating portions of the bike. The "difference" is that making the wheel smaller lowers the gearing ratio and makes pedalling easier. Making it bigger raises the gearing ratio.

There is an advantage with smaller wheel. A smaller wheel built with the same materials and spoke count will be stronger. That same wheel will also be lighter and make the bike lighter.

There is a caveat here. Technically smaller wheels do accelerate faster given the same torque then a larger wheel. However, this is like my claiming that no two 10 lb barbells in a gym weigh the same. Technically this is true, but it is effectively misleading as the quantities involved really don't affect the outcome.

Temeraroius

You are totally wrong, it is easier to accelerate with smaller wheels because there is lower rotational inertia.

WannaGetGood

I have seen a few guys up on the mountain enjoyings the 24 double tracks. Pretty much industrucable.

jm01

A lot of serious FR/DH riders are going to 24" wheels...they find that they can use a fatter tire...my bike/fork allow only 2.3" between the seat stays and 2.4" between the fork, but I can move up quite a bit by using a smaller wheel

willtsmith_nwi

There are no two 10# barbells in any gym that weigh the same.


I did a little demonstration for a friend the other day. I took off my wireless cyclo-computer and handed it to him. I flipped my bike upside down. I braced my thumb against the fork and flicked the front wheel with just my pinkie finger (this is a 29er wheel (and a "heavy one at that XT/Rhynolite with straight 14G spokes)). What did the gauge read 5 mph.

That's right, with just a little flick up my weakest finger I could get the wheels up to 5mph. I am not the Incredible Hulk. I do not do pinkie curls. What do you think would happen if I used the largest muscle groups in my body to do the same task?

Temeraroius, you didn't read what I wrote before. You did not understand the argument before you responded. The assertion that your making is ridiculous because of the magnitude of the energy required to spin up even HEAVY 29er wheels vs the energy required to propel the combined mass of YOU, your water and your non rotating bicycle parts.

Yes a larger wheel DOES have a greater inertia. But it is a VERY small piece of the pie. It is like claiming you can get better gas mileage by leaving the spare tire at home. Technically, this is true. But you won't get much and it neglects the very real need for that particular item. You would get similar benefits from using a smaller wheel as you would get from not bringing water with you.

This "greater wheel inertia" argument is silly, stupid and ridiculous. It's not a factor. You might as well negotiate to the penny while buying the bike.

Maelstrom 

Please tell me this movement isn't coming back. That was just stupid in the late 90's and would be stupid if it made a come back

jm01

stupid...why?...maybe its just a local thing up here

Actually, we were going to build the wife's bike with 24" wheels, but that was to lower the standover, but luckily, we were able to find a XS small frame

jm01

I wish I could...2.2 on a perfectly true wheel is about it

jm01

low tread design?...I have doubts on those DH's, though...I tried Kenda Megas on my wife's Blur, no way these would fit...she's back to Nevegal 2.1's

jm01

You're about the same size as my wife...I was able to find a small frame (I'm not sure if they still make this size) with a 17" seat tube and a 3.75" head tube...fits her perfectly

jm01