26inch wheels on sutra
 

simple question guys can i fit 26 inch stronger wheels on my 700c disk brake kona sutra

Are they much stronger and will i notice much slower riding

thanks in advance

You may need to fit shorter cranks.

any other comments on this topic guys

Why?

Because I think a lot of people are looking at your thread and wondering... why?

why???? thats a weird answer as i hear that they are stronger and more easily available in remote areas i want to find if this is true

Well.... that is not what you asked in the first place, is it?

Why don't you shoot off an email to the Australian Kona distributorshelp@groupesportif.com

Or maybe Kona USA joe@konaworld.com

I think this is going to be a problem into the future with disc brakes -- the assumption that you can move between one rim size and the other.

Of course, you can always borrow a set of MTB disc rims and put them on and try. You never know, you may have thought of something the Kona people haven't!!!!

With my scant knowledge, as far as I can tell, bicycle frames are usually designed with one size wheel in mind, or the other... but rarely both together.

The geometry of the bike has been designed so the bike's handling is (supposed to be) optimised with one particular wheel size or another. Things like chainstay length, fork length, trail. BB (or crank height) also has been mentioned above.

Ahhh, you say, what about the Surly????

Well, the Surly LHT (I think, because I don't take particular interest in Surlys) is offered in a 26" version in smaller frame sizes, and a 700C version in larger frame sizes... but the wheels are not interchangeable between the two (as far as I am aware). The 26" suits smaller riders -- it assists lower standover heights, and likely reduces the incidence of toe overlap

As to your speed differences, that will all depend on the width of tyre you fit to either 26" or 700C rim, and the pressure you inflate said tyres to. People go racing on wheels that are little different in diameter to 26" MTB wheels, but those wheels are narrower.

As to availability in remote areas... well, the sport and rec store in the nearest remote town probably won't have 700C wheels, but will have cheapo MTB wheels. But then, on my Perth-Adelaide trip in 1997, I wrecked a rear 700C wheel, and a bike shop some distance away from the town where I was sent a new one to me the next day via the car bringing drugs for the local pharmacy.

So, 700C wheels might not be easy to get, but then, a well-built 700C wheel will last a very long time on a touring bike unless you go out of your way to abuse it. And there are very few remote area shops I have seen that have anything other than knobbly MTB tyres.

I am just wondering also about Asia... I have a funny feeling there are probably more 28" rims running around on bikes over there than 26" or 700C.

Still, I might be completely wrong on all this. As I say, email the Kona people. They will have the definitive answers for you.

Oh, the other thing that changes is gearing. Not by much, probably, but enough to be noticeable.

Basically, as long as you have enough bottom bracket and crank clearance when turning you should be O.K. Geometry-wise it should only make a very slight difference, especially if you put 26x1.75 or larger tyres on it. As far as south-east asia goes, It is much easier to source a 26' MTB (ie: downhill) wheel than a touring-worthy 700c. Sometimes they have low-quality lightweight 700c racer rims but they are far too weak for any kind of load.

I would take a spare rotor and pads though, in case of need for disc brake repair. As a plus, it would be a very unique bike!

Hey - I know this is an old post - but did you (or has someone else) have any success with this?
Some of the people who replied didn't seem to get the question - anything other than 26 inch wheels can be very hard to get in many places one might want to tour around the world, and on top of that, in general 26 inch wheels are better (in the way they tend to be made, if not also for their inherent relative strength).
The guy who mentions 28 inch wheels doesn't seem to realize - "28" inch wheels just refer to 622 mm rims that have medium sized tires on them in many cases - (although there is also a 635 mm wheel called 28 in some countries - but this doesn't help) - common in Europe for example. 29 inch mt bikes, and 700 wheels are all 622 mm rims. "27.5" mt bike wheels are 584 mm. 26 inch mountain bikes are 559 mm rims, and this is by far the most common throughout Asia, Africa, and South America.
Anyway, there is very good reason to want 26 inch (559 wheel) for touring anywhere outside of North America/Europe.

Ten years ago, you'd probably be right. Today, there's no appreciable manufacturing difference between 29er/700c wheels and 26" wheels. Besides, since wheels span the whole spectrum between "cheap and failure-prone" to "indestructible, put them on your car," saying that 26" wheels are "made better" is a little foolish. It depends on the wheel.

700c availability has improved drastically for areas like South America. Depending on where you're touring, you might just not need to go 26".

Yeah - shouldn't have said "better" - I meant ceteris paribus stronger, which is good for touring in remote places

"700c availability has improved drastically for areas like South America. Depending on where you're touring, you might just not need to go 26"."

Do others think this is true? (Not disagreeing - just want to hear from people who have toured in developing countries recently). Also - is this in part bc 29in mountain bike tires are available (and so a tourer could use a narrow 29er?)

I have no personal experience, but I did read an account recently of someone touring in South America who needed a rear tire. He said that his experience was that many of the 26" tires available had more tread than he'd want for touring, and that the 700c tires he came across weren't "touring" tires, but would be more suitable than MTB tires. I personally would also rather tour on a less than ideal 700c commuter tire or something than a 26" MTB tire.

I wish there was more definitive, first hand knowledge on this topic available. I'm building up a new touring bike and I'm torn between 26" and 700c. I'd like to tour South America and Asia in the next 5 years, so it's a fairly important decision for this bike. I'm leaning toward 700c because I like the options for touring tires better, and just taking a light, foldable spare tire along for "just in case" situations. That would give me time to have a proper replacement shipped if need be.

You'd be surprised how well equipped bike shops in SE Asia are, particularly shops in Bangkok, which is technically the hub of SE Asia. If you visit one of the better shops in Bangkok, and get it's address and phone number, you could probably get the shop to mail-ship needed parts quickly. For down hill wheels and parts, it will be much harder to get than 700c parts.

Door # 3 ... A 406 20" wheel Bike Friday will do the same job and be a smaller package to cope with in the Airport part of the trip.

New NWT Frame design has been made More IGH friendly.. eliminated a spring Tensioner..

I have ridden 26 inch bikes abroad and think they ride fine, would be happy to have a 26 in tourer to just not worry about a wheel blowout in the middle of nowhere. But unlike in Europe, it is really hard to find 26 in tourers in North America for a good price. I ended up getting a really nice Kona Sutra, and am very happy with it. But I am curious how 26 inch wheels would feel on it - the disc brakes and good clearance might make this feasible. Otherwise I will just take spare parts and hope for the best with the 700c on it; maybe the rise of 29ers (622 rim) in other parts of world will make 622 wheels/tires easier to get in Africa/South America/Asia soon.