ngateguy

I just bought a new Novara 29" steel framed MTB. I was planning on using it for comumting to work as well as off road fun. My commute is a combination of riding and bus. I picked it up from REI this afternoon and went to put it on the bus. The darn thing does not fit the arm will not go over the wheel. I know my 700cc tires work so it has to be the tire profile that is causing the problem. Have any of you experianced this and maybe know of a low profile tire that will fit on the bike rack?

Medic Zero

Its possible it was just that buses rack. I was bringing home a new (to me) bike from a Craigslist seller in Tacoma recently and nearly panicked when at first I couldn't get the bus racks arm over the tire. This was a 26" wheel but it had a very fat tire on it. Eventually I was able to kind of scoot/scrape the arm over the tire and get it in place. Probably wouldn't have worked on something with a knobby tread though. Might've helped that the tires pressure was pretty low too, I suspect it gave a little.

I was worried when I got to downtown Seattle and transferred to a Metro bus, but the arm on this rack (exact same make/model I believe) extended further and I had no problems. I suspect the first rack was faulty or in need of repair, it really didn't seem to extend as far as they usually do.

If I was you, I'd be tempted to try it again on another bus. Sorry, I don't have any specific recommendations for 29er tires, none of our fleet of MTB's are that size. I'd be tempted to get some very low profile slicks for city duty and switch out to real knobbies for the off-road fun. No idea if they make them in 29er size, but the Continental Gatorskins in 26" are very low profile.

ngateguy

I thought of that and even tried the back rack and it wouldn't work and looking at the arm itself I notices it was completely extended. I was at my LBS yesterday to take in my wheels for an 82 Bianch San Remo I am rebuilding. When I told the mechanic what had happened he said the 700cc's should fit on the rim. So I am going to mount a couple of 700's I have lying around to make sure they do mount. If that works I will just trade in the 29" street tires I just bought for a couple of 700 x 34's.

Lanovran

I'd wager it's the rack that's at fault, and not the wheel. My local buses have racks that will easily accomodate a 29er wheel with 700x35 tires, and I've seen wider tires on them before. I think the only thing they couldn't deal with very well would be fenders, but even then I'd just be concerned about damage to the fenders moreso than the question of whether the rack's arm would fit over them.

daihard 

I've had a similar problem. I usually have no issue mounting my bike on Metro buses. The arm extends far enough for the front fender, which is at least an inch above the tyre (which is 700 x 28c). However, this particular bus I took a couple of weeks ago had an apparently faulty arm that wouldn't extend far enough. Luckily, all the racks were open on that bus, and I was able to use one of the other two.

The King County Metro website says that tyres up to 3 inches wide should fit on their rack. I believe Sound Transit uses the same rack. Not sure about Community Transit and Everett Transit, though.

ngateguy

This was a Community Transit bus with an old rack and it was the arms that were not long enough. The driver even said they had issues with the 29" wheels. Since I ride on 4 different bus systems I need a wheel that will fit on all the racks. Problem solved though I just mounted a couple of 700cc tires and it is now good to go. The problem isn't the wheels it is the tires they have a taller profile that the old racks cannot accommodate. As I did with my Fuji 26" I used street tires for commuting and swapped to mountain tires for off road.

daihard 

I thought a 29" tyre and a 700c tyre had the same diameter. Does the 29" tyre tend to be taller than the 700c? Is that what you mean when you say "a taller profile"?

[EDIT] I meant 29" tyres, not 26". Fixed.

ngateguy

it is the 29" that is the same as the 700cc the profile is the height the tire sits off the wheel

daihard 

So when you refer to the size of the tyre, is it usually the inner diameter? That makes sense because I'd assume it's the inner diameter of the tyre that needs to match the size (i.e. diameter) of the wheel.

spivonious

I could be wrong, but I think a 29" and a 700c are roughly the same size.

daihard 

Thanks for pointing it out. I meant 29" but somehow typed wrong. I've fixed the original post as well.

Double0757

27" wheel is about 1/2" bigger in diameter than a 700c wheel. So a 29" wheel is 2 1/2" bigger than a 700c! Double O

spivonious

Except it seems that the 29" is the outside diameter of the tire, not the inside like 700c. The plot thickens!

enigmaT120

I don't think I ever commuted on my Fargo with the original 29er tires, I think they are 2.1" wide. I have 50 mm Schwalbe Supremes for commuting, on the same wheels, and don't have any trouble with bus racks, though I have to give retainer a good yank sometimes to extend it. and it won't go over my fender. I jam it in between my tire and fender. No problems so far.

acidfast7

that's why people should use the ISO size to alleviate confusion. in essence, that's why they exist, is it not?

559mm is 26"/MTB (American but almost universal)
622mm is 700c (French), 29" (US), 28" (Germany)

tcs

Well, people should use the entire ISO designation. While the bead seat diameter will be the same, an ISO56x622mm is going to have a significantly larger outer diameter than an ISO23x622mm.

acidfast7

I agree.

54-559 currently.