kylew88

Hi again. The bike I really want has a 700c wheel, because of my size I want to get a 26" wheel. Will a 26" wheel fit on a 700c frame? Thanks

mthayer

most of the time a 26 inch wheel will not work on a 700c frame. What I suggest you doing is riding the stock wheels that come on the bike that you want UNTIL you start having consistent issues with the wheels. Why spend the extra money on a wheelset if the other wheels would woek just fine. The things you need to look for in wheelset is a higher spoke count and a higher spoke cross count. Also, look at getting a double walled rim if possible.

bradtx

kyle88, Yes, but the brakes will very likely need replacing. 700C wheels aren't that much weaker than a 26" wheel. What's your weight and how many spokes do the 700C wheels have.

Brad

kylew88

Its a 32 spoke and I am about 415#

mthayer

why not try the stock wheel and see if it has problems before replacing it. If you have issues then go about fixing it. Don't let the what ifs keep you from getting the bike you want and not riding. Obce you start riding and hopefully dropping a few pounds you won't worry about the wheels as much.

prathmann

I wouldn't recommend trying to use 26" wheels. If the bike uses rim brakes these will not fit properly with the smaller wheels. And you'd be lowering the bike over an inch therefore putting the pedals significantly closer to the ground and more likely to hit when you turn corners.

Tandems do fine with 700c wheels and more weight, but many choose to use more spokes - at least 36/wheel and often 40 or 48. I agree with mthayer to first try using the wheels that come with the bike and only upgrade to a set with more spokes if you have problems. But it would probably be a good idea to have a wheelbuilder check your wheels and adjust the tension and stress-relieve them first. Many stock wheels aren't built very well and can be made considerably stronger just by having an expert wheelbuilder go over them to set the proper tension level and even out any significant variations.

flippin_bikes

If your bike is made to fit larger 700c tires, get a set of bigger tires first. The larger air volume will help cushion the rims to prevent damage to that part of the wheel. You may still have problems with spoke breakage, so you can always build the wheel with heavier gauge spokes.

For a truly bombproof wheel, I'd suggest a set of Kris Holm 29" unicycle rims with 12 or 13 gauge spokes in the 36 hole configuration. Here is a link to the Kris Holm website:

https://www.krisholm.com/khu/rims

These rims are made for off-road unicyclists who put an enormous amount of stress on a wheel given that one wheel has to support the rider's weight and it is getting thrashed around from running over stuff and being hopped around on (look up videos of off-road unicycling if you haven't ever seen it because it is crazy cool).

I am not sure if you have disc brakes or a rear hub that uses the standard mountain bike axle width, but a burly set of 29er mountain bike wheels may work for you too. These use wider, heavier rims than hybrids or road bikes and can stand up to some pretty big punishment. You can find wheels that are compatible with either or both rim and disc brakes. Sun Rhyno Lite rims are a pretty burly rim available in 29"/700c size.

sstorkel

Just make sure they'll fit. Many road bikes have limits on how wide a tire you can squeeze past the brake pads...

flippin_bikes

I kind of assumed the OP was looking at some sort of hybrid after mentioning the desire to install 26" wheels. Those bikes typically have more generous tire clearance. Those Kris Holm rims I suggested as probably too wide to fit in many road frames by themselves before installing tires.

indyfabz

Would a Surly Long Haul Trucker fits your wants/needs? Many of the sizes can be purchased with 26" or 700c wheels. The smaller sizes come with 26" only. The end result is that you can get 26" on all sizes. IMO, however, the larger sizes with 26" wheels look a tad strange.

cyccommute 

If the bike has disc brakes you can, in theory, replace the wheels with any size you want. In practice, however, changing wheel size will mess up handling and clearance.

If the bike is rim brake equipped, the brake mounts can't be moved or replaced and, while brakes have adjustment slots, they just aren't that large.

The best bet would be to build wheels in the proper size that are capable of handling the load. Touring bikes regularly handle very heavy loads and the wheels on many are 700C size. I'd suggest having wheels built with 36 or 40 spokes using a high center rim like Velocity Aeroheads and DT Alpine III spokes. If you got an off-center-rim (OCR) for the rear, the wheel would be even stronger. I would suggest, kylew88, that you just ride what you have until you see problems, however.

bradtx

kylew88, Since you haven't purchased a bike yet, I like indyfabz's suggestion. At your weight a 32H 700C maybe too taxed, primarily the rear.
https://www.surlybikes.com/bikes/long...cker_complete/

Brad

kylew88

I actually ended buying a bike with 700c wheels but 36 spokes. Thanks for the help though. If/when anything goes wrong with it then I will go from there

nfmisso

If you need to rebuild the rear wheel if/when there is spoke failure. It will be a spoke on the drive side (right side), and in less than 100 miles, another one will fail. When you get the first failure, rebuild the wheel with Wheelsmith DH13 spokes on the drive side, and Wheelsmith SS14 spokes on the non-drive (left side). Properly tensioned, you will not have another spoke failure.