Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Are 27" and 26" tires getting hard to find?

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Are 27" and 26" tires getting hard to find?

Old 07-20-22, 01:02 PM
  #26  
Ironfish653
Dirty Heathen
 
Ironfish653's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: MC-778, 6250 fsw
Posts: 2,188

Bikes: 1997 Cannondale, 1976 Bridgestone, 1998 SoftRide, 1989 Klein, 1989 Black Lightning #0033

Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 889 Post(s)
Liked 906 Times in 534 Posts
Originally Posted by 70sSanO
That is my point. You can always take your Yo Eddy or Bontrager Race Lite, mount a kids seat on the back, and take to the MUP. Those tires will always be there.

But at that point it really isn’t a mtb.

John
I think where people get the impression that 26ers are getting hard to find, is that LBSs don't stock as many as they used to, cause they don't sell 26" MTBs any more .
MTB tire choice is also a lot more location/condition and preference dependent, so you may not be able to find what you want locally.

Panaracer is still making the Smoke/Dart, if you want to ride old-school, and Schwalbe, Conti, and Maxxis have pretty comprehensive lines of 'proper' 26'er MTB tires. There's also some cool retro-cult stuff being produced (panaracer, again) but really, online/boutiques are the way to go.

I have a couple of vintage 26ers, so this is where I'm at. My 96 Cannondale F-1000 is my primary trail bike, and TBH, I'm suffering some analysis -paralysis on it's upcoming tire and brake upfit, cause there's almost too many choices.
​​​​​​​I also just picked up an 89 KLEIN, but it's being done up in BMX/klunker style, as an "urban scrambler" since even as nice as it is, I don't want to ride trails the same way I did it the '80s
Ironfish653 is offline  
Likes For Ironfish653:
Old 07-20-22, 01:18 PM
  #27  
JohnDThompson 
Old fart
 
JohnDThompson's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Appleton WI
Posts: 24,911

Bikes: Several, mostly not name brands.

Mentioned: 153 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3556 Post(s)
Liked 3,332 Times in 1,899 Posts
Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
Maybe if the obsolete 559 tires get tough to find, it'll trigger some company like Compass to sell some high-quality tires in that cachet size.
René Herse (formerly known as Compass) already offers high-end 559mm BSD tires:
https://www.renehersecycles.com/prod...ponents/tires/
JohnDThompson is offline  
Old 07-20-22, 01:25 PM
  #28  
ThermionicScott 
working on my sandal tan
 
ThermionicScott's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CID
Posts: 22,620

Bikes: 1991 Bianchi Eros, 1964 Armstrong, 1988 Diamondback Ascent, 1988 Bianchi Premio, 1987 Bianchi Sport SX, 1980s Raleigh mixte (hers), All-City Space Horse (hers)

Mentioned: 98 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3868 Post(s)
Liked 2,559 Times in 1,574 Posts
Originally Posted by Ironfish653
Panaracer is still making the Smoke/Dart, if you want to ride old-school, and Schwalbe, Conti, and Maxxis have pretty comprehensive lines of 'proper' 26'er MTB tires. There's also some cool retro-cult stuff being produced (panaracer, again) but really, online/boutiques are the way to go.
I just flipped through the current Panaracer catalog again, and it's heartening how many true MTB tires they're still making in 26". They even make a GravelKing in 26", which they easily could have skipped doing.
__________________
Originally Posted by chandltp
There's no such thing as too far.. just lack of time
Originally Posted by noglider
People in this forum are not typical.
RUSA #7498
ThermionicScott is offline  
Likes For ThermionicScott:
Old 07-20-22, 01:51 PM
  #29  
Ironfish653
Dirty Heathen
 
Ironfish653's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: MC-778, 6250 fsw
Posts: 2,188

Bikes: 1997 Cannondale, 1976 Bridgestone, 1998 SoftRide, 1989 Klein, 1989 Black Lightning #0033

Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 889 Post(s)
Liked 906 Times in 534 Posts
Originally Posted by Herzlos
Whilst there's enough demand for them, sure. But eventually they'll get rare and expensive, and companies will dedicated production facilities to better selling products.

I'm also not sure how many folk with top quality 26" wheel bikes will stick with 26" indefinitely. Should they trash the bike, would they get another 26" or would they change size to something like a 27.5 or 27.5+? Are there many disciplines where people are still using 26" at the top end?
Nobody is really riding 26ers in top-level competition anymore, but the MTB boom of the 90s produced a lot of bikes, and a lot really nice ones, too
I have a couple of really nice vintage MTBs (a KLEIN and a Cannondale) and I still enjoy riding them, but I'm well aware that even a mid-range new bike has way more capability off road. If I were to start racing again, it would definitely be on a new bike.

Just because it's outdated, though doesn't mean they're not still really nice bikes, and people who own them and ride them don't want to put cheap junky tires on them. Retro MTBs are pretty popular as trendy urban "scrambler" builds as well, so the demand is still there
Ironfish653 is offline  
Likes For Ironfish653:
Old 07-20-22, 03:27 PM
  #30  
Herzlos
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Scotland
Posts: 501

Bikes: Way too many

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 810 Post(s)
Liked 582 Times in 343 Posts
Oh I'm not saying they are bad bikes, I'm just saying that the bulk of 26" bikes being made now are pretty low end and will likely never have high end tires fitted, whilst the number of nicer 26ers that'd get high end tires will decrease gradually over time as rust, accidents and neglect takes their toll.
Herzlos is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.