700c to 26 inch wheels, is it possible ?

[desperion]

Thanks everyone for your input, which has been very instructive and which has cleared up the remaining few niggles on the subject. I appreciate all your help.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

@desperion, for what it's worth, you're supposed to slide out of the saddle, jump back on.
Calling @Rickshaw Phil for a cut and paste of his excellent optimal saddle height advice

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

@desperion, for what it's worth, you're supposed to slide out of the saddle, jump back on.
Calling @Rickshaw Phil for a cut and paste of his excellent optimal saddle height advice

You called?

I'm well known for having a bee in my bonnet about this so for what it's worth, here is the cut and paste :

The method I usually suggest to get a good starting point is to set the saddle height so that your leg is straight when sat on the saddle with your heel on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke. It should then be about right when pushing the pedal with the ball of the foot and can be fine tuned to suit you from there.

There are other more technical methods available but this is a nice easy one to get started with.

 

[Sara_H]

Hi Citius,
I am aware of the saddle/pedal distance, just thought smaller wheels would make life easier but thanks for reminding me

How fat is your saddle? Sometimes swapping a fat cushioned saddle for a non padded saddle can make all the difference.
This is what we did with a bike someone gave my stepson, it was just a bit too big, swapped the saddle - he was fine.

 

[MontyVeda]

19 posts and no-one has suggested simply taking the tyres off?!

 

[desperion]

19 posts and no-one has suggested simply taking the tyres off?!

Now why didn't I thnk of that ?

 

[Profpointy]

Do the maths. Don't rely in guestimates and vague terms.

The circumference of a 700C wheel with 25mm tyres is approximately 2105mm. The circumference of a 26" wheel with a 32mm tyre is approximately 2010mm.

It is a matter for 2PiR but there are plenty of online calculators that will find the Radius of the wheel for you. Once you have the Radius, you can compare and you'll know exactly how much closer to terra firma you will be with smaller wheels.

umm circumference?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

umm circumference?

What am I, ummmm, missing here?

 

[Profpointy]

What am I, ummmm, missing here?

the question was about anout height from the ground so multiplying by 2-p isn't adding any clarity.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

the question was about anout height from the ground so multiplying by 2-p isn't adding any clarity.

Yes, but I did suggest you find the radius. The difference in radii between the two wheels will give you the drop in pedal height above the ground. The reason I started out with circumference, rather than radius is because this information is freely available on the chart you set your bike computer from. In other words, given info helps to calculate the radius which leads to the difference in height.
Am I having a Monday Thursday or are you?

 

[Andy_R]

Yes, but I did suggest you find the radius. The difference in radii between the two wheels will give you the drop in pedal height above the ground. The reason I started out with circumference, rather than radius is because this information is freely available on the chart you set your bike computer from. In other words, given info helps to calculate the radius which leads to the difference in height.
Am I having a Monday Thursday or are you?

...or you could just use a tape measure from the centre of the axle....just saying.....

 

[Profpointy]

and to the OP - i suggest it's a bad idea even if theoretically possible as a challenge. All sorts of things will have to be made/bodged to fit - perhaps poorly or even dangerously (brakes say), risk of pedal strike and for what? It is unusual to be able to get more than a toe down whilst sat on saddle, and if you can't do that, bike as a whole is likely too big, so smaller wheels is the least of the worries

 

[Andy_R]

or you could invest in a pair of these:

 

[Profpointy]

or you could invest in a pair of these:

my partner is after motorcycle boots a bit like that - and they're bloody hard to find with more than about 10mm lift. MC are not made with the shorter lady in mind - and a low-rider Harley looky likey is just too embarrasing

 

[desperion]

How fat is your saddle? Sometimes swapping a fat cushioned saddle for a non padded saddle can make all the difference.
This is what we did with a bike someone gave my stepson, it was just a bit too big, swapped the saddle - he was fine.

Not as fat as me

Here is a photo of a similar saddle

r saddle