Can 27.5" wheels be fitted onto a 26" frame??

[139NI]

Has anyone tried fitting 27.5" wheels to a 26" frame.
i have a Montague Paratrooper bike and it has 26" wheels. i think i have enough clearance in the frame and fork.

Also does having bigger wheels equate to being speedier and secure handling [all other components being equal] - seeing that each time i turn the crank i get more distance. or am i talking crap?

 

[TheDoctor]

Be far easier just fitting narrower tyres.
And yes, all other things being equal bigger wheels make for a higher gear, but the power unit (i.e. the rider) stays the same...

 

[Gravity Aided]

I am afraid you would have to lock out your front suspension, for safety's sake. Better just to use narrower tires .

 

[fossyant]

Fit 26" slicks !

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Another vote for changing the tyres as narrower more road oriented tyres will reduce the rolling resistance.

Just a thought - Looking at the specs for the bike it comes with a 42-32-22 tooth chainset. If you're finding the current gearing isn't tall enough for your tastes you could try changing it for a 48-38-28 or similar.

 

[Dave Loasby]

i can get 29er wheels in my Scale 40 (26") but they will only take upto a 700x25 road tyre. and they are very close to the fork bridge.

 

[raleighnut]

Has anyone tried fitting 27.5" wheels to a 26" frame.
i have a Montague Paratrooper bike and it has 26" wheels. i think i have enough clearance in the frame and fork.

Also does having bigger wheels equate to being speedier and secure handling [all other components being equal] - seeing that each time i turn the crank i get more distance. or am i talking crap?

27.5? 700c should be ok being midway between 26" and 27" never heard of 27.5 though

 

[Nigeyy]

Don't know what kind of brakes you have, but unless they are disc, you will most likely have a problem aligning the brake pads to the rim as it's now at a different height. As others have posted, you'll also be looking at narrower tolerances for the tyre widths too.

There are other issues such as geometry, though I think that falls under a "try it and see" category and may not cause any real issues at all.

"Also does having bigger wheels equate to being speedier and secure handling [all other components being equal] - seeing that each time i turn the crank i get more distance. or am i talking crap?"

Nope. you don't get anything for free -if anything since you will be now higher up from the ground, it will be less stable at slower speeds (don't know if you could tell though to be honest, though it may be arguably more stable at faster speeds as you'll have bigger wheels, but that could be offset by changes to the geometry). Having bigger wheels will just be like cycling in a slightly higher gear (hence you can't necessarily use that gear for going up a hill or even on a flat if the wind resistance becomes too much -you just can't get performance for free!)

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

27.5? 700c should be ok being midway between 26" and 27" never heard of 27.5 though

27.5 is also known as 650B and is the other alternative size available for mountain bikes being bigger than the 26 inch but not as big as 29er (700C)

 

[Cyclist33]

Fit 26" slicks !

Wrong: buy a road bike as well

 

[raleighnut]

27.5 is also known as 650B and is the other alternative size available for mountain bikes being bigger than the 26 inch but not as big as 29er (700C)

Ah

 

[mcshroom]

I am afraid you would have to lock out your front suspension, for safety's sake. Better just to use narrower tires .

Why?

Just been looking at my 26" MTB and the bridge is lower than the fork crown can actually get (as you can fit mudguards to the bridge this is not very surprising). If the wheel fits under the bridge then it should never come into contact with the crown.

 

[139NI]

Another vote for changing the tyres as narrower more road oriented tyres will reduce the rolling resistance.

Just a thought - Looking at the specs for the bike it comes with a 42-32-22 tooth chainset. If you're finding the current gearing isn't tall enough for your tastes you could try changing it for a 48-38-28 or similar.

Phil - cheers. i might just try that. I got Continental Sport Contact tires [1.6"] which are bald anyway. I just want a bit more speed on the road. Its a heavy bike but i love it and wouldnt have a different bike

 

[mcshroom]

I did the same with an old mountain bike once. That one only had a 14-28 freewheel on the back so the jump from 42-14 to 48-14 was quite noticeable. Of course, so was the jump from 22-28 to 28-28 off road.

 

[gbb]

Another vote for changing the tyres as narrower more road oriented tyres will reduce the rolling resistance.

Just a thought - Looking at the specs for the bike it comes with a 42-32-22 tooth chainset. If you're finding the current gearing isn't tall enough for your tastes you could try changing it for a 48-38-28 or similar.

A good, relatively cheap proposition, but occasionally not without its own problems.
My sons bike had a 42/32/22 which was about cream crackered. No problem, i have a used 48/38/28 (or thereabouts)...i'll fit that.
No....the outer chainring fouled the chainstays. Obviously a wider BB would have compensated, but suddenly its become more complicated (and expensive) than anticipated