# 29" Wheels on 26" Bike



## howard619 (Jan 3, 2011)

Don't know if this is a well known fact or not, but I found it to be a good solution for commuting or road riding on a 26" mountain bike. I mounted 700c x 35 road tires on a set of 29" flows and they fit great. They're only about an inch overall taller than my 26" x 2.5" minions. So it only takes up about 1/2" clearance from the chainstay bridge. Of course this only works if you're running disc brakes and it helps if you use the same hubs, so the rotors line-up without needing adjustment when swapping wheelsets.

Pics below are of a 2012 Kona Steely, with a 2012 Fox RLC with 120mm travel, but should fit any Fox fork the same.


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## jeffgothro (Mar 10, 2007)

Yep, its well knows, I see homeless tweakers do similar things with there bikes all the time (29 wheels to 26 frame).


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## S_Trek (May 3, 2010)

AWSOME:thumbsup:


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## laherna (Jun 14, 2009)

I heard of a guy putting 28" wheels on a 24" department store POS.


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## BDozer (Mar 25, 2012)

Thanks for posting! That is exactly the solution I've been looking for. I do a fair bit of riding that is on a mix of good pavement, really bad pavement with a little rock/dirt thrown in. Adding a set of wheels like these to my duelie would be spot on for fast rolling and all day comfort.

Next step, find some 700c wheels that line up with my current disk brakes. That might be the hard part.


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## Call_me_Tom (May 26, 2008)

Great find, I'll note it for future reference.


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## hartwerks (Oct 2, 2011)

I remember Mavic selling a 700c disc wheelset designed for exactly this purpose; I seem to recall it was called the "SpeedCity." It's a great way to get a MTB feeling fast on the pavement. I used to have a second set of wheels with Hutchinson 26 x 1.0 road slicks on my old hardtail for commuting (back before I ran discs) and the difference it made on the 20 mile round trip was huge compared to running knobbies...


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## howard619 (Jan 3, 2011)

I was pretty excited about it because I was looking for a solution to keep up with roadie friends, but I really wanted to do it on my regular MTB. I have some 26x2.0 slicks, but even at that size they're smaller than regular tires overall. 29" rims with lower profile slicks are perfect. I get lower rotating weight and a higher top gear, which I needed because I run 1x9.

Forgot to mention that the tires are only $10 at Performance (Metro) and they hooked up tubeless very easily.


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## Bokchoicowboy (Aug 7, 2007)

hartwerks said:


> I remember Mavic selling a 700c disc wheelset designed for exactly this purpose; I seem to recall it was called the "SpeedCity." It's a great way to get a MTB feeling fast on the pavement. I used to have a second set of wheels with Hutchinson 26 x 1.0 road slicks on my old hardtail for commuting (back before I ran discs) and the difference it made on the 20 mile round trip was huge compared to running knobbies...


Along with the Speed City wheel Mavic produced an adapter so you could use canti/v-brakes with the larger wheel. Per a comment in that Urban Velo article I linked to, I discovered Xtracycle also makes a similar adapter.


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## howard619 (Jan 3, 2011)

very nice! I heard about those but thought they were hard to find. THe extrcycle is a viable option. I've been trying to find a use for my hardtail from the 90's and this just might be it.

Thanks for the idea!


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## Mr.Bee (Aug 22, 2010)

Yes I have been doing this for many years but don't talk out loud the cool bros get upset about it, like telling them there parents had sex for them to be here.


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## blunderbuss (Jan 11, 2004)

BDozer said:


> Next step, find some 700c wheels that line up with my current disk brakes. That might be the hard part.


Not hard, 700c = 29er


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## howard619 (Jan 3, 2011)

Mr.Bee said:


> Yes I have been doing this for many years but don't talk out loud the cool bros get upset about it, like telling them there parents had sex for them to be here.


nice...I don't see brakes. Fixie with large frame? I like the hi-rise bar too.


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## howard619 (Jan 3, 2011)

blunderbuss said:


> Not hard, 700c = 29er


I think you're missing the point. Yes, 700c = 29er, but 26x2.5 Minion ~29X1 slick.


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## highdelll (Oct 3, 2008)

laherna said:


> I heard of a guy putting 28" wheels on a 24" department store POS.


Are you sayin jeeps are POS's?
:nono::nono::eekster::eekster:


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## fatcat (Mar 11, 2006)

not to be a fart in the soup bowl, but wouldn't a 650b (27.5) rim/tire be safer clearance, a.k.a peace of mind, & keeping the rim on for mountain use as well? my 2c


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

OP, yes well known, did 27" road wheels years ago actually in an old 26" MTB frame with v-brake bosses and had to get creative to get the brakes to work. Enjoy, that's a great setup you've got to get in the road miles/commute when you want/need it and then an easy wheel swap and you're hitting the trails :thumbsup:

Dude has 2 sets of wheels, why would he go 1/2 way there when there's more than loads of clearance for road riding. His intended purpose for this setup I believe is to make it easy to swap between riding road and trail so instead of swapping tyres_ (a real PITA, especially if you had tubeless)_, makes load of sense. Heck he could go for even fatter slicks if he wanted and still have a mile of clearance compared to a real road bike.



fatcat said:


> not to be a fart in the soup bowl, but wouldn't a 650b (27.5) rim/tire be safer clearance, a.k.a peace of mind, & keeping the rim on for mountain use as well? my 2c


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## Mr.Bee (Aug 22, 2010)

howard619 said:


> nice...I don't see brakes. Fixie with large frame? I like the hi-rise bar too.


Yes fixed its a 19" Trek frame I got at a yard sale for $15 added the hi bars and lay back post for a old school BMX feel and it helps for fast exits in bad situations.


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