# 24" wheels on frame for 26" wheels?



## Superburner (Apr 24, 2008)

Interested in building up a bike for my daughter around a nice XS hardtail frame I have. I think 26" wheels might put the standover just a little to high for her and I have been contemplating building it up with a 24" wheelset. I've seen this question posed around 29" frames and 26" wheels and obviously that's a bad idea but I wondered if anybody had experience of 24" wheels on frames designed for 26" wheels and what the pros and cons were? 

Bottom bracket height will be lower but I will likely use a 160mm (or less) crank and just a double or single chainring. This should address most of clearance issues. Disc brakes take care of the v-brake post mounts not lining up. The smaller wheels won't change the angles but I guess it will slightly reduce the trail measurement.

Any experience of this approach and how did it work out for you?


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## GMF (Jan 10, 2004)

You'll find many proponents of that approach around here (quite likely what i'll be doing in a few years, too).


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## Duntov1967 (Jan 14, 2012)

There really are no negatives. Go for it!


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## Aresab (Mar 27, 2007)

There's some good info and some pics of my build for my son in this thread:

http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/need-help-24-inch-13-inch-xs-my-son-705860.html


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## Bonsai-CP (Nov 15, 2011)

It's all good, so no worries. Just build it...LOL

My 26" frame w/ 24" wheels for my son.....










Yes, he is a FR'er....LOL


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## William_Cannon (May 5, 2009)

Bump...

Is it safe to say that replacing 26" wheels with 24" wheels reduces the standover by 1"? I'm debating on keeping my old hardtail (15"-S) for when the kid is ready to graduate from a 20" bike to a 24" bike. However, I'm concerned that it will be to big for her, even with a shorter stem and smaller wheels. Any further advice?


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## Aresab (Mar 27, 2007)

It does lower stand-over (depending on tire height), and consequently BB height. My son has been riding his for 8 months now and I don't see any negatives. He also has a 24" Rocky Mountain Reaper that I bought to loan out when his friends come over and when we are not on trails. He moves very easily to either bike since I put the same shifters on both. His 26er is a 14"/XS frame, you may have to look at the specs to see how much bigger a 15" would be. The Sette Reken has 25" stand-over (24" with 24" wheels).


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## William_Cannon (May 5, 2009)

Thanks. The stand over is about 27" or 28" on my hardtail, but oddly enough has a shorter ETT than the Reken. It looks like I might just salvage some parts and keep them for a future build on an XS and pick up some shorter cranks and 24" hoops.


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