# I'm going to put 27.5" wheels on a 26" bike!



## Pauly F (Dec 2, 2005)

Please discuss, flame if yee must.


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## gNyD (Sep 13, 2013)

Not going to work.


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

I think this is what you're looking for?: 47 pages of 27.5 compatible 26ers and discussion.
http://forums.mtbr.com/650b-27-5/my-list-650b-compatible-26ers-376656.html


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## gNyD (Sep 13, 2013)

It would be best to go out and buy a dedicated 27.5 bike


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## Pauly F (Dec 2, 2005)

gNyD said:


> Not going to work.


I think you are right. My bad.


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## Pauly F (Dec 2, 2005)

I think I will do that. It just won't work on a 26" bike. I mean the handling would be so bad that I would probably just fall over in the turns. The frame geometry is all wrong.


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## rydbyk (Oct 13, 2009)

Been done plenty of times before. Not sure what all the hoopla is about. Just make sure your frame is compatible first. Good luck.


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## ACree (Sep 8, 2004)

rydbyk said:


> Been done plenty of times before. Not sure what all the hoopla is about. Just make sure your frame is compatible first. Good luck.


Exactly. I have a hardtail built for 26". I've been running 650b/27.5 in it for over a year now with no issues. Works great, I just avoid mud with the reduced tire clearance. Running a 26" fox 100mm float and 2.25 racing ralphs front and rear.


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## Hurricane Jeff (Jan 1, 2006)

Depending on which frame you have, your 26" frame may work with little or no drawbacks. There will always be those who say it won't work, the geometry will be messed up, the bb will be too high, etc, and that may be true on some bikes, the ones I converted, SC Blur XCc and Bianchi DISS, only made a great bike better.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I'm tempted to try it on mine.

A teammate of mine did it to his. He's a little smaller than me (I'm 5'8") and couldn't find a 29er he could set up to his liking. Last I heard, he was very happy with the setup.

There's buttloads of clearance in a lot of 26" frames and forks. You only need 3/4" more, give or take.


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## goodmojo (Sep 12, 2011)

I put a 650b on the front of my 26" hardtail that I use in california and it completely changed the ride for the better. I didnt want to spend the $ on the rear unless I was 100% sure it would fit. It is difficult to tell from just eyeballing things.

Coming back home to ride my 29ers was a huge shift. The 29ers were not nearly as maneuverable. It took about 5 rides to get used to the 29er again


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## Derkson91 (Aug 14, 2013)

I had to jump into this thread as I'm considering doing the same thing. I ride a Felt Q720 2011 with a RockShox TK fork. I'd like to experiment in putting 650B wheels on this bike. I'm mostly curious to know how much additional clearance is needed to the bike frame and fork. I know every frame is different so their cannot be one correct answer but generally speaking.....I've heard 3/4 of an inch on average depending on what kind of tires are being used/considered....I know there are alot of variables when considering it...but again generally speaking. 3/4 of an inch doesn't sound like enough when simply comparing wheels sizes. I did measure from the top of my low profile 26 tire to the bottom of the fork and have well over 3/4 of an inch of clearance. I also measured the back tire to the frame and have over 3/4 clearance there as well. Any insight from who has already attempted this would be great.


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## FNFAL (Feb 5, 2009)

I did it with my SC Blur XCc. It worked fantastically. Go for it.


Pauly F said:


> Please discuss, flame if yee must.


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## team_wee (Mar 26, 2006)

massive nerding on that subject in the 650b thread


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## Damitletsride! (Feb 4, 2004)

Troll?


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## iwanttolookatpics (Jun 5, 2006)

Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades.


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## wjphillips (Oct 13, 2008)

It will work well for many bikes. Some bikes have short chainstays, hence the rear will not work. The front wheel can almost always be made to work depending on the fork you use.

I converted an old Gary Fisher Tassajara to a 69er (29 inch front wheel and 26 inch rear). I ran it as a SS fully rigid bike and it worked great. It climbed and descended very well. It rode much better than the stock set up (all 26 inch with a crappy suspension fork).

It's your bike and you know it best. Experiment with different wheel sizes if you can. Doing a conversion like this is a great way to experiment with a new wheel size without spending a bunch of money on a new bike. That's why I did it.

Good luck...


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