Wheel size change

[onesaxplayer]

Hi all,

Someone just gave me a 32" cruiser bike. Yes, it's a boxstore bike, but they were kind enough to give it to me and I appreciate their generosity. The back tire has a gash in it, and I'm having a hard time finding a replacement. I'm contemplating downsizing the wheel set to a more common size. Seems like it will work as the bike is very simple: single speed, coaster brake. Spatial reasoning isn't my forte so sometimes I look at things like this thinking they will work, only to find out I'm mistaken. What do I need to think through on such a swap? Thanks in advance!!!

[DaveM]

If it is genuinely a "32 inch" wheel and you went down to something like a standard 26" wheel, it would lower the bike a couple inches. You might have trouble with the pedals hitting the ground. There are larger wheel than 26", but finding one with a coaster brake will be tough.

First though, you should confirm what size wheel it really is. Bike wheel/tire sizing is notoriously confusing. On the sidewall of the tire, there should be a pair of numbers like 32-622 or 45-559. These are the actual tire dimensions in mm (width x diameter) and will tell the true size of the tire. There's a good list of sizes here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

If it is a big box store bike, it seems unlikely it would some obscure size wheel on it. But figure out what you have for sure first and go from there.