700c Wheels on a 26er or 26" Bike Frame

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

Obviously, this doesn't speak for them all, but they certainly might fit! And not even just barely (as suggested by some sources), but with a lot of room to play with.

This is another GT Tempest frame that I recently purchased. It's originally a 26" alloy touring bike. As you can see, there's lots of head room, and plenty of clearance to increase the tire size up to probably 38c—maybe even 40c. For reference, these are 32c Pirelli P7 Sport tires.

This means there's lots of hope for anyone looking to get into other bike sports (such as gravel) but are discouraged by the prices of new bikes. You may be able to convert your 26er over to whatever you need (road, cyclocross, or gravel) with a pair of 700c wheels!

[meamoantonio]

(12-10-2022, 04:10 PM)ReapThaWhirlwind Wrote:  Obviously, this doesn't speak for them all, but they certainly might fit! And not even just barely (as suggested by some sources), but with a lot of room to play with.

This is another GT Tempest frame that I recently purchased. It's originally a 26" alloy touring bike. As you can see, there's lots of head room, and plenty of clearance to increase the tire size up to probably 38c—maybe even 40c. For reference, these are 32c Pirelli P7 Sport tires.

This means there's lots of hope for anyone looking to get into other bike sports (such as gravel) but are discouraged by the prices of new bikes. You may be able to convert your 26er over to whatever you need (road, cyclocross, or gravel) with a pair of 700c wheels!

Old mountain bikes converted to 700C are the best gravel bikes out there, it's literally almost the same geometry and the best part, you dont have to spend a whole lot of money for it too, thanks for sharing this!

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

Great point, but keep in mind some of them come with 73mm bottom brackets (such as my GT Tempest as pictured above).

This means you will not be able to run 2-piece (Hollowtech-styled) road cranksets on them.

[Barry Raleigh]

Wheels and frames can be very versatile, I've fitted 650b (27.5") wheels on a 26" mountain bike using skinny 2.1XC tyres.

Turned it into a fast summer bike great on gravel tracks but wouldn't recommend the setup for winter riding.