26" Front... 24" Rear...

SuperSix

SuperSix

Likes Dirt
Anyone tried this setup before?

How does the handling feel? Rear too light/front heavy?

Been contemplating on this for a while as I'm keen on transitioning from 26" to 24" wheels... I used to ride 20" BMXs during my younger years (so long ago) and I couldn't believe I was "in the zone" with a 20" wheel. Now it feels just a tad smallish, so I'm taking small steps at a time.
 
FoxRidersCo

FoxRidersCo

Sanity is not statistical
I used to run a norco hardtail in 24/26 configuration for jumping, I found having the 26 on the front gave me more overall control and gave more 'pop' over jumps. While the 24" on the rear end tracked well and was easy to whip out etc..



Disclaimer: Running 26/24 will make your bike look "uncool" so you may get a few negative responses to your suggestion.... F$%K them I say, it's not their bike and they wont be riding it so their opinions don't count. Ride For The Enjoyment Of You :)
 
andy

andy

Likes Bikes and Dirt
How do you like it? Was looking of the specialized bighit that was pre-demo. Specialized made them as a 26 fr and 24 rr. This picture thanks to google and rotorburn forsale section.

 
SuperSix

SuperSix

Likes Dirt
FoxRidersCo said:
I used to run a norco hardtail in 24/26 configuration for jumping, I found having the 26 on the front gave me more overall control and gave more 'pop' over jumps. While the 24" on the rear end tracked well and was easy to whip out etc..
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Besides that, turning control and maneuverability is tweaked. I've also thought of lengtheningthe front suspension to get a similar effect but the head tube might crack.

FoxRidersCo said:

Disclaimer: Running 26/24 will make your bike look "uncool" so you may get a few negative responses to your suggestion.... F$%K them I say, it's not their bike and they wont be riding it so their opinions don't count. Ride For The Enjoyment Of You :)
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Bleh... I ride for the feel of riding. It's not a fashion statement.
 
singlespeedfreeride

singlespeedfreeride

Cycleworld
you have actually mentioned a good reason against it earlier in this thread. surprised no one caught onto this.

SuperSix said:
Besides that, turning control and maneuverability is tweaked. I've also thought of lengthening the front suspension to get a similar effect but the head tube might crack. .
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ok, we have established raising the fork will make your head tube slacker and causes an increased amount of stress on a very small weld at the bottom of the head tube, and using a smaller wheel on the back will give you the same effect on frame geometry. see where im going with this?

also remember that a slack head tube makes the bike feel a lot less responsive. you are better off just getting 2 24" wheels or 2 26" wheels. sure you can whip the 24" wheel around easier, but the bike will feel slower to respond because of the slacker head tube and 26" wheel, so really as a whole the bike wont feel any whippier.

i have ridden a bike with a 24" rear and 26" front, it just felt like a raked out 26". it didnt really have any advantages over a full 24"/26" setup.
 
rone

rone

Eats Squid
singlespeedfreeride said:
we have established raising the fork will make your head tube slacker and causes an increased amount of stress on a very small weld at the bottom of the head tube, and using a smaller wheel on the back will give you the same effect on frame geometry. see where im going with this?
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Not really

singlespeedfreeride said:
also remember that a slack head tube makes the bike feel a lot less responsive. you are better off just getting 2 24" wheels or 2 26" wheels. sure you can whip the 24" wheel around easier, but the bike will feel slower to respond because of the slacker head tube and 26" wheel, so really as a whole the bike wont feel any whippier.

i have ridden a bike with a 24" rear and 26" front, it just felt like a raked out 26". it didnt really have any advantages over a full 24"/26" setup.
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What are these assumptions based on? Head angle, seat angle and BB height are all directly affected by each other. A slacker head angle and lower BB will make the bike more stable. Smaller rear wheels and longer forks are 2 ways of doing this, but longer forks will result in a higher BB and even if the angles are the same, there will be subtle differences to the handling. Stability and low CofG are advantageous on the dirt. Less so on bitumen, but horses for courses.
 
singlespeedfreeride

singlespeedfreeride

Cycleworld
i base these 'assumptions' on tweaking with the geo on my own bikes, riding a lot of other bikes, and researching this for about 18 months for my major work, where i designed a frame.

you said it yourself, a slacker head tube and lower bottom bracket will make the bike more stable, so why are you arguing? thats exactly what i said, so maybe before you start having a little rant read my post properly. by lowering the bb and slackening the head tube, you are making the bike more stable. i agree with that. now take into account the rear wheel will both weigh less and be closer to the centre of gravity, it will be easier to whip around. so overall, youll pretty much have no advantage over a full 24 or 26 setup.

now relative to the front of the bike, by dropping the rear axle by 1" your adding 1" of a-c height, about 25mm. this will exceed most recommended travel amounts for a frame, and they give you a maximum travel amount for a reason. under vertical impacts to the axle, you are increasing the leverage the fork has over the bottom of the head tube under impacts. do some free body diagrams, youll see the torque it substantially higher, putting the material under the head tube under a higher strain that its designed to. its not an 'assumption', its physics.
 
rone

rone

Eats Squid
singlespeedfreeride said:
i base these 'assumptions' on tweaking with the geo on my own bikes, riding a lot of other bikes, and researching this for about 18 months for my major work, where i designed a frame.

you said it yourself, a slacker head tube and lower bottom bracket will make the bike more stable, so why are you arguing? thats exactly what i said, so maybe before you start having a little rant read my post properly. by lowering the bb and slackening the head tube, you are making the bike more stable. i agree with that. now take into account the rear wheel will both weigh less and be closer to the centre of gravity, it will be easier to whip around. so overall, youll pretty much have no advantage over a full 24 or 26 setup.

now relative to the front of the bike, by dropping the rear axle by 1" your adding 1" of a-c height, about 25mm. this will exceed most recommended travel amounts for a frame, and they give you a maximum travel amount for a reason. under vertical impacts to the axle, you are increasing the leverage the fork has over the bottom of the head tube under impacts. do some free body diagrams, youll see the torque it substantially higher, putting the material under the head tube under a higher strain that its designed to. its not an 'assumption', its physics.
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So you're saying that reducing the rear wheel size and dropping the axle height by approximately 1 inch will over-stress the headtube due to the axle to crown height mysteriously growing, and the frame will fail? Maybe the frame that you built, but I think most half-decent frame headtubes are more than up to the task. The reason there are warnings is that the increased axle to crown height of a longer fork can increase leverage on a headtube, causing it to fail. The slacker head angle is just a by-product of the longer fork.

Like I said, horses for courses. Try looser fitting jeans.
 
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singlespeedfreeride

singlespeedfreeride

Cycleworld
relative to the rear axle, yes. the a-c will effectively be higher. thats why the head tube slackens, and relative to the rear axle, the bb will be higher. now relative to the ground the a-c is the same and the bb is lower.

didnt say it would fail. just saying your increasing the leverage on the head tube. it will probably reduce the life of the frame, but it wont instantly explode as soon as you do it as you said that i suggested, id appreciate if you didnt put words in my mouth.

your pretty much repeating everything i say, so i dont see why your arguing this in the first place. now step away from the keyboard for 10 minutes, take a few deep breaths, maybe punch a few kittens, and come back when your ready to make a meaningful contribution to the thread instead of just keyboard bashing.
 
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G

g-fish

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I think it would be safe to say that most well made dj frames would be able to handle a small amount of extra stress on the head tube that comes from adding a 24'' wheel. But whether it feels any good is another question. I'd like to grab a cheap set of 24'' wheels for my dj bike to give 26/24 or 24/24 a go for shits and giggles. I say go for it and see how it feels. But I dare say the bike will probably feel better with 26/26 or 24/24.
 
singlespeedfreeride

singlespeedfreeride

Cycleworld
g-fish said:
I think it would be safe to say that most well made dj frames would be able to handle a small amount of extra stress on the head tube that comes from adding a 24'' wheel. But whether it feels any good is another question. I'd like to grab a cheap set of 24'' wheels for my dj bike to give 26/24 or 24/24 a go for shits and giggles. I say go for it and see how it feels. But I dare say the bike will probably feel better with 26/26 or 24/24.
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this.

if only your molly was mtb spaced. unless you try a 24" on the front. super steep head angle = streeeeeeeeeeeeet!
 
stinky1138

stinky1138

Likes Dirt
Myself and husband have the capacity to do this. He rides a 26" i ride a 24".
Unfortunately, i am very sux at biking so whatever wonkiness would result might just come out as 'uh, i dunno, it uh, was weird?????' He would proly break something.

And, don't punch any kittens... that's just cruel and unnecessary. :(
 
SuperSix

SuperSix

Likes Dirt
But what if the frame was designed to work with a 24" and 26" wheel? Surely, they've thought of it already.
 
T

tidlibit

Likes Dirt
used to have a 26/24 spec 06 p.1

went allright as the frame was designed for it, like people have stated flicky rear, bigger slacker front. ended up putting a 24 on the front witch steepened the HA and lowered the bb (street!) rode better that way i thought, till some little shit stole it. bought a 24" ns holy and rides alot better, shorter wheelbase, ie more flicky then the p1 with both 24"


just go 24" its not that bad :p 26/24 is just a old fad to be left in the history books...
 
singlespeedfreeride

singlespeedfreeride

Cycleworld
tidlibit said:
used to have a 26/24 spec 06 p.1

went allright as the frame was designed for it, like people have stated flicky rear, bigger slacker front. ended up putting a 24 on the front witch steepened the HA and lowered the bb (street!) rode better that way i thought, till some little shit stole it. bought a 24" ns holy and rides alot better, shorter wheelbase, ie more flicky then the p1 with both 24"


just go 24" its not that bad :p 26/24 is just a old fad to be left in the history books...
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i wasnt going to post anymore seeing as people would rather start a shitfight than accept the facts, but i couldnt agree more, this was done around 5-10 years ago. the trend didnt stay around for a reason.

was it an 06 p1? i remember my local shop had them around the beginning of 07 or something and they just looked strange.
 
singlespeedfreeride

singlespeedfreeride

Cycleworld
i forgot to say it will effectively be like having a taller a-c height. which it would. use a geometry calculator, its the same effect on the head tube.

either way i dont really care anymore, its a stupid idea. if you want to try it go ahead and see for yourself, it has all the disadvantages of 26" and none of the advantages of 24".
 
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