Advice Wheel size with a difference

[haminda]

Hello,
I recently had a brain wave a few days ago whilst riding in the rain on my good bike - "i need a wet whether bike". So i searched the forums, bike shops and websites for a decent frame to built up as a single speed. I then realised that i have a good 26er frame collecting dust in the garage that i could build up into a wet whether single speed rig. However, I am aware that 29ers are generally better riding single speed bikes and this is my dilemma. I want a 29er single speed but have a 26er frame can i possibly build it up with a 29er front wheel to create a 69er or should i stick with a 26er single speed. Will the geometry be all over the place, is this a stupid idea and is it even possible.
If you have any personal experience with this or have any advice any feedback will be great before i hand over my money.
Thanx for that Haminda

 

[rearviewmirror]

If you liked riding that frame in the past then build it into an SS and enjoy, turning it into a franken29er would most likely hurt the handling. Or buy an off the shelf 29er and enjoy. Either way, you're missing out if you're not already on any kind of singlespeed.

 

[Ackland]

Running a 69er also becomes a pain in the ass for trail spares....

You need to carry both 26 and 29er tubes.... even if you do run tubeless.... just in case of failure

 

[Lard]

Running a 69er also becomes a pain in the ass for trail spares....

You need to carry both 26 and 29er tubes.... even if you do run tubeless.... just in case of failure

You can quite easily stretch a 26er tube onto a 29er wheel, it's not ideal, but it works.

 

[stinkytodamax]

Try 650B as an option. Easy

 

[wilddemon]

Running a 69er also becomes a pain in the ass for trail spares....

You need to carry both 26 and 29er tubes.... even if you do run tubeless.... just in case of failure

If a 69er is becoming a pain in the ass, I'd guess you're doing it wrong.

 

[Minlak]

If a 69er is becoming a pain in the ass, I'd guess you're doing it wrong.

metric equivellant = 181
chinese equivellant = 2canchew
68's are way better by the way

yes completely off topic but i got nothing to add other than do what ya want and its all cool

 

[Grover]

Generally a 29" fork is 30mm taller than the equivalent 26" fork. That equates to about 1.5degrees slacker headtube. You decide whether that is manageable for you.

For a 100mm XC fork that usually means 470mm for 26" and 500mm for 29". I rode a 26" frame as a 69er single speed for a while. I opted to use a 26" rigid fork with axle to crown of 445mm. That meant front end was still like a 26" fork (once you account for sag on suspension).

The 29" wheel fit in the 26" rigid fork with a-c of 440mm but only just. I used a 2.1" Maxxis Ignitor and a Ritchey WCS fork which has a rounded crown. I had about 5mm clearance at the top of the tyre and occasionally the tyre would rub on the side of the tread through corners. If you got a rigid fork with a square crown like White Brothers you'd avoid the tyre rubbing through corners. If you wanted to use anything taller than a 2.1" Maxxis Ignitor you'll probably want a rigid fork with an a-c of more than 445mm.

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Haminda

If your 26 frame is set up for discs then you can run 29er rims...front and back...no worries. However, you'll be restricted to hybrid or cyclocross tyres. Given that you can get Schwalbe Marathon trekking and Racing Ralph offroad patterns in a 700Cx35 then you'll be laughing.

It might look odd but it should work - my 26 frame and fork fits the 29er wheels but since it is a rim brake frame then....

 

[renovator]

Rigid Fork

Hi Haminda
There is quite an extensive thread on MTBR (650B 96er and other)
One of the posts includes quite an extensive analysis of the implications for effective geometry
Goes a bit like this (you should check) to make sure I haven't c**ked it up.
The premise is to fit a 26 rigid fork that has a Axle to crown distance slightly less than the A-C on your suspension fork; the exact dimension is on the thread, it's approximately half the difference in the diameter between a 26 and 29er wheel, a couple of mm either way shouldn't be a problem. It will need disc mounts.
When you bung your 29er wheel in there should be minimum impact on the handling. I'm not qualified to judge the impact on the effective geometry. I'm not recommending or dismissing this option. But it seemed logical to me. Just passing on what seems to be pretty common practice for people (at least in the US) in you position.

Cheers

R

 

[haminda]

Thank you heaps

Thanks heaps for all of the helpful information. It has defiantly made my decision much more easier i think i will stick with the 69er option as it means that i will be able to still fit a wide tyre on the rear (my frame has plenty of mud/tyre clearance), it will corner like it is on rails (the 29inch tyre will have more surface contact with the ground [like a motorbike it also has a smaller wheel on the rear than the front]) etc. I do like the idea of going rigid as i will use this bike for calm flowing trails and let my am bike handle the rough stuff. range: So hopefully i can begin to build up the bike (ditch all of the crapy none working stuff and put some average reliable stuff on) in the next month or so.

Thanx sooo much and still keep the information flowing :clap2:
Haminda