|   Can someone please explain to me 29'ers and 700cc wheels | GH
May 17, 2002 10:27 AM | | Standard mtbikes have 26" wheels, and then Gary Fisher now has 29" inch wheels. I've read that 29ers are the same as 700cc wheels? Since I don't have a road bike, I am totally ignorant on this one, are road bike wheels 29 inches as well? I thought road rims were 27 inches. Please explain this whole dam thing to me and be nice about please. |
| Big Jonny can | -Chip.
May 17, 2002 10:48 AM | | From drunkcyclist.com
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"Twenty nine inch wheels are exactly the same thing as a 700c wheel found on road bikes for, I dunno, maybe forever. All these Northern California pot heads wanted to ride off road on something sturdier than a road bike back in the day, so they started putting gears on beach cruiser style bikes with 26 inch wheels and called them mountain bikes.
Now, twenty years on, some of the same people are reinventing the wheel so to speak. How? By reintroducing the same 700c size wheel they found to be inadequate all those years ago and calling it a 29 inch wheel.
I'm absolutely convinced the only reason these guys ever used a bike with 26 inch wheels in the first place is that they couldn't find a wide enough tire for the 700c wheels they were already riding at the time. Now that these big name in the industry bozos have a little prestige and marketing power, and big money behind them things are different. They can buy enough big, wide 700c tires that it is profitable for a tire manufacturer to go through the trouble of making the damn things. Isn't corporate buying power wonderful?
You move enough units and it's amazing what you can get made. Purple anodized focking everything, freewheels that mount on the left side of the bike instead of the right, three different headset sizes, soon to be a whole new bottom bracket shell size, and now 29 inch wheels.
Why don't we just call them what they are? Maybe beefed up cross bike doesn't sound good in a magazine review over at Mountain Bike Action or something. A few years ago Diamond Back manufactured a bike, with mountain bike styling (flat bars), and 700c wheels shod with knobby tires. So did Alpine Stars and probably a host of other companies. It didn't sell and they stopped making it. If only they had the marketing savvy to call it a 29er and find some big ass tires to put on it. Man, they coulda made millions and convinced a clueless public that they made something totally new.
Maybe the 700c wheel, a size used for a damn long time, was the best size to begin with. Maybe we should have been riding on them the whole time. We're just going back to where we started. This is nothing new. It's all bullshit and I'm a dick for saying it, right?"
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| Even this guy isn't paying attention. | Tom M
May 17, 2002 12:30 PM | | "700c29" is a 700c rim with a 29mm rim section width, not a 29-inch diameter.
To convince yourself that it is not a 29" wheel do the following:
1. Measure the diameter. 25" is the magic number, which gives ~ 27" diameter from tread face to tread face.
Note that a 700c isn't the same as a 27", just very close (15mm?).
2. Go to a bike shop (one that has a selection of good road bikes).
Compare ther 700C23, 700C25, 700C29, 700C32, and some 27" tires (27x3/4, 27x1, 27x1-1/8).
All of the 700C tires will fit on any 700C rim, but the 700C23 won't seat on a 700C32 rim (the rim is too wide)
Note, however, that even if the tire does fit and seat correctly on the rim, it might be too wide for the bike (fork, brakes,etc.).
I think that a 700C32 will roll off of a 700C23 rim at the slightest hint of cornering, assuming it will seat.
I think that 700C tires have a smaller diameter than 27" tires, but I am not sure.
I can't remember if 700C tires will fit on 27" wheels.
I think that the answer is generally NO, but there are
- manufacturing tolerances
- rim edge height
- the determination of the installer
to consider
I think that 27" tires will fit on a 700C rim, but they generally do not seat well.
Maybe it is the other way.
3. Go to a bike shop that has old European bikes (hopefully you chose the correct shop the first time).
A lot of older (50's and earlier) touring bikes have genuine 28" wheels.
A lot of bikes from India still are made with 28" wheels.
Look for a bike, generally with a 3 speed hub and an enclosed chain.
If the bike has a mechanical linkage from the brake levers to the brake calipers (no cables), then it is a good candidate.
If you find one of these bikes, you can compare a 28" to a 27" and 700C wheel.
To my knowledge, no one had put a 29" diameter wheel into production. Possibly there is something new.
Tom |
| Hmmm... | ar
May 18, 2002 7:33 AM | | 29" wheels are simply 700C (road diameter) rims shod with 2.1" tires. The effective diameter is ~29". That's it. WTB calls 'em 52mm.
Tires considered to be 28" are narrower (around 45mm) and have less air volume than the 29"ers.
As far as 27" v. 700C...they are different seat daimeters and are not interchangeable.
700C rims can be as narrow as 19-20mm which is what I use. They are specced for tires in sizes 700X20mm to 700X28mm. I have run, however, much larger tires on these narrow rims with no problems including the 52's (29"ers). Other 700C rims can be as wide as 25-27mm which are generally touring rims. Stronger but heavier. Remember also that many 26" rims designed for 2.1" tires are only 22mm wide or so (Mavic 517).
Adios. |
| This info might help | 2melow
May 17, 2002 11:15 AM | | Wes Williams at Willits was the first to start using 700c rims, Gary has been riding a 29er for about 4 years now I think. These wheels roll over everything, smooth out the stutters and are FAST! I love mine.
http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/2002_Hardtail/product_85145.shtml
http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/2002_Hardtail/product_85154.shtml |
| It's like Fake Spade and Kate Spade (nm) | Pete.
May 17, 2002 11:22 AM | | |
| re: Can someone please explain to me 29'ers and 700cc wheels | wsh
May 17, 2002 7:07 PM | | 29er is a 2.1 tire for 700c rims eg. WTB 29er Nanoraptor.This tire and others like it give the wheel a full 29" diameter. They look huge when compared to a 26" or even a 700c with cyclo-cross tires. Most bikes with 700c wheels can't run 29er tires because they don't have the frame clearance.Try a 29er, they are a blast. |
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